Thinking through whether to start a business – whether to take the risk, whether to go out on your own – isn’t easy. So we asked some entrepreneurs we admire to tell us about how they thought through the process of starting a business.

Dr. Amanda Minervini | Director and Founder, EGLHE & Professor at Colorado College

I created EGLHE (Equine-Guided Learning and Healing Experience, a no-profit foundation) to respond to the mental health crisis among our youth, which the pandemic clearly exasperated. As a college professor, I was well aware of the toll of mental health issues on our students, and I felt I had to do something beyond teaching content to help and support my students’ learning. As an equestrian, I knew about the incredible healing power of horses. Read more>>

Amy Carroll | Photographer, Enchanted Memories by Amy

Photography had started off as a hobby for me and eventually turned into a side job. When the pandemic started, my corporate job I had at the time changed a lot like most of the world. I had decided to step away from the job and I ended up taking the plunge to do photography full time. I always say admittedly it wasn’t very thought through and more so impulsive. Read more>>

Thomas Sedberry | Photographer and Videographer

Quite honestly, I have never enjoyed working for someone else and doing life around that. Photo/video work was a hobby for me that thankfully became a career and when I had the opportunity to start SedberryCreative I knew I had to take the opportunity to be my own boss. This allows me to not only pursue my passion, but also control things as much as I can. Obviously there are pains to starting your own business and there’s days where I don’t think about. Read more>>

Brittany Wild | Co-Owner & Founder of Way Finder Cleaning Services

Running and owning my own business was not something that I had ever imagined I’d be doing! However, when the opportunity knocked, I followed my heart to create a reliable trustworthy cleaning service in my hometown! Cleaning happened accidentally when a family friend and local contractor asked me if I’d clean a home. I immediately said yes! I continued to be offered many cleaning opportunities from referrals, building up my work schedule to seven days a week 6 to 10 hours a day. Read more>>

Nick Varnadoe | Owner/Proprietor – Erie Social Club

Opening a wine and cocktail bar has been a dream of mine for many years. We love Old Town Erie and thought the area was in need of a comforting space where friends and family could come to relax and have a good time. In many ways, my career experiences at The Walt Disney Company groomed me for this adventure. During my 25 years at Disney I worked in many different disciplines including retail, marketing, creative services, print & fulfillment, and procurement. I utilized all of those skills to help design, create, and build our restaurant & bar – Erie Social Club. Read more>>

Mariza Rogers | Small Business Owner – Apothecarybymariza.com

My business is my calling I’m able to provide plant-based products to people who have run out of options and are looking for solutions to common issues. Many people are looking for a more natural remedy. I make feminine products, medicinal soaps and tea’s, candles. I saw there was a need and I wanted to try and help others. Read more>>

Anna Newcomb | 5280 Art Concepts LLC. Local Art Curator (Denver, CO)

Starting my own business occurred after about 1 year of volunteering for an art & fashion organization called RAW: natural born artists. I was a volunteer on the production team with RAW for a total of 4 years until the 2020 pandemic shut it down, like many other great events. I helped organize, set up & breakdown these monthly art & fashion shows based out of Los Angeles, CA but held in Denver, CO. I mainly worked with the visual artists participating in the event. Read more>>

Victoria Hofmann | Local Owner

I was very fortunate to have been involved in a small way with the first Divots Golf location when it opened a few years ago in Washington state, so that definitely helped as I prepared to open one of my own in Anchorage, Alaska. My dad and his business partner created Divots Golf and opened their first facility in early 2020, so the facility I own isn’t a franchise, but more of a family expansion to the North with different owners. Read more>>

Nicole Otero | Photographer & Nurse

In addition to being a photographer, I am also a nurse. Which I love but during 2020 and working through the pandemic I ended up using photography as my creative outlet and a mental break from all things nursing. Thats where it started at least… Let me elaborate. My husband and I got married the literal day before Florida locked down, we couldn’t go on our honeymoon or any trips to anywhere due to COVID so we ended up using the time off to just stay home. Read more>>

Anjelique Leslie-Rivas | Self-employed Vegan Caterer and Vegan Health Coach

Really the spark of passion for food began when I was really young. I’ve always found myself concocting what ever I had in my fridge together as experiments, but not always did they come out well! I had actually put my dreams of becoming a chef aside, due to external influences reminding me that it wasn’t as practical of a career. In my early 20’s attending college, I was actually studying to become a teacher in the field of science. Read more>>

Christine DeVita | CEO DeVita & Hancock Hospitality Inc.

