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.

Sarah Markel | Pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist, Early Childhood Consultant ,and owner of Raised with Respect

In my work as a speech pathologist, much of my therapy time consists of sitting on a family’s living room floor, demonstrating techniques and talking through strategies with the parents. While speech therapists are trained to help communication, I found that parents inevitably asked me to assist them with a wide range of other issues. Read more>>

Elijah Trujillo | Videographer & Creative Director

After graduating from Los Angeles Film School, I realized that I wanted to continue growing creatively in a direction that allowed me to share my passion for connecting with others. I know that my potential reached higher than working under a company or a strict set of rules and I was driven to create those goals myself. My mind is too big to be capped under someone else’s dream; Read more>>

Jenna Zimbelman | Business Owner

In 1946, Calvin Zimbelman finished his tour of duty with the Army. Through the GI Bill, he was able to go to a watchmaker’s school in Denver, Colorado, where he attended school for 13 months learning to be a jeweler and watch maker. After finishing school in 1949, he made the decision to establish his own business in Bird City, Kansas. Read more>>

Niki Brown, CD(Dona) | Birth Doula, Birth Photographer, & Childbirth Educator

I decided to start my own business as a birth doula after attending several births free of charge as a ministry to laboring mothers and couples who wanted coaching and birth support; I received overwhelming feedback from these clients, as well as medical practitioners, about how beneficial these services were! Read more>>

Gaby Ancell | Small Business Owner & Florist

When I was a child and people would ask me, “What do you want to be or do when you grow up?” I would say something relating to an artist, teacher, or something to do with sports. I wasn’t dreaming up at a young age how to start my own business. That wasn’t something I even considered. Read more>>

Brendan Campagna | Soccer Coach & Entrepreneur

I have found so far in my career that if there is a certain type of work I want to do, I have to make it happen on my own rather than finding a company to hire me to do it. Running a soccer club has always been a dream of mine. Out of college I applied for all my dream jobs with sports organizations both in the US and abroad, but never had any luck. Read more>>

Heather Brick | Trauma-Informed LMT

Starting my own business was always something I knew I would do. I wanted to have the flexibility to be with my children when I wanted to be and make my work schedule around them. I wanted to create a space I could put all of heart into and call my own. I had no idea what I was doing when I first started but I knew I had to go all in right from the start and that’s just what I did. Starting my own business was the best thing I have done. Read more>>

Sean Schiloski | Co Founder

After college I jumped into the standard 9-5 office life like everyone else, and like many people, I relied heavily on coffee to get me through the day. After drinking coffee all day, I was still crashing in the afternoon and I was leaving work feeling incredibly dehydrated and drained. After talking about feeling this way late one night with my childhood friend Dan, he said he was feeling the same way. Read more>>

Austin Witt | Health, Nutrition, and Performance Coach

In 2017, the mission to bring clarity to coaching was born. WPB Health Consulting’s mission is to bring clarity to coaching practice. How is by developing and elevating health coaches and clients education and practical application. This is done by our coaching service, community, and podcast! The difference: Read more>>

Amir Harrison | Software Developer and Crafter

I started my ASHcraft Workshop right at the start of the pandemic. I had been working as a sommelier at a French restaurant and we had been shut down for an unforeseeable amount of time. I had gotten my degree at Metropolitan State University of Denver in Marketing and a minor in Beverage Management, along with my certified level Sommelier Certificate from the Court of Master Sommeliers, Read more>>

Bianca Eckstein | Graphic, Web & Jewelry Designer

In 2020 when everything shut down, my husband, children, and I were all at home together. I never stopped working because I work from home. I am a Graphic & Web Designer. Like most people during this uncertain time, I felt suffocated and really wanted my own space. There was an unused and semi-empty room in our basement, which I turned into my very own creative studio. Read more>>

Sherine Harivandi | The Ugliest Cleaning Lady LLC, Owner

I was going through a major transition in my life and wanted a job where I could keep to myself, pick my own hours and still earn a decent wage. I came up with an idea to run a Craigslist ad offering cleaning services at low rates to gain experience. A few hours later while I was munching on Doritos and scrolling my phone, I got my first inquiry via text message. Read more>>

Peter Greco | Owner/Founder of Pete’s Kombucha

My first thought was that I just wanted to try something different. Not necessarily product wise but life wise. I knew, even before the first time I brewed kombucha at all, that I didn’t want to be an employee under anyone. I have heard and experienced too many stories of crappy bosses power tripping, not liking me for not being a robot of an employee basically, etc. Read more>>

Maryann Kyle | Vocal coach, teacher, singer and mentor

I believed I would always function inside the walls of academia as a professor of music, but in a sense I had always been my “own business.” As a singer and teacher we’re always thinking about short and long term planning, marketing, product quality and scheduling. Post covid and after twenty three years in the academic world I decided to make a change. Read more>>

Hansa | Yoga Instructor, Trainer and Yoga Therapist, Massage Therapist

I started teaching yoga because I wanted to share a tool that made a difference in my life. . . not just a physical change, but a change that gave me mental stability and connect me back to the Spiritual yearning within. Read more>>

Lance Lewis | Wildgame Chef/Instructor

I was inspired to start Tagged Out Kitchen organically. During my time as an instructor at a culinary school in Denver, I taught a course on whole hog butchery. My observations while working with students revealed that most of them were there to learn about whole animal butchery for the purpose of applying those skills to wild game and hunting. Read more>>

Daniel Logan | Free-Lance Artist

Starting my own business was my way of pursuing my love for art and sharing it with the world. Being retired military, I learned how to be prideful in what I do. I wanted to mix that pride with something I love. Read more>>

Sean Butler | Barber

Starting my own business has always been a goal of mine. I wanted to be my own boss forever. Lafayette, where I live really needed a good barber so I wanted to be able to provide services to the community in my own space with my own vibes. Read more>>

Joshua Dollgener | Marketing Director / Event Coordinator / Business Owner

My partner Eric Bolton brought me on since day 1 and our goal was to provide the West side of Fort Collins a new social gathering hub free of any standard expectations. We wanted to bring the community a fresh take on a bar that had more than what many would traditionally think of. Read more>>