Starting a business is a commitment and requires dedication, resources and sacrifice. We asked some of the rising stars in our community how they thought through the idea of starting their own businesses.

Camillo Ricordi | Camillo Ricordi

My professional mission as been and continues to be to find a cure for type 1 diabetes, the tip of the iceberg of the autoimmune disease pandemic, affecting 20% of the population with 100 different conditions. Autoimmunity develops when aberrant inflammatory and immune reactions lead your own immune system to mistakenly attack cells or tissues of your own body. Read more>>

Teri Valentina | Business Entrepreneur

I started working at the age of 12 years old for the family business, helping in the office, learning management skills, people skills, and finances, every single day after school. This continued all the way through my first years in college, till I obtained my real estate license and started working for myself. Watching my father and mother run their own business motivated me to do the same when I got older, eventually they sold their company business and my dad joined me in real estate and land development. Read more>>

Kirk Gimenez | Xizzle TV Founder, 2-Time Emmy Winner, Expert in Marketing and Branding

I learned that after more than 23 years of being an on-camera journalist and executive producer, that I had all of the skillset needed to create my own brand with a clear focus on Latinos in English (and BIPOC overall). Read more>>

Mila Majewska | Model & Founder of The Vintage Riot

I’d been planning to start The Vintage Riot for a few years, but I was always either too busy or too scared to put myself out there. Before I’d been selling stuff for quite a few years on different platforms such as Poshmark or eBay. Read more>>

NaQuia Jones | Realtor | Certified Guided Meditation & Reiki Practitioner | Certified Life Coach

NaQuia Jones is a North Carolina native who relocated to Miami, Florida. She majored in Business which originally led to the founding of a 501 (c)(3) non-profit for domestic violence victims due to personal experiences influencing her life, aiding them one-by-one to overcome their personal obstacles. NaQuia was the owner of a health and wellness business prior to finding her purpose in Real Estate. Read more>>

Clean Cut | Music Group

Although the members of Clean Cut have known each other since college, The band has been together for about a year and some change. We began to conceptualize Clean Cut during the pandemic and some of us were living in other states. It was a very difficult time for musicians. We were in a constant state of uncertainty. Read more>>

Lulu & Ocean Kirali | Eco FashionPrenuer

AMAROO is an Aboriginal word meaning ‘Beautiful Place” The concept of creating our own Beautiful Place was born in our hearts in 2020, it is when we got inspired by connection with our Mother Earth, diverse international travels, relationships with indigenous families and astounding generational craftsmanship traditions around the world. The journey has perfectly aligned with our successful background in the world of luxury retail and was guided by our spiritual healing path. Read more>>

Natalie Kathleen | Founder & Creative Director of Jibs Footwear

Q1: What was your thought process behind starting here on business? A: Well, this being my second business the thought process was quite different and somewhat natural. I had started my first business at the age of 21, a handbag leather goods company while I lived in my hometown in Vancouver Canada. Read more>>

Gemma Serenity Gorokhoff | founder and host of the Real Talk Real Women Breaking The Silence Around Abuse show

As the host of Real Talk Real Women Breaking The Silence Around Abuse, my thought process behind starting my own business was to create a platform where women could come together to openly and honestly discuss their experiences with abuse. Read more>>

Jackson Strong | Impact Entrepreneur

I knew I had something unique and valuable within me. I was tired of not living a life that echoed my truth, so I got to work creating a life and business I was proud of–that really reflected me. Read more>>

Courtney Townsend | Photographer

I’ve always loved taking photographs when I was younger & decided to pursue it in college. I was always told I had great drive to whatever I put my mind to and that helped fuel me. Once I graduated, I was taking retail jobs here and there to make money until COVID’s lockdown happened. I took that time to focus on what I wanted to do with my future and started learning new photography techniques and practicing self portraiture. Read more>>

Ricardo Moran | Professional Painter Contractor

When I started my business with my wife back in 1994, we were a young couple with big dreams, we wanted to make a change in the industry, creating a more personalized service, and after 28 years in the market, we can humbly say that we did. Read more>>

Victoria Farrell | Co-Founder of Lady Dragonfly Apothecary

In the beginning, it was never my intention to start a business. Lady Dragonfly Apothecary was a therapeutic hobby I used to alleviate my severe anxiety. Read more>>

Keith | Music artist

Serving a purpose so that the next individual won’t make the same mistakes I did. Read more>>

Khadine Barton | Master Nail Technician

After an eight year stint in the corporate world, I wasn’t very happy, I felt somewhat unfulfilled. I wanted a certain level of creative freedom and the opportunity to turn my hobby into a full time business. To do what I love for the rest of working life was something I began to crave. So I went out on a limb and did it! Read more>>

Choni Cohen | Business owner & Chazan (Cantor)

I like to connect with the people in our community. We really concentrate on making that connection, not only inside the store, but outside, as well. Read more>>

Shelby Gorstein | Yoga Instructor, Mala Maker, and Writer

When I was working as a recruiter after graduating college, I felt super misaligned. I was dreaming and journaling about a life I desired. A life that felt purposeful. Yoga had become very significant in my life over the past few years, and I felt called to complete my teacher training. Taking the leap, I began teaching yoga once a week while working full time. Read more>>

Jess Orta | Founder | Creator of Coquito Miami 305

I wanted to be different from all the typical Coquito mom and pops I’ve seen. I knew my culture was something I wanted to stand out so making the flavors and naming each item was very important. I also wanted to be that holiday staple that your bring to a family gathering or gift but looks store bought not like it was homemade (no offense) I just always had a vision of being in store shelves Read more>>

Araceli Garcia | Artist & designer

I was trained as a visual artist and had been observing for a long time that art was taking new forms. Urban art was beginning to take hold at that time. We artists were looking for a way to take art out of the four walls and show it to the world. Under this reflection the brand was born. I started to visualize a bag as a sculptural work and to be able to paint it using its volume. Little by little this idea began to make more and more sense. Read more>>

Asukwo Bassey Effiom | Artist & Art Instructor

Starting a business for me is not just having a service to render, but being able to focus, make sacrifices with commitment and being able to solve problems. Read more>>

Gabriel McLeod | Training Manager

Hair care had always been a problem growing up. Trying desperately to find the right products and methods to maintain healthy and growing hair proved to be more challenging than just perusing the hair aisle of a beauty store. Read more>>

Ally Philosoph | Portrait Photographer

Building my own business I have learned that at the end of the day you can have got to do what makes you really happy, because when you are you are enthusiastic, you can find a power to do and achieve anything. When you dream something and have a clear vision for what it is for what anything is possible and I will do anything to achieve it. When I want something that bad I would work so hard to get it, do what i have to do to get it done because that is what excites me. Read more>>

Christel Davis | Skincare Mentor

Determination! Being determined to not only work for myself and provide a better life for my family . But my passion for skincare to help others with their journey to healthier skin . Read more>>

Cristina Fernández Jorge | Architect & Interior Designer

1- How do you define success? Hi Eric, first of all, I want to thank you for the opportunity to present La Villa Interior Design to all Shoutout readers. Well, like almost all charming stories, La Villa deepens its roots on my childhood, I would even say, before I was born. Read more>>