When my partner Keith and I were building out business plan we wanted to be different than the other Hospitality Recruiting firms. We took our experiences of being Candidates searching for positions and also as Clients. We wanted to take a more holistic, intimate approach to the business. Meaning we didn’t want to be a resume dumping machine that just mass emailed resumes to clients when a position needed to be filled. Read more>>

rob bAk | owner/operator/everything-er of Colorado Skateboards

I got my first skateboard from Kmart back in 1990 while growing up in Alpena, Michigan. Shortly thereafter, I got my 1st “real” skateboard, which was a Tony Hawk pro model. The thought of starting my own bran never even crossed my mind until the summer of 2012, while I was building a house in Denver with a crew of my friends. A few months prior to that, I had flown out to California to visit a friend, Mark (owner of Robot Guts Skate Hard Ware) and we took a day trip to Santa Cruz. Read more>>

Ross Ziev | Small Business Owner & Attorney

After graduating from law school, I found myself working for other law firms that had more history and bragged about their experience. These were attorneys that had been licensed for 10, 20, or even 50 years, but they hadn’t evolved how they practiced law. The world around us had changed and the law with it. I wanted to build a new law firm that could implement the newest tech and practices in a way that benefits the clients and can adapt to a changing society. Read more>>

Jenna McGivern | Massage Therapist

I come from a family with an entreprenurial mindset, having had my parents start their own business when they were 26 years old. I was inspired by them and the flexibility it gives you, setting your own hours and being able to live a more free lifestyle then working a traditional 9-5 job. I am able to enjoy spending time with family, friends and doing the things I love. Read more>>

Riley Narsh | Integrative Wellness Coach and Yoga Teacher

I never would have started this business without starting my journey towards feeling better in my body and mind. I found that through education, trial, error, and support, I could overcome challenges that I thought would rule my life forever. On the search for my ideal healing modalities I became passionate about nutrition and yoga; now I could not imagine what my life would be like without these tools. My mental and physical health are the best they have been my whole life, and I think everyone is capable of feeling this way. Read more>>

Jenny Martinez | Artist & Tarot Reader

I’ve been a professional artist for over a decade and when COVID hit it really made it difficult to find spaces to show art and sell the things I make. Another factor was that I began making a soap that was difficult to get at the time that had all of the things in it that we wanted. I posted one-day pics of what I was making and all of a sudden I began getting orders for soaps and wire wraps and other things. Read more>>

jordybelly | Tattooer

For me, starting my own business felt like a natural step towards freedom in my life and my art. For years, I had worked in tattoo shops that had a “boss.” After gaining experience in the industry, the existence of this manager role felt autocratic and unnecessary. Tattooing is an inherently anti-corporate realm in which everyone operates independently. Read more>>

Armando Loma | Artist/ musican

I need to set a foundation for my music. Read more>>

Lindsey Laurain | Founder, ezpz

Hello, I am the founder of ezpz and a wife / mom to three wonderful, wild boys who serve as my inspiration and in home product testers. I never imagined I’d leave corporate America and become an entrepreneur, but the 8-year journey has been phenomenal (and tiring). ezpz is woman-owned and women run, self-funded, and we’ve bootstrapped our way to success. Read more>>

Yeshim Harlow | End of life doula and owner/operator of Warrior Elder Care

My goal was to provide exceptional care for seniors and to educate my community. Read more>>

