We asked some of the city’s rising stars about why they think they have been so successful and we’ve shared their responses below.

Robert Kiltz | Board Certified Reproductive Endocrinologists (Fertility Specialist), MD

At CNY Fertility, access is the most important factor to our company’s success. Many clinics turn away hopeful parents-to-be because of their age, BMI, FSH/AMH, or their number of previously failed cycles. You’ll find none of that at CNY Fertility. We have always believed that true success is only achieved by helping everyone who needs our assistance. We have no cut-offs or restrictions. We don’t turn anyone away. Our doors are always open to anyone who wants to start or grow their family. Read more>>

Hannah Burgo | Live Evenr Painter

The support and belief from my family is the sole factor behind my success. My family has confidence in me when I struggle with it, and they push me to leap outside of my comfort zone. If I need a push, they are already building up the force to go behind it. They never fail to lift me up and challenge me to be the most successful and intentional artist I can be. Read more>>

Michael Hills | Professional Real Estate Investor

-Hard work. Obviously smart- but hard. -Take risk. Calculated risks. -Stay in your lane. Know what you’re good at and keep doing it. -Simplify as much as possible. Humans tend to over complicate things. -Ignore the sayers of Neigh. Block out the bad stuff. That should be a good start! Read more>>

Danielle McCusker | CEO & Founder of Peer Brands Inc.

The most important factor behind Peer Brands success is the fact that we we’re able to tap into a common belief that is shared by nearly everyone we talk to in our communities. That belief is that small businesses and non-profit organizations are the core of our communities. Yet small business and non-profits are being impacted much more than their bigger competitors through the pandemic, and they are failing at an alarming rate. Why is that? And what do they need? Can we help? Read more>>

Mandy Boutelle | CCT, CTBC Dog Trainer & Entrepreneur

Online presence and a like-minded community. Woof Cultr would not be where it is today if it wasn’t for the online, positive reinforcement-based dog training community and their passion in advocating for eliminating the use of aversive training methods within the dog training industry. As a former trainer that is equally as passionate about this topic – I was already a part of this online community and saw that this was what was missing from it. This (Woof Cultr) was also something that could bring people together in a different way while really showcasing our values and methods as dog professionals. Read more>>

Jasmine Flowers | Xtreme Hip Hop Step Aerobics Instructor

Serving on Active Duty, I have always been familiar with fitness, but I wanted to pursue creating my fitness business outside of a “boot camp” mentality. Xtreme Hip Hop is a low impact cardio program that incorporates step aerobics to hip-hop music from yesterday and today. It’s for anybody and everybody who likes to workout to music in an environment that encourages and motivates you to “Don’t Stop. Don’t Quit. Don’t Give Up.” Read more>>

ERICA DAHL | Retail store owner and clothing lover

Willingness to change. In order to grow as a business and maintain customer interest it is very important to adapt to what consumers want. even if it strays from your original concept. I am always willing to try something once and this allows me to reach new customes and cater to a wider audience. It also helps a lot that I am locally owned and can quickly adapt my buying to chase certain trends as I do not have a corporate budget or upper management telling me what to buy. Rather I can read my customers and adapt. Read more>>

Stacy Falk | Business owner and roller skate enthusiast

The most important factor behind my success is trust. Trust allows you to be fully creative in your process and live a fearless life style that fuels the success of any endeavor to better the business model. Trust can come in a variety of situations. I trust myself to make big decisions. I trust my staff. I trust my customers and I trust my support team. Read more>>