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.

Dorival Puccini | Musician and Founder of Axiom Brass, Founder and Chief Editor of Brass Legacy

From the education system to the way our profession as classical musicians is set, most of us are trained and told to aspire to have an orchestra Job. As much as I love the entire orchestral experience, I often felt that my artistic voice was considerably limited as one of so many musicians in an orchestra (the conductor does have the final saying, and the artistic department decides what is being performed etc) but chamber music provides so much freedom to explore your own artistic vision, allowing the artist to find relevancy for his own art form with in our society. After a few years of orchestra playing, it was clear to me that I needed to have more control over my artistic voice. Chamber Music was the right if not the only choice. Read more>>

Elizabeth Andersen | Brand & Web Strategist

I have been working in Digital Marketing for over 10 years, on in-house teams and in agencies for businesses of all sizes. In one of the agencies I worked for, I came across so many businesses that were ready to take their business to the next level and when we started working with them, we would realize quickly that they didn’t have a solid foundation to grow on. So we would essentially have to go back to the basics, clarify their strategy and rebuild their online foundation. Read more>>

Elliot Weber | Comedian & Guy a lot of people like.

I love being funny and want to create opportunities for myself and like minded people to express our sense of humor. Show business, even in a city like Denver, has a pre-existing structure that limits new comers. Competing with veteran comics for spots at the clubs and booked gigs limits stage time. It’s also harder to take risks searching for your comedic voice because you’re trying to appease the clubs and producers. Read more>>

Shanna Shelby | Curator, Fashion Producer, Certified Fine Art Appraiser

I established Shelby Fine Art about 15 years ago at first to provide legitimacy for the curatorial work I was doing with private collectors. When I became a Certified Art Appraiser I was able to add that type of work to the business services I could offer my clients. Recently, I have been producing fashion runway shows inspired by the exhibitions I curate branded as the Cultural Runway Series. It will be exciting to see the direction this type of work will take with my fine art business. Read more>>

Zoe Zyvith | Adventure & Travel Content Creator

Initially, I had no intention of creating a business or monetizing anything I was doing. My goal was to share my passions with others and build a community of people who shared those same values. I am constantly inspired by amazing photographers and their travels which is what inspired me to learn photography and start my social media accounts. I wanted to create a safe space for people at all outdoorsy levels. Whether that’s someone who has never hiked before to someone who hikes mountains every weekend. Read more>>

Sonja Lilljeberg | Intuitive Healer, Reiki Master/Teacher & Intuitive Mentor

what that looked like. My dad was an entrepreneur and that made the idea of doing my own thing a bit easier. I knew that what I had to offer was not available in a traditional massage/spa setting. I knew that I wanted to make my own path, see my clients where they were most comfortable and give a personalized service. I started out in Chicago seeing only a few private clients but also working for a fitness facility. It gave me a small amount of leeway to do my own thing but not enough to customize my services. Read more>>

Kelli King | Medical Aesthetician / Owner

When I was in school for Aesthetics I always knew I would have my own business, I have always been a leader. When I finished school I worked at a couple spas then got hired to manage a medical spa in cherry creek. I realized then that I wanted to start my own business and work for myself. Read more>>

Lori Swett | Executive Director & Founder of Clover Ridge Animal Sanctuary

I’ve always been drawn to nature and animals. Even as a young child I remember dreaming of living on a farm with rescued animals where they could live their lives in peace. After working really hard and saving and sacrificing, I purchased a mini farm in Connecticut 12 years ago and made that dream a reality. So after 20 years of volunteering at various animal rescue organizations learning all the ins and outs of running one, I founded our own nonprofit, Clover Ridge Animal Sanctuary in 2018. Read more>>

Drag Daddy Entertainment

My process is unique in some ways, and not unique, in others. As a person who lives with ADHD, I always found it hard to connect to any job I had as a teenager. My brain processes faster than a person that does not have ADHD, so I harnessed that speed of processing, alongside my passion for creativity and ended up starting my first business at the age of 20 years old (Statistically, people that live with ADHD are three-times more likely to own a business). Read more>>

Ryan Thompson | Founder & CEO

I’ve been an entrepreneur and have loved business since I was a kid. It’s in my family DNA and it’s something I’ve always had an interest in. From lemonade stands on the neighborhood corner growing up, to whiskey tasting rooms on Bridge Street in Vail village, and many businesses in between, it’s all very fun and interesting to me. Although challenging at times, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Read more>>

Nicole Lee | Stained Glass Artist

As a stay at home mom to two toddlers, and coming from a corporate HR background, I was looking for purpose outside of my role as Mom. I tried lots of things and ultimately needed a creative outlet. Since I started making stained glass over two decades ago, I already knew I had the skills, but wasn’t sure there was a need. But I went with it and sure enough, people love it! When something feels fun and somewhat easy it just flows. So here I am with almost a year of selling under my belt. The best part is I can accomplish my goals around my kids schedule! Read more>>