Tommy Dishman | Drone Photography and Videography

I took a class at Aims Community College on drones, and instantly fell in love with the all around environment. After taking that class I went out and got my commercial drone pilot license to get work in the field. After looking for jobs I realised they all required more hours than I had so I decided to start my own business to pursue my goals of being a commercial drone pilot. Read more>>

Michele Stepney | Herbal Medicine Maker

Like many other entrepreneurs; the ability to make my own decisions, flexibility of time and make money were my initial reasons. They now have changed. I now consider how our products can make a difference to the person using it. I want the client to have an experience that makes them reorder and tell a friend or five. Read more>>

Christopher DiBella | Pizza Maker & Cool Dad

I always love learning new things and challenging myself. I had been making pizzas for years and posting them on various social medias, and in recent years I had more friends make comments like “dude I’d buy that!” I made a separate Instagram solely for my pizza making, and it wasn’t until a local chef had reached out to me and started bouncing off the idea of pop-ups that I really started to consider it being an actual business. Read more>>

Corey Jacobs | Restaurant Owner, Reiki Master

When my daughter was born, I was working in the cannabis industry working as a master grower, which is a lucrative career. However, I wanted to have a career where I could incorporate my daughter and share the experience with my family. I wanted to be more refined in my intentions. I also do reiki master work and wanted to incorporate that intentionality into my business. Read more>>

Jude Schuenemeyer | CoFounder, Montezuma Orchard Restoration Project

(In regards to forming a non profit, not starting own business) The roots of Montezuma Orchard Restoration Project (MORP) were established when co-founders Jude and Addie Schuenemeyer began their horticulture careers in 2001. For fifteen years, they ran a nursery that had originally been in business for over 50 years and had a lot of older clientele who often asked about apple varieties they remembered enjoying as children. Read more>>

Mike and Michelle Dallas | Father-Daughter Team and Founders of Fat Howard’s Chili Company

We had been competing in chili cook-offs in our region and had a decent amount of success. A lot of people asked us if we had a restaurant or sold our chili anywhere. We did some research and noticed that most of the chili seasoning blends on the market were not complete. We decided to take the leap and start developing recipes that would be complete and easy for folks to make a delicious pot of chili. Read more>>

Cory Randell | Veterinary Sales Professional & Artist

Growing up with a veterinarian for a father, I’ve always had a love for animals. 11 years ago I landed a job as a sales rep for a veterinary distributor and found my niche. Over the years I have networked and connected with a wide array of people from all different aspects of the veterinary industry. One connection worked for a pet cremation company. Read more>>

Nancy Dutch | Passionate Paper and Planner Enthusiast

I grew up in the paper industry and have always had a passion for fine paper and planning. I inherited the habit of writing letters and cards from my mother and my grandmother. They always instilled in me the power of the written word and in order for something to be authentic it needed to be written down. Additionally, we were constantly required to write Thank You notes when people did something special for us. I now have 3 daughters and I have carried on that same tradition with them as well. We are all passionate letter writers, and we love beautiful paper, planners and stationery. Read more>>

Jessica Shatkin, PT, DPT | Pelvic Physical Therapist & Embodiment Facilitator

The path to starting Teshuvah Physical Therapy and Wellness was less of a thought process and more of a feeling process. I felt in my body that a traditional healthcare setting wasn’t right for me. Especially with pelvic health where we are talking about peoples’ most private parts and functions, I wanted to provide a more holistic experience for my clients. Through Teshuvah I am able to offer people a trauma-informed approach to pelvic healing that takes into account nervous system regulation as well as energetic holding patterns in the body. Read more>>

Amy Rogala | Interior designer, creator and curator of unique things

I have always had an affinity for good design and re-purposing pieces. It may come from the idea that I never had the means to go by brand new furniture and art so I was always thinking of ways to work with what I have or have found. When we finally built our first house, I was upset by the amount of waste that was left behind. One of my first projects was using a chunk of our Calcutta marble and making and iron base cocktail table. Read more>>

yoselin cisneros | Makeup Artist- business owner

I started off as a make-up artist, and as my clientele grew I noticed the popularity of false lashes, more and more clients were requesting them. back then it was more typical to. buy genetic lashes at the drug store. I was providing them with genetic types of lashes at the time. I started wearing custom lashes myself and started getting compliments on my makeup and I realize it was my lashes that completed my look, right then and there is when I realized what a great opportunity to start my own business of providing my clients custom mink lashes. Read more>>

Johna Pink | Sunday’s Best Halters owner

I’ve always wanted to pursue something that would allow me to work for myself while doing something I enjoyed. I own horses and when I started searching for specific gear for them I found things that are overpriced, poor quality or only came in black. Being the type of person that is rough on gear (and who has horses who are even rougher), these low quality items just weren’t cutting it. Read more>>

Amy McTague | Owner & Taxidermist

The thought process was very simple… I had gotten to a point in my career in the dental field where I had been a dental hygienist for 20+ years & was tired of the race I didn’t ask to run in. (A job uses salary as a way of brainwashing us into forgetting our dreams). I began spiraling into depression & got to a point when I lost a couple family members when I began to seek outside help. The counselor I spoke with explained what I already knew which was “my job was killing me slowly”. Read more>>

Lyndsay Whitlock | Wedding Florist

I decided to start my business, The Joyful Poppy, because it was my dream. I had been a freelance floral designer for 15 years and had always wanted to own my own company and design weddings directly alongside my couples, but I never felt the time was right to jump into business and take on all the risks that come along with it. After a few hard years in my primary business, I decided that we only live once and I needed to jump all in and pursue my dream or I would forever regret it. Even if it didn’t work out and was a huge flop, I needed it. Read more>>

Marlo Miller | Owner ~ Fashion Stylist ~ Women’s Boutique

I started my company with my mom as we have always had a passion for fashion. Started small doing local shows and markets and after so many customers wanting a place to shop, Marlo Miller Boutique was born. We started small and within 6 months moved to a larger location. I dress many local TV Personalities, involved in Fashion Shows and dress many clients across the US. We offer appointments in store or by zoom if you are not in the Houston area. You can also shop 24/7 Online at www.MarloMillerBoutique.com Read more>>

Alisha Harris | Graphic Designer & Founder of Original Account Strategies

I’d always had a vague dream about having my own business, but never knew quite what that would like in actuality. At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, I was laid off from my restaurant job. All of a sudden, I needed to figure out both how I was going to earn a living and how I could meaningfully spend my time. My formal education is in theatrical costume design and Spanish communication so I’ve always had a strong interest in storytelling and visual expression. As my business has grown, I’ve used these ideas as a launch pad for the work that I do to help others share their share stories. Read more>>

Jordyn Dorrance | Photographer

For me the biggest draw of starting my own business was the potential for flexibility. I have three children, the youngest being a toddler and between my husband and I our life is piecing childcare together, working opposite schedules and in the end spending whatever time was left, spending that time together. I see time passing and time slipping away and the thought of a traditional career is just not what I wanted. Read more>>

Roya Khadjavi | gallerist and curator

I had worked in the fashion business for about 20 years before I took a break. My children were very young and My travel schedule took me away from home too often. I resigned as VP of sales and marketing for Yves saint Laurent ready to wear in North America and started volunteering works first on the board of my daughter’s school and later in art and education.I have served on many Museum committees promoting the art of Iran through exhibitions at the Guggenheim and Asia society. I co- funded the Institute of International education’s Iran Opportunities Fund and served as the co-president of New York Based Non Profit Art in General. Read more>>

Wende Wolfe Abrahm | Creative Director & Founder of Wear Wolfe Attitude, LLC

As an accomplished international eyewear executive driving product development, design vision, strategic material sourcing, and operations and quality control efforts, Wear Wolfe Attitue, LLC is actually the second women owned business I started. After 16 years consulting with and designing for US based private label brands with my previous business partner, I launched my own sunglass collection under the brand, Wear Wolfe Attitude, LLC to expand my creative process and fulfill my goals of creating a unique sunglass brand in an overly saturated “same ‘ole” sunglass market. Read more>>