The first step to starting a business is deciding to start a business. They say the first step is the hardest and in our experience this is especially true when it comes to starting a business. Getting over the mental roadblocks can be tough, often harder to overcome than the challenges you’ll face once you actually start the business. Fellow entrepreneurs share their thoughts below.

Nadeen Flynn | Fine Art Landscape, Nature, & Still Life Photographer

What started out as a hobby became a business through lots of encouragement and positive feedback from my friends, peers, and most importantly, my husband. It was ‘safe’ for me to pursue a photography business as I had taken an early retirement from my career as a teacher. I knew I would not have to support myself financially solely through my photography so that gave me a comfortable margin to pursue developing my own skills about running a business. Read more>>

Judy Figgins | Artist

Drawing has always been what I consider a hobby for me. After setting it aside for close to 20 years, I started back up in 2017. I never thought about making my art a business until a friend asked me to draw a pet portrait for her. I soon began to realize there was a demand for drawn portraits of pets and people. Customer referrals has been my biggest (and the best in my opinion) source of advertising. I guess you could say I really didn’t go seeking the business, the business found me! Read more>>

Jen Barrow | florist, nature fanatic, plant addict, and botanical junky,

I have spent my entire life surrounded by flowers. I grew up playing hide-and-seek in my grandfather’s floral shop and learned to tie bows around the same time I learned to tie my shoes. My mother was an incredible gardener and taught my sister and I just how magical it is to dig your fingers into the dirt. I have been a florist and plant addict most of my adult life and started dreaming of opening my own shop 17 years ago. Read more>>

Christian Vu | Point of Vu Photography Owner and Photographer

I work in medical device sales, and did my college and masters degree in engineering. It wasn’t until I hit my late 20’s that I realized I had no creative outlet, so I decided that I wanted to try photography. I was mentored on how to take very basic photos, and do simple edits and I would use that knowledge and skill to play around with a camera I bought from Costco, and take photos of my friends. Read more>>

Joshua Ramsey | Photographer/Videographer

What a long story really. I took a lot of risks leaving my federal job in 2018 to go work for a big tech company. One of those risks was job security. As a veteran I would have never lost my fed job, but I wanted more skills. So after a conversation with my wife, I went to work for one of the oldest and biggest tech companies in the US, where I became a certified project manager. The company was full of progressive ideas in the workspace for veterans, parents, women, etc… it was great until Covid. Read more>> 

Jen Murphy | Journalist

Everyone told me I was crazy to leave the stability of a magazine job and go freelance. I was warned that I’d be living paycheck to paycheck and be forced to take unfulfilling copyediting gigs to get by. However, I’d always written on the side when I had full time jobs so I was used to hustling and I had faith that the network of contacts I built up during my years in New York would be a huge asset. The risk paid off as I am no longer a slave to a desk and corporate hours. I am truly living the life I dreamed of back in journalism school. Read more>>

Nicole Wheat | Licensed Esthetician

As an Esthetician I knew I eventually wanted to branch out on my own and start my own business. I love everything about esthetics and most importantly the WHY behind skin concerns and disorders. The biggest part of my business is being able to educate my clients and give them the resources they need to achieve their skin goals. Read more>>

Stephaine Aragon | Optician and 3D Printed Toy Vendor

Ha, purely because I wanted more toys. My husband started 3D printing as a hobby a few years ago and started printing some toys to just get better. I started noticing all the model options and the filament colors after awhile. All the dragons and Rose turtles, all the glitter, color shifting, and glow in the dark options. There was so many cool things to do! But my husband reminded me things cost and we have no space for so many fun objects. So to see all the magic happen we needed a plan to get them out after the toys were made and get more materials. Read more>>

Jennifer Stockford | Artist & Crafter

I am an intensely creative person. When my children were born I had the space and time to just be with them at home and it is my happiest memories. I found that I started crafting things for them: personalized cakes, accessories, room decor, DIY projects, costumes, scrapbooks, and more. I could not stop my hands from making things and my mind from imagining more things to make. Read more>>

Lexi Spadi | Cookier & Cosmetologist

I honestly never thought that I would start my own business. I grew up thinking that I would do things the “traditional” way. I would graduate from high school, follow through with a degree program at a university, and start my career in that chosen field. I did that. I entered the workforce at the bottom of the totem pole with the expectation that I would spend my career working my way up until I was in my “dream position”. Read more>>

Eli Schamane | freelance digital artist

When I first began to explore the process of starting my own business, I didn’t necessarily come at it from the perspective of, “I am now going to start a business.” I knew that I wanted to pursue my art as a full time focus, but it took a while for the merging of freelance artist and business to actually occur. Instead, Read more>>

Javion Blake | Founder, Jus Chill International, LLC

It was a very simple idea that kept compounding until it grew just beyond my imagination into products that people eat today. I started with the vision that I wanted to make a positive impact in the world, and I never wanted to be constraint by a lack of resources that would hinder my capacity. So, I started exploring ways in which I could bring value to the marketplace while at the same time use that value creating system to have a positive impact on society and the environment. In the early days of Jus Chill, we were more focused on hosting events. Read more>>

Laura Jo (Davis) Campbell | Voice Coach

Both of my parents were self employed and worked from a home office in the basement throughout my childhood. I remember my mom would be on the phone with important clients in New York and my sister and I would be screaming in the background. While this is a common image to people these days, back then it was pretty rare, but because that was the reality of my every day life as a child, it was totally normal to me. Read more>>

J’rai Hammonds | Fitness Instructor & Dancer

Get Up And GLO was created to motivate and inspire my community to BE their dreams and chase their goals. I started my business to build a safe space for people to begin their fitness journey. My business further developed into the athleisure company it is today and now we offer various fitness clothing items and products. My thought process behind starting a fitness line, was to create clothes that inspired people to get up and workout. Sometimes all you need is a cute workout set to feel motivated to workout! Read more>>

Michael Seib | Visual artist and musician

We only live once, and I don’t want to regret never achieving any of my dreams if I make it to old age. I’v known ever since I was a kid that my journey in life will always be creative, so in the hierarchy of being why not maximize my exposure and see how far I can go? I believe it’s up to us to give our lives meaning and my goal of creating something new that has never been seen before does just that. Waking up everyday just to make money would never be enough for me; Read more>>

Colten Cecil | CEO/Owner & Horrocore Rap Musician

It was mid 2022 around august when I got signed to my first record label. I did an album for them and plenty of singles but it wasn’t what I wanted and wasn’t moving at the pace I thought it should have. So early in 2023 my manager and I decided to break off from that label to start a Denver Colorado based record label which we Named Possessed Records. The idea was to deliver a more of a “punch” I. Read more>>

Beau Davis | Hunting Outfitter

My thoughts were why not, let’s try it and see where it goes. There’s no formula for success, it’s comes with struggles, ups and downs,but the most important thing to me is having enough success to create freedom! Being your own boss is what my life chose for me and to the path I strive to continue daily! Read more>>

Taniesha DePluzer | Founder/Owner

I have always loved creating with my hands. I am in my element whenever I am preparing a meal, or any other thing that would bring joy to the user, it’s ultimately how I express love and show gratitude. Read more>>

Madi Fletcher | Professional Organizer

I’ve always been a highly organized person from a young age. I’m a person that enjoys finding ways to maximize space and finding the right place to keep the right things. My friends and I used to rearrange our bedrooms, closets, and even school supplies in ways that were not only easy to find but aesthetically pleasing. Coming from a corporate background, organization is one of the keys to operating efficiently while minimizing mistakes. Read more>>

Maddie Dunhoff | Chef/Owner

I started my business as a way to cut back on the amount of jobs/days a week I was working. I wanted to have more free time even if it meant only a few hours. I also wanted to pursue something that connected with the local community, something that had a little more substance to me in my day to day life. So i reflected on my life and what mattered to me and i landed on the thought of me and my family. I’m a Japanese American, my grandmother is from Hiroshima and moved to the States years after the war. I wanted to highlight my culture and my grandmothers story. Read more>>

JASON ZUMBRUNNEN | Brewery Co-Founder

I originally studied engineering, and while that profession paid well, it wasn’t fulfilling. So I started touring full time in a punk rock band, which was exciting but didn’t pay well! Brewing beer and starting a brewery seemed like a good balance of both worlds. Read more>>