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.

MaryAnna Clemons | Energy Reader MaryAnna

I wanted to know if it was real. Before starting down this path, I’d never had a tarot reading or a mediumship reading! I started with Tarot for fun. I’d always been interested in learning but the idea of learning 78 definitions and then 78 more reversed definitions always stopped me. This time, I said what the heck, let’s do it. Once I started, I couldn’t stop. At the time, I had also finally left a relationship I should have left decades prior, and it was as if the Universe was holding onto all this information for me and just handed it over, piece by piece. Now, I teach it all – Tarot, psychic, evidential mediumship and animal communication! And without reversed cards or a lot of they hype, I might add. Read more>>

Andy Hill | Film Professor and Founder of Rainbow Cult

I’m a professor of film studies, and I wanted to use my work on queer audiences to create events for my community. This was near the end of COVID, and I was thinking a lot about how I missed going to the movies, and yet most of the movie watching had shifted into our homes. I wanted to make movies feel live and special again my combining them with character performances and props and cosplay. Read more>>

Juliana Monga | Handmade Crafts, Metaphysical Goods & Crystal Seller

I started my business as a stay-at-home mom, crafting candles and selling crystals because I wanted to create a fulfilling and flexible career that aligned with my passions and allowed me to prioritize my family. As a mother, I have always cherished the calming and soothing ambiance that candles bring to a home, and I discovered a talent for handcrafting unique and beautifully scented candles. Additionally, my fascination with crystals and their healing properties led me to explore the world of crystal selling. By combining these two passions, I found a way to share my creations with others while also embracing the joy of being a stay-at-home mom. This business venture not only allows me to express my creativity but also provides a sense of fulfillment as I connect with customers who appreciate the positive energy and tranquility that my candles and crystals bring into their lives. Read more>>

Chelsea Dygert | Adventure Retreat Host & Yoga Instructor

I went on a simi-spontaneous cross country car camping road trip with my best friend and felt so inspired by the places we visited. At one point during our trip we were sitting on a mountain under the full moon in Sedona and I just knew I wanted more people to see how incredible these spaces are. Little did I know that I would be taking a group of amazing women to that very spot less than a year later! Read more>>

Kyler Steele | Photographer

I started off as a software engineer working a basic 9-5. I realized quickly that this lifestyle was not sustainable for me. I worked the 40 hours a week but none of it felt like any enjoyment. I thought if I worked at something I was more passionate about then the 40 hours wouldn’t feel bad and I would maybe even work 60-80 hours of hard work. It started off as a side hustle (like most businesses do) but eventually the side hustle took more time then my actual job did. I ended up officially starting my business because I loved the work I was doing and wanted to continue doing it. Read more>>

Tiffany Foster | Venue Owner and Manager

I’ve always been excited about new opportunities and ways to serve the community that I’m apart of. After having started and run a successful company previously, I was looking towards what opportunity could be my “forever.” What would be the dream that I could be passionate about for the rest of my life and hand down to my children? And then the idea came! The ranch has been in my family for 122 years and began with my great-grandfather and great-grandmother. Though the property is still home to a successful cattle ranch, I envisioned a modern-rustic wedding venue with the stunning mountain backdrops and sprawling fields on either side. The dream has now become a reality, and I couldn’t be more thankful! Read more>>

Chris Uribe | Audio engineer

I wanted to help people record there musical ideas be apart of the journey of creating a song from start to finish and making them sound like there favorite artist or band. Read more>>

Spin Dunbar | Stained Glass Artist

As a life long artist, I would have to posit that for creative people such as myself, it isn’t a necessary choice, but a mighty leap of faith to choose to scale that particular mountain of ideas and all the pitfalls that come along the way. My particular leap happened 52 years ago when I started designing and making stained glass windows. As I developed my art and commission work, I found one of my talents was in creating empathetic relationships with my clients, interpreting there desires into stained glass windows, always improving my skill sets to accomplish our collaborative visions into the problem solving aspects of each installation. As a commission glass artist, each project/installation was a building block for establishing my reputation. Read more>>

Miriam Burlakovsky Correia | Founder & President, The Association for the Wellbeing of Educators

Did you know that teachers have the highest burnout rate of all occupations in the US (52%)? Did you know that research shows that teacher turnover adversely affects all student’s achievement? As a school psychologist, I witnessed first-hand the toll that chronic stress and burnout takes on educators, especially special education teachers. I have teachers in my office on a weekly basis: venting, crying, hanging on by a thread, wanting to quit or going out on stress leave. I couldn’t just sit back and do nothing. Motivated to make a difference, I dove into the research on the adverse effects of toxic stress, as well as what we can do about it. Employee burnout, motivation, satisfaction, and work/life balance are hot topics in the news. Read more>>

Anamaria Gomez | SWOM COO

Recognizing that aligning personal and business aspects transforms work into a fulfilling life experience. It’s not merely a means to earn a living; it’s about living while pursuing your passion. Following numerous discussions during the pandemic, Paula and I, as partners, reflected on our shared love for travel. We believe in its transformative power and aspire to make it accessible to all. Traditional lodging options have become both costly and unreliable. Hence, SWOM emerged—a platform facilitating home exchanges for short or long-term stays, offering a solution to this challenge. Read more>>

Lindi West | Cleaning company

Back in mid 2016 I worked for another cleaning company that I was unhappy at. Steve and I were talking one night, and we thought if I’m out making someone else’s customers happy I can make my own happy! That night we came up with Hot Mess Cleaning. We spent hours going door to door with our fliers to let the community know about us. In December we finally got our first call for a clean! Steve went out at midnight the night before and spent the little money we had at the time on a vacuum so we could do our clean. Read more>>

Cathy Jones | Watercolor Artist

I always admired painters and their talents. My two best friends in college were art majors. In my sophomore year in college I went to Paris and Grenoble, France for a semester abroad. While there I was inspired by the french impressionist painters and fell in love with with them while visiting the many Paris museums. I studied teaching at the University of Illinois and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in the teaching of the french language which I did for a few years. I married and moved to New England and was immersed in the fine art museums of Harvard College and Boston, MA where I continued my art education. Subsequently I moved to Denver, Colorado where I joined the Denver Art Museum and Denver Botanic Gardens and took art workshops at both venues. Read more>>

Olivia Cason | Fashion Designer

Being a domestic violence survivor I was stripped of my choice of consent and security. My lingerie line advocates for both existing parties. The BDSM community relies heavily on consent, putting the control back into one’s own life and I found clarity and therapy in that. On the same note, shopping for intimates can be more intimidating than intimate at times. Shops that claim to be “one size fits all” can leave bodies feeling abnormal and insecure. I wanted too create a line of lingerie that fits all body sizes and shapes. And my line was created with that in mind. “You should not have to conform to your clothing- your clothing should conform to you. I create adjustable, body positive, inclusive lingerie for all sizes. Read more>>