We reached out to some of our favorite entrepreneurs and asked them to think back and tell us about how they decided to start a business. Check out their responses below.

Kim Yee | Martial Arts Instructor & business Owner

Kim decided sometime during high school and college, that he loved teaching martial arts, and wanted to have his own school. Read more>>

Brandon Scheer | Owner and Orthodontist

There are a couple of things at play here. First, I’m somewhat of a legacy dentist– my great-grandpa, grandpa, and dad were all dentists in Kansas. So, I had always wanted to be a dentist. Turns out I became an orthodontist instead, but it’s close enough. Read more>>

Lauri Keener | Artist

The main thought process was recognizing that I wanted to use my skills but I couldn’t find jobs that were looking for what I had to offer. So I would need to create it myself. Read more>>

Meridith Antonucci | Body-Centered Psychotherapist, Yoga Teacher & Yoga Therapist

Repattern Therapeutics was created as a business to house all of my professional offerings — body-centered psychotherapy, social/emotional wellness workshops, yoga, and yoga therapy services. Repattern Therapeutics offers people different avenues to repattern their minds, bodies, and hearts. Read more>>

Amanda Komoczi | Personal Trainer, Kickboxing instructor, and MMA Fighter

For me, starting my own business has always been the dream, and something to strive for. I have been very fortunate to be immersed into the fitness community throughout my childhood and teen years, which has taught me so many valuable lessons about what a healthy fitness practice looks like, and what it doesn’t. Read more>>

Zay | Professional Photographer

There really wasn’t much thought to it actually. It’s been over a decade since I picked up a camera and it has always been my way to preserving my memories. I never dreamed about owning a photography business but it seamlessly ended up that way. Read more>>

Jason Butler | Facilitator and Personal Trainer

There are a few good reasons why I decided to start my own business- I wanted independence, I felt limited in my current work environment at the time, and ultimately I felt that I could help more people by going out on my own. Realistically, however, these were reasons that I discovered after being asked a question by a client and mentor of mine. Read more>>

Meet Clayton Stahnke | Coach & Gym Owner

Oh man, that was years ago but I still remember the dread of working for a corporate fitness center and feeling limited in my growth. The gym I was personal training and managing at at the time had a different set of ideals that I did/do, and I felt that in order to maximize my potential and feel as fulfilled as possible I had to start my own business. Read more>>

Kelsey Johnson | Knitwear Designer

Worldwide, garment manufacturing contributes to over 20% of all water pollution. It takes over 200 years for non-renewable fiber like polyester to finally decompose in landfills. Manufacturing a single pair of jeans produces the same amount of greenhouse gases as driving a car for 80 miles. Read more>>

Tishany Jenkins | Legal Assistant

This line of products came to life in my mind a couple years ago! I suffer from extremely dry skin (especially on the back of my hands) and wanted to help people who have issues with dry skin like I do! There are not a lot of skin care lines out there owned by an African American who offers lotion bars. Read more>>

Mason Aksamit | Testing Coach & Filmmaker

I was morally obligated to start the CLEP School, There is a quick way for any American to receive their Bachelor’s Degree in a year and graduate without student debt and colleges refuse to tell students about it, through many testing strategies that most people don’t even know about. Read more>>

Larry Olson | Founder of Studio Lo

I think the main reason why I felt compelled to start my own business was in an effort to have greater control of my life. I’ve taken my work and career very seriously and I noticed that my professional decisions have a ripple effect that ring throughout my life. What I mean by that is our careers affect our health. Read more>>

Shannan Mills | Shannan Mills, & Michael Agnew, Owners/Operators Of Mythic Games Colorado

Initially we (owners Mike and Shannan) were not planning on starting our own business as early on as we did, but we had an opportunity to buy a small business that a family friend was selling and we couldn’t pass it up. We pooled our resources and bought the business together. Read more>>

Jes Kimak | Photographer, Yoga Instructor, Mental Health Therapist and Foster Momma

I got my masters in Social Work and work as a mental health therapist as well as doing photography and yoga teaching on the side. I am also a foster mom and when I got a placement that did not work with my 9-5 schedule I knew I had to take the leap. Three weeks before the pandemic arose I decided to go full force into photography and pray that it worked. Read more>>

Kate Buffington | Furniture Refinisher

It has been a naturally evolving process over the last 5 years of wanting to do something besides teaching and raising my own children that brought me joy. Refurbishing vintage furniture has always been something I did for necessity, getting married young and having no money and needing furniture led me to some DIY projects. Read more>>

Laura Clemmons | Functional Herbalist and Paradigm Shifting Entrepreneur

I really love when people ask me this question, because the answer has a somewhat fractal quality in that each aspect of the answer, when observed closely, contains an endless string of synchronicities, realizations and pivotal moments. The process can be outlined with a few key qualities. Read more>>

Leila Baroudi | Handmade Soap Maker (FLANA Soap)

Handmade soap by heart is an essential need in everyone’s active life and I always disliked how commercial soap dried my sensitive skin and would not lather. My brother began making organic soap from Unrefined Organic Coconut Oil and Extra Virgin Olive Oil; he encouraged me to follow his steps. I instantly began making my own soap for my family and friends. Read more>>

Donnell Goss | Videographer

How can I find a way to create my own way. I was unhappy in my traditional 9-5 and I needed a change. Then January 2017 happened! I started to explore the things I was passionate about and there it was videography / editing photos and videos! It truly was an “ah ha” moment. I’ve been into video production since high school and decided to turn it into a passion! I haven’t turned back yet. Read more>>

Bre Patterson | Marketing Guru & Entrepreneur

I always felt that I was supposed to run my own company one day. From my first career and on, I would evaluate my bosses and write the best or worst leadership qualities they had. This helped me define how I wanted to lead. I was scared to start my own business, but it felt that all my opportunities were lining up. Read more>>

Ellen Kindelsperger | Doctor of Chiropractic and CSCS Trained Fitness Coach

The main idea behind starting my own business as a Chiropractic and Fitness/Rehab coach was to have a place where holistic meets modern medicine. A lot of things can be solved with the approach of healing the body from the outside in. I was motivated with the idea of this when I was able to significantly improve the condition of my psoriatic arthritis by using all natural means; including diet change, chiropractic care, mindfulness and exercise. Read more>>

Justin Dukes | Chiropractor

After spending time working for another doctor in private practice and for a large integrated healthcare group, I realized that the only way I could deliver the patient experience that I believed my patients truly deserved was to build it myself. Read more>>

Annette Shtivelban | Founder & Principal Consultant

Starting my own business was something I always wanted to do. I started my first business when I was about 10 years old selling bead geckos to other school children. In middle school, our class volunteered to clean the environment. As we were there, I realized there was a more efficient way to help; I set up an assembly line so we could do more with the time we had – create more impact. Read more>>