Emily Ellet | Singer, Actor, Audiobook Narrator, and the Co-Founder and Executive Officer of PANA

I currently run two business: Dimple Productions LLC, which manages all aspects of my performing career, and the Professional Audiobook Narrators Association Inc. (PANA), the first-ever professional audiobook narrators trade association. I officially started Dimple after moving here to Denver during the pandemic, but I’d been working as a freelance performer for almost 15 years by that point. I can’t say there was a thought process at all to the true beginning, other than “I’d like to be a professional performer!” and saying yes to the first handful of paid performance gigs that came my way (primarily singing and acting; audiobook narration came along later). Read more>>

Rachel Young | Plant lover

I have been surrounded by plants my entire life. I grew up working in my dad’s greenhouse, visiting my grandfather and uncles’ greenhouses, and surrounded by tons of plants in my home. I had always dreamed of having a store where people could come to relax and feel refreshed after being there and where everything was for sale. I walked into a tiny little store while on vacation in 2019 which was crammed full of plants and pots and I knew I wanted to open one of my own. So I came home, scouted out locations and we were open in December of 2019. Read more>>

Juan P Alvarado V | Producer, Composer, Musician and Guitarist

My business started like most business do… with an idea and with the will to see it materialized or manifested. I believe the toughest part was to find the time between my daily job and my music project. I work in Mastercard usually from 7am to 7pm so the time that I have left for my project was minimum and I had to use it wisely and try to make the most out of the 2 to 3 hours that I have everyday to compose and record the ideas and the demos. Read more>>

Shannon Sweeney | Full-Spectrum Doula & Childbirth Educator

I knew coming out of receiving my Bachelors degree in public health and preparing to take my birth doula training that the next logical step was starting my own business. I think at times my thought process wavered between being confident in my ability to do this by myself and feeling completely overwhelmed about how and where to start. But, I knew how important this kind of care work is; I was determined to get myself out there and start supporting people through their pregnancy and birth experiences, and that is precisely what I did! Though of course, it did take some time. Read more>>

Joseph Sharketti | Food and Product Photographer

I just sort of fell into it. I borrowed a camera from a family member about six months ago because I wanted to learn photography. I began devouring YouTube videos on how to work the different settings, learned about lighting and composition, and then went on to learn color grading and editing techniques. Somewhere in those first couple of weeks, I saw an article somewhere that challenged readers to do something new in the next year, and one of the suggestions was to start a side hustle. I’m super introverted and knew I didn’t want to jump into portrait photography, so I decided to start with food and products. Read more>>

Jennifer Holguin | Jewelry maker, online merchant

I’ve always dreamed of starting my own business. After having my daughter I looked for ways to work from home so I can be able to spend more time with her. Also I liked the idea of making my own schedule and I had the hope that as much hard work I put in, thats as much as I was going to get back in return unlike a regular job, where it’s rare to get rewarded for going above and beyond and being a hard worker. Also I had the hope that by being a small business owner I can inspire other women that it’s possible to own a business and be your own boss. Read more>>

Shamaria Rankin | Artist/Illustrator

I’d say the idea started probably over 10 years ago when I had my first art class at Elementry School. From then on, I attended a college of Fine Arts, while not really sure if this would result in a job, I was more so excited to experiment through various mediums (clay, fiber arts, photography, and digital arts). After graduating with my degree, I suddenly stopped creating due to burnout from the last few weeks prior to graduation. It wasn’t until 2020, that I picked up a sketchbook and painted again due to the extra time I had. During this time, I would watch a few Illustrators on Youtube that I came to admire (Applecheeks, & Annika’s Leaf to name a few) who sparked the idea that I could also start an art business. Read more>>

Olga Avezbakiev | Social Media Influencer / Digital Creator

* What was your thought process behind starting your own business? – I wanted to show people that you have to be a believer, no matter what. Never give up on yourself no matter what hardships life throws at you. Don’t pay attention to people who make fun of you and say you will never accomplish anything or you are too crazy to dream. Just be you, do you for YOU. And never stop learning. Read more>>

Ashley DiMercurio | Private Tutor and Teacher Mentor

I left my traditional job as an elementary teacher when my son was two years old. At that time I was working for a popular multilevel marketing company and making a few hundred dollars a month. I realized that I didn’t love having to depend on others to grow in the company and I really missed teaching. On a whim, I applied for an online teaching position with VIPkid teaching English to students in China. I got that job and I fell in love with teaching online. This position opened the door to online education for me. Read more>>