We asked rising stars from the community one of our favorite questions: other than deciding to work for yourself, what was the single most important decision you made that contributed to your success?

Flex E | Chef

Honestly making the decision that this is what I want to do, everyday I wake up & I go hard for my future. When starting a business you have to be determined just know that you’ll do whatever it takes to get to where you want to go even if it means doing something you don’t want to in that moment. Read more>>

Zjolie | Musician / DJ / Web Developer

The most important decision for me has been to never accept that “I can’t” do something. I used to come up with excuses but one day something snapped and I decided I would never do that again. If I don’t know how to do something, I’ll figure it out. (Google it!) There’s always a friend who is willing to show you the ropes… So now anything is possible. Read more>>

Juliana Mejia, Camila Mejia | Co-Founders & Sisters

Shout out to our team! Our team and support system are what propels us to stay motivated and bring our vision to light. Working with the right community of people has contributed to our success significantly. Our mission is to offer sustainable solutions to both companies and consumers which welcome the transition towards a more conscious lifestyle. By aligning ourselves with the right people, we are able to transmit our mission effectively and focus on growing. Read more>>

Karla Richey | Karla Richey. Publisher Miami Kids Magazine

Other than deciding to work for yourself, what was the single most important decision you made that contributed to your success? To be a business owner is not an easy decision. You have to be conscious that you are ready to take a lot of risks. Everything starts as an idea, then a plan, and after you launch it, it might work or it might not, but you have to believe in yourself and in your project. In my specific case, I wanted to integrate my personal experiences as a new mom into a project that will help other parents. The single most important decision that contributed to my success was to integrate my family as part of my business. My parents are my base, my husband is my right hand, and my kids are my inspiration. They all help me tremendously. Most of the articles you will read in Miami Kids Magazine are topics that as a mom I wanted to learn and explore. Topics that as a mom I experience with my own kids and also learning from a conversation with other parents. In our events, my kids are the creators of every game you will see. They helped me create Sharky, our songs. Read more>>

Antony Del Rio | Actor/Voice of Pit in Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. and Voice of Ekko in Riot Games’ League of Legends

The single most important factor that has contributed to my success was a shift in mindset. For so long I had the perfectly planned out vision of what my career was supposed to look like. I wanted to be an actor on the big screen and despite enjoying (and being somewhat decent at) other facets of the entertainment industry, I felt I couldn’t work on anything outside of my on-camera goal. After realizing I had developed a habit of saying “no” to a lot of good opportunities from fear of being pigeonholed as anything other than an actor, I knew I needed to make a change. It was then that I decided to pivot my outlook to a more optimistic and opportunistic one. In the days that followed, a voice acting opportunity presented itself and I decided to break my streak and say “what the hell?!” Once I made myself available to possibilities outside of my immediate focus. Read more>>