Are you thinking about starting a business? If so, we think you’ll enjoy reading about how these seasoned entrepreneurs thought about the question when they were in your shoes.
Lissie Poyner | Diabetes Health Coach
When I was 19 years old, I was diagnosed with type one diabetes. As a young adult transitioning to college and living on my own for the first time, this diagnosis felt earth shattering. What didn’t make it any easier was the diabetes care system. Don’t get me wrong, I had a wonderful medical team – but the current system is not set up for self sufficiency. From the beginning, I was given overgeneralized advice – count your carbs, take your insulin and do the best you can to keep your blood sugars in range. Read more>>
Sonia Carlson | Interior Architect & Designer
When I decided it was the right time to start my business, I was actually terrified. I had always dreamed of working for myself, but I thought I’d do it after maybe 10-15 years in the design industry. Instead, the timing felt right when I was 6 years out of college. It was a scary leap of faith, but I’m so glad I went for it. My health was suffering from the high-stress environment of commercial and hospitality design, and I needed a change. Read more>>
Chris Van Jura | Owner/Operator/Lead Hot Dog Slinger
I know that there should be a long thought out answer here but I think it’s pretty small. When covid hit in 2020 I had devoted nearly half of my life to the hospitality industry. So many of my peers were choosing to leave the industry and I understand why — it is an extremely challenging profession. I simply wasn’t interested in giving up on it. Read more>>
Laura Tanner | Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Oncology Social Worker-Certified
I have worked as a Social Worker in the Oncology field for the past 10 years. Oncology is a huge passion of mine and will most likely always be a part of my work. I recently received my clinical license and was not 100% sure what I wanted to do with it. Having my clinical licensed allows me to offer therapy, which had always been a tossup in my mind. I wanted to give it a try and so I started offering telehealth appointments in August of this year and fell in love. Read more>>
Alicia Hutcheson-McEntire | Adventure Photographer
I really like following my own rules and having freedom in my hours and days off. Something a regular job rarely offers is that type of freedom with limited PTO and days off. Owning my own business offers me that freedom to work a 2 or 14 hour day, or not work at all and enjoy the beach for a day. Read more>>
Daniela Tylova | Artist
I created this business after growing it from a hobby. It started with friends and family liking my creations to strangers complimenting my jewelry. So, I started an Etsy shop. After some time selling online, I decided to attend my first market. I received so many compliments and the people’s excitement and love for my jewelry made me want to do this more often. And this is how it began. Read more>>
Mandy & Chris Koeninger | restoration enthusiast
We are a husband and wife team that restore classic Ford Bronco’s and motorcycles. We have a Youtube channel, website, and host car shows, to provide informational videos on how to restore your vehicles and clinics regarding installation and use of products. We wanted to help others in their journey to bring life back to all those classic vehicles that the world has forgotten about. Read more>>
Zena Johnson | Artist & Business Owner
My company, Stick’N Local, sells stickers that are based on unique spots in my local area of Golden, Colorado. I’ve always loved creating art and have been painting and drawing for as long as I can remember. I thought of the idea for Stick’N Local back in my junior year of high school and wanted to wait until my gap year so that I would have time to run my business. In the meantime, throughout high school, I taught myself illustration and graphic design in illustrator, and have improved a lot in a few years. Read more>>
Stefon Whitaker | Film Director, Writer, Producer, Filmmaker, Entrepreneur
I thought about creating my production company, SW Films, a while back before I initially launched in 2017. I knew I wanted to have a more professional and manageable approach when working with artists, businesses and brands alike. I just wanted to have a brand/business that people would remember. The slogan, the logo, the energy and vibe that was created on set. I wanted people to feel the “Cinematic Excellence” whenever they worked under an SW Films production. Read more>>
Dan Cavallari | Founder, Brown Tie Media
I spent almost six years as the technical editor at VeloNews Magazine. During that time I realized how fortunate I was to be among the lucky few still making a living off of my writing. When I left VeloNews for a variety of reasons (burnout being the most significant factor), I quickly realized if I wanted a job in five years, I was going to have to build it myself. Read more>>
Noelle Helmer | Postpartum Doula
Pregnancy and Birth, when they are focal points, seem to cloud everyone’s focus when support for pregnant women is considered. But most mothers are left floundering and expected to get back on the proverbial horse after birth as if they didn’t just undertake the most challenging event of their life. Creating Nest of Love Doula services is my way of offering support and education to women around the initial postpartum period to support mothers and babies to a healthy and peaceful beginning together. Read more>>
Malia Sias | Fashion Designer
As a fashion designer we always dream about doing our own collection. The hardest part is coming up with the concept. something that makes sense and feels authentic. My street art started in 2003. It was just something that made me happy. And as my life took me on adventures around the world I kept doing my street art. And it kept making me happy. I would make tees, pillows, pins, and sticