Many books on startups and business talk about how there are right and wrong reasons for starting a business. So, we asked a handful of successful founders about their reasons and the thought-process behind starting their business.

Kaitlin Mazzei | Health & Fitness Coach

There were two main components behind starting my own business. More freedom to create the lifestyle I want to live and a better system to help people get healthy and stay healthy. Before FORMTraining, I was working directly with clients, sitting with them for the hour, and watching them workout. Even though I enjoyed this in the beginning of my career, this wasn’t sustainable. For me or for the client. If I wasn’t working, I wasn’t making money. Read more>>

Patricia Hubbard | Nutrition Coach & Business Owner

Honestly, the biggest driver behind starting my own business was the ability I have to help people in a way that I think works best. I don’t have to follow anyone else’s structure, or program. I get to develop my own program, based off of the research I’ve done, the experience I’ve had with clients, and what I’ve learned to be what truly helps people transform their health. My hands aren’t tied by having to play by someone else’s rules. Read more>>

Dwhight Molina | Motivational Speaker and Writer

My story could be like one of many that are lost in the endless streets of the world capital; It could have been an experience of survival and triumph of a Venezuelan immigrant in the United States, which would be told in the living rooms of the houses of his loved ones; God, however, made his presence known in a moment of deep thought and helped me see a way out, one that would evolve my personal experience. Read more>>

Aaron Jiles | Business Consultant & Adjunct Professor

I started my own consulting business in April of 2021. My consulting services focuses on Operations Management with a specialization in Operational Excellence and Strategic Planning & Development. The consulting journey with my clients includes understanding their long- and short-term goals and how we can implement a process for them to reach their goals. Read more>>

Shaundrice Foster | CEO and Founder of G-Weed Cosmetics

I really loved the idea of becoming an entrepreneur someone who makes their own decisions,live life on their own terms that will eventually lead to a life of freedom. I got started because I really wanted to explore that feeling and also to earn an additional source of income. Read more>>

Laniece Spivey | T3Renatlz Owner

My thought process behind starting this business was for my kids. I wanted to create a stream of income for them to understand the process of having their own business and creating generational wealth. Read more>>

Abby Mosher | Founding CEO, Tomorrow’s Rainbow

Due to my own personal tragedy, I realized that there were no children’s grief centers in our community. I founded Tomorrow’s Rainbow to fill this gap and to ensure that children who had experienced the tragic death of a loved one would have a safe place to feel supported and understood. Read more>>

Nanekia Ansari | The Parental Guidance Counselor (Mommy Coach)

Who needs a Mommy Coach? I think society has set us up to feel that if we as mother’s need assistance then we are not good mothers. Their is a guilt that is attached to seeking help in motherhood. I want to give moms permission to get the help and support they need guilt free. I use the examples, trial and error, from my own parenting journey to help mothers explore their own journeys. We do not leave the hospital with manuals for each child indicating how we should raise them and what happens in times of strife or joy. Read more>>

Jennifer Higgins | Owner, Blue Moon Estate Sales of South Florida

I wanted the opportunity to help families and businesses in transition and providing commercial and residential estate sale liquidation services was a unique business opportunity to achieve that goal. Whether relocating or retiring, rightsizing or recalibrating, our tag line is: “Helping Families. Selling Treasures. Having Fun.” That is exactly what we do. Read more>>

Allan Souza | Life Coach & Digital Creator

6 months before Covid happened I had reached rock bottom with a meth addiction. My rockbottom was my break thought. I went to a Christian inpatient recovery center where I spent 8 months. During this time I was able to understand and heal from my past traumas which led me to drugs. Right when Covid hit I had left rehab with .25cents in my account and no where to live. I reached out to a friend who took me in and thats where I began starting my own business. Read more>>

Iovanna Romero | Founder

The idea for Artisans playhouse was born inside the heart of my husband Ruben Pazo’s Family business Miami Fabrics and that’s where the unique space currently resides. What sets Miami Fabrics apart is they are a jack of all trades, making them the perfect partnership for Artisans playhouse. In 2019 we started to create Artisans Playhouse together from the ground up. Read more>>

vayola mezard | Business owner & Mother of 3 boys

My thought process behind starting my own business started after the loss of my daughter, I always thought about opening a business of own at a very young age, but when my daughter suddenly passes away at birth the ARRIE’S FASHION came to me in memory of her. Read more>>

NEVIN DAVIS | Founder of Caribbean Bike Life

The Caribbean is famous for the beautiful beaches, mountains, music and of course the food. Motorcycles, which is a dominant form of transportation was not being expressed on any major platforms. There was a disconnect between the bike cultures within the west Indians. Regardless if it was between the bicyclist or the motorcyclist therefore Caribbean Bike life was created to promote and bind the cultures into one movement. Read more>>

Stephanie Louis-Pierre | Chief Executive Officer or CEO

I like to call myself a naturally born coordinator. If there is anything that need coordinating I am the person for the job. So after planning and coordinating my wedding from beginning to end, while still coping with the fact my mother who succumbed by the effects of cancer in 2015 will not be present to witness me walking the aisle. Even though all the emotions during the pandemic and dealing with multiples losses leading up to our wedding day.  Read more>>

Ana Mari Ortega | Small business owner

I have always had an entrepreneurial spirit. Growing up, I loved having lemonade stands and I would always be concocting some kind of business to sell things to my classmates at school. That being said, when I started making jewelry as a way to unwind my senior year of college, I had no intention of starting a business. Eventually, people started buying what I was making and it just sort of happened! I studied international relations in at GW and while I loved being in Washington, DC, I knew I would settle back in my hometown of Miami and I knew I wanted flexibility in my career. I realized if I could make this business work, I could attain those goals. Read more>>

Natalija Dedic Stojanovic | Co-founder and Creative Director of PARAISO Miami Beach

I moved to Miami Beach from Europe in 2005 and joined my husband Aleksandar, who was building and growing his biannual fashion week (called Funkshion Fashion Week at the time) in his quest to create a strong fashion platform for Miami. The event was extremely successful and fun. It was a gathering of NBA stars, top-tier DJs, editors, celebs, and cool designers. As my husband’s production company was growing he was shifting his focus more on production and we had to decide what to do with the the platform we had. Read more>>