We were fortunate to catch up with some brilliant artists, creatives and entrepreneurs from throughout the Houston area and they share the wisdom with us below.

Valentina Acosta | Licensed Aesthetician & Permanent Makeup Artist

Work life balance is a really hot topic in the small business world! And that’s because, most small business owners have none! It can be so easy to get lost in the workload because you feel you need to do everything to keep your business running and the to-do list never ends. My first year in business, I would pretty much work 24/7. I kept my availability open so clients could book whenever they needed. In the times I wasn’t seeing clients, I was doing -something- to keep the business going. It was a one woman show so it’s what I felt like I needed to do to grow. Eventually, I got really burnt out and figured out quickly that I needed to delegate tasks in order to keep my sanity and continue to have the bandwidth to keep going. I reduced my availability and hired a virtual assistant to delegate tasks to. After hiring employees, my work life balance dramatically improved. I was able to take a step back in the treatment room and have more time to work on the business growth as well as have more time to myself. Without a healthy body and mind, it can be really difficult to perform 100% in your business. So this was crucial for business growth. While I could still improve on work life balance, I am in a much happier place than I was not too long ago. I will always preach self care and work life balance for small business owners! Read more>>

Rachel W. Robinson | Founding Attorney of The Ray of Justice

The habit that has most helped me succeed is tracking my daily activities. I created a document that I use to plan my short and long term goals and I use that to create daily checklists. I review the list every evening to see what I accomplished and to plan the next day. This has been instrumental in two ways. It keeps me motivated when I see my accomplishments and it helps me stay realistic about what I can accomplish every day. For example, I may list seven things to do one day but only get four of them done. Instead of getting discouraged, I learn that, for certain size projects, I should only plan to do four of them. The list also helps me prioritize what is most urgent and what takes the most time. This ensures that I am always moving forward, even if the steps are smaller than I originally planned. Read more>>

Kelly Klus | Yoga Teacher, Ski Instructor & Director at Amazing Brains

I want my legacy to be one of kindness, generosity, and connection. I want people to leave my presence and feel seen and known. I think we’re all on this journey, to know ourselves, love ourselves and then to know and love one another. I want my life to be full of curiosity and awe; to be rich in moments of silliness and belly laughs. I want to be rooted in compassion, sit with people in their hardest moments and their best moments. I want my career to be part of this mission– can science be an integral part of our path to ourselves and to each other? Read more>>

Shelly Schell | Mindfully Aligned Spending activist

I want to be remembered for my influence on women to live the lifestyle they want. When women can connect their values and purpose with their spending they make a foundational shift in behavior. I love educating and motivating women to create alignment with their spending. This is a movement that transcends generations. Read more>>

Jayy Doll | Creator

I’m inspired by many things! The laughter of children, the feeling of giving, the discipline of change. So many things. I personally believe it’s wonderful to find inspiration in the little things. Read more>>

Sara Anderson | Founder, The Paintress

Never Broken by Jewel. I love how she creates her own opportunities. Like having a fundraiser to get herself into college. Most people wouldn’t do that. She’s also very into mindset shift. Like when she was homeless and started literally opening doors for people. They were grateful and it reminded her that she has something to give, even when she was broke. Now, she’s figuratively got nearly any door open to her. She opened doors for others. I’m painting doors (& walls, ceilings, trim, & brick) for others until I open the front door to my own off grid sustainable home. Read more>>

Jessica Maxey | Dog Trainer

I have always had a passion for dogs and being active. In 2008, I made the decision to start dog walking as a way to combine my love for dogs with my desire to be physically active. After years of working in an office as a nutritionist, I found that dog walking was a much more fulfilling and enjoyable career. It also allowed me to help dog owners who were unable to take their dogs outside for regular walks. Eventually, my husband and I started a non-profit dog rescue, J and V Rescue, which was named after our beloved dog, Jericho, and cat, Vanilla. Our dog, Quito, joined our family then. During this time, I began my own dog training business, further pursuing my passion for working with dogs. Read more>>

Jason Gust | Chef, restauranteur & consultant

I love the self employment aspect, but for me it is about community, culture & mentorship. I think all are equally important. Building a family, by using a great culture with care in guidance and growth. Read more>>

Heath Gay | Founder of the Colorado Fan Club

When I look back on my journey, the most pivotal decision that shaped my success was embracing the opportunity created by the Covid-19 pandemic. Rather than allowing the shutdown of my hiking business, Hiking University, to derail my passion, I saw it as the perfect moment to evolve and expand. My love for Colorado—its rugged peaks, rich history, and hidden gems—has always been at the core of what I do. Before Covid, Hiking University focused solely on fitness and skills training for hikers and climbers. But when the pandemic hit, the ability to host in-person events, classes, and group hikes evaporated almost overnight. I was forced to rethink everything. Read more>>

Matthew Rose | Entertainment entrepreneur

This is a statement that comes up in a variety of my different ventures. I have my regular technical sales job but also have been a street comedian at our local renaissance festival for 17 years and have run a local community orchestra for 17 years. I also have seven rental homes that I manage. My new side business this year is creating stop-motion animated comedy shorts for Youtube and Instagram. For each of those roles success is defined differently. For technical sales, keeping the customer happy by responding to inquires in a timely manner and presenting interesting workshops is the goal. For the renaissance festival entertaining patrons and making some cash on the weekends is a goal but also the outlet for creativity is important. For the orchestra the goal is to maintain a group of 40-50 musicians and keep our checking account above $0. Similarly for the rental houses making sure the tenants are happy and the activity is profitable are goals. For the stop motion activity my goal is to eventually be able to monetize the online shorts I post. Read more>>

Jasmine Hansen | Queer Therapist & Anti-imperialist veteran

My experiences in the military and as a Queer person greatly influenced my inspiration for Solidarity Therapy. I entered the military at a young age in order to go to college. I suffered in the military’s environment and I felt trapped. Finally, after trying to get help for years, I found a therapist who saw me in my pain. As a method of self-protection often shared by trauma survivors, I blamed myself and carried a mountain of shame and guilt for the abuse, sexual harassment and assault, and moral injury I experienced in the military. My therapist, connecting with others who experienced sexual or military trauma, and Yoga helped me start to find myself and listen to my body and heart, and it truly saved my life. Read more>>

Jenny (pixie) Oeleis | Arts Caravan’s Creator and Lead Instigator: Fire cabaret performer and fire eater, Fire and flow performer.

I go by Pixie please. So Pixie aka Jenny Oeleis I have always been attracted to performance and circus culture from a young age. Arts Caravan began as a spark of a young fire performer after being introduced to the Burning Man culture as a 19 year old in my first year at art school (RMCAD). As I was growing into the performance world a growing affinity for clowning and character acts began to mix with fire performance. This was accelerated when I moved to Portland Oregon to help my friend start a visual art and circus school. While living in Portland I was inundated with an amazing variety of circus and street performance. I was invited into the magical world of Rose City Vaudeville mostly in support positions like ticket collector, sign painter, and front of house barker. I helped them convert and run a corner lot theater, “The Vagabond Theater’ where we had a scaffold stage backed by a big red English double decker bus for the backstage and ran sheets through the chain link fence surrounding the lot for privacy.  Read more>>