We’ve been fortunate to connect with so many brilliant, thoughtful entrepreneurs and creatives and we regularly ask them about the most important lessons they’ve learned over the course of their careers. We’ve shared some highlights below.

Amy Corliss | Pastry Chef & Proprietress

The main lesson my business has taught me over the past 13 years is that relationships and community matter most.

I set out to create a space, make a product line that I love, and to do things my way. I’m grateful to say I’ve accomplished those things! However, early on as I was setting those goals, it didn’t occur to me that the biggest gift from creating that space, leading a staff, and serving customers each day would actually be the relationships formed through our daily work. My life has been so enriched by the people I’ve met and grown to love, on both sides of the counter. People are what make all the early, long hours and hard work, challenges, and sacrifices worthwhile. Read more>>

Dr. Lindsey Williams, MSW, PhD | Dr. Lindsey Williams| MSW, PhD, and Edward Fosado

Owning Nesheims has taught my husband and I the importance of building rapport and relationships with our customers. Nesheims is where it is today because of our customers, we are only as good as our last customer. Our customers are family, and we want to have that type of relationships with our clients. When they call Nesheims, they should feel like family, when an issue arises lets have a conversation. Relationships with the community that we serve is so important and we continue to learn and grow from our amazing clients and community. Read more>>

Maria Battista | Sculptor, Gold Smith, Wonderer

Both my teaching career and my artistic business have taught me several important things. First, that authentic relationships of integrity and emotional connection are the foundation for success in every endeavor. Emotional connection includes a deep connection to oneself. One has to offer something true and genuine to others, and one has to know what that inner truth is through leading a contemplative life beyond one’s outer activities. At the same time, I’ve learned that in a certain sense, one must never fix finalized conclusions about what or who one is. We are evolving creatures, full of a mystery that wants to speak through us. Whatever that mystery may be, I believe that we can’t hear it without allowing surrender, loss, self-abandonment to sometimes be a part of the flow in addition to the usual rational way that we go about our lives. This looks different for each of us, but it is a central component of human creativity. I’ve learned as an artist to tolerate the tension of not knowing, of holding nebulous ideas lightly so that they can develop into something better than I as an individual am capable of creating. And I’m still working on that state of being all the time because mostly, I’d love t stay in control! I’ve also learned that people love beauty and depth and that they love to be listened to and known. Read more>>