We were fortunate to catch up with some brilliant artists, creatives and entrepreneurs from throughout the Houston area and they share the wisdom with us below.

Cheryl Montgomery

“The body is designed to heal when given the right conditions.”
This quote resonates deeply with me because it captures the essence of what I do as a functional medicine health coach. It reminds me—and my clients—that healing isn’t about chasing symptoms; it’s about creating an environment where the body can do what it was meant to do. I love how empowering that message is—it shifts the focus from fear to possibility. Read More>>

Azilee & Loren O’Neil

We’re in an industry that has often shown surprising resistance to the nuance of how we’ve learned to integrate soft tissue therapy and movement education to work with the whole body. Over the years we’ve been at different cross roads as to whether we continue creating our own path in the way we value helping our clients or practice within the perimeters set by others. Our motivation to keep going has come from a deep desire to help our clients create true transformation in their bodies and wellbeing by integrating the whole being, mind and body. Read More>>

Elisa Snyder

In 2015, my friend, Mari Madeira, and I decided to create a free music education program for young people. Private music lessons are expensive – on average $40 for half an hour – and a large percentage of parents can’t begin to give their children this opportunity. We felt strongly that every child who wants to learn to play an instrument should be able to, and it should have nothing to do with money. Granted the public schools in our local school district give students the chance to play instruments, but it is nothing like what we as music teachers knew to be the best way to learn: in private lessons or very small groups. The emotional, intellectual and social benefits of studying music are well documented, but our main goal was to give students the opportunity to experience the joy and excitement of seeing themselves as musicians. Read More>>

Katie Lee

At Collective Health Society, we’re helping the community by addressing the critical gap in root-cause, comprehensive care, especially for women. Women often have to navigate a disconnected system that focuses on isolated symptoms instead of seeing the full picture of their health. The CHS approach combines holistic dental care with functional primary medicine to uncover and treat the underlying causes of health concerns. By doing this, we’re not just managing illness, we’re helping people feel truly well. I believe that a cohesive team of providers must work together to make patients optimally well. Read More>>

Nick Zostautas

I want to be remembered for the way I made people feel. In every interaction, I strive to make the person in front of me feel like the most important person in the world in that moment. Early in my career, I was eager to connect with respected professionals in the field—“big names.” But I quickly noticed how some would look past me, scanning the room for someone they deemed more important. That experience stayed with me. I promised myself I would never make anyone feel that way. Read More>>

Gregg Bell

There are many factors that have contributed to our success, but the biggest one is dedication. I’ve seen firsthand what it takes to show up at a job site in the middle of the night—stopping the damage, stabilizing the situation, and setting the course for restoration.
Dedication is at the core of how we serve our customers. In times of emergency, they need more than just a solution—they need reassurance and a clear plan to ease their stress. We are committed to guiding them through every step of the process with an open line of communication. Read More>>

Kailee Mitsuyasu

I attribute most of my success to being authentic to myself. Every item I sell is something that I love to make and would personally buy. I also try to add personal touches to ensure love and care goes into every customer’s experience. I even leave out free samples of new items at every pickup because I just love sharing food with people! When someone looks at my business branding, I want them to feel welcomed, cared for, and excited for some delicious baked goods. Read More>>

Warren Snyder

I want people to recognize my work as a sign of faith. Without my faith in God, I believe I would not be where I’m at or have the platform I’m at today. I look for people to see it as what God does for others and allow that to inspire them to take their craft and own it. Read More>>

Sasha Foster

Your pet’s function, no matter the age of stage of life, can probably improve with physical therapy and rehabilitation. One of the most important components of PT is a simple, fun, easy-to-follow home program. GoGoCharlie, PT Home Programs for Pets, is the world’s largest curated library of video-based exercises and treatments in the world. It even includes exercises for cats, birds, and turtles. Read More>>

Sarah Starling

When I tell people I’m a full-time artist, a lot of the time I get a responses like, “Oh, that must be so fun to paint every day!”. And the days I’m in the studio, yes I’m usually having fun! However, I spend maybe just half of my time creating. The rest of my time is devoted to all the other things you don’t see – photography, editing, website updates, framing, accounting, shipping, social media planning, etc. As a one-woman artist and business owner, I wear ALL the hats!
Some weeks I do spend 90% of my time creating though. Read More>>

Jenn Zuko

The old adage of ‘If you want something done right, do it yourself’ has everything to do with my career, especially when it comes to the arts and humanities. Relying too much on ‘paying dues’ and attempting to climb ladders other people have constructed tend to hamper one’s own skill level and eventually, success. I decided, after many years of struggle, to climb down off those other people’s ladders and build my own. Read More>>

Aron

I’m from Colorado, born and raised single mom along with my grandparents who played a significant role in my upbringing. We didn’t grow up with much money but I grew up in a house filled with love. Like any young mom my mom was learning as she was raising me, so I spent a majority of my time with my grandparents. Fast forward to the age of 13 I lost both of my grandparents within 12 days of each other. My whole life changed from that moment, I went from feeling love to a house filled with turmoil and abuse. I lost myself I turned to the streets, started gang banging got into more trouble than people could imagine. I was filled with so much anger, hopelessness, and really I didn’t care about anything. Read More>>

Erika Becker

When I first started out as a newly licensed acupuncturist and trying to build my patient base, I felt that I had to make myself available any time a patient needed me to be. I also was still working as a vascular ultrasound technician, so I was stretched thin trying to balance everything. Now, I work 4 days a week, and have Mondays off to prioritize my self-care, which I have found to be a non-negotiable if I am going to be able to show up for my patients and be able to give them the best care that I can. Read More>>

Laurissa Hughes

I’ve started working more stable ‘day jobs’ recently, which has helped my work/life balance with my art job immensely. It was a hard decision to make to do this, and I do have less time to work on my art job, but it’s helped with my mental health surrounding art. It’s helped me have a much more stable income and life while still being able to work on art, and because of the stability it has allowed me to choose more jobs that are interesting to me. Also, because I have more limited time to work on art, it has helped me think of art and deadlines differently, and has improved my work life balanced that way as well. Read More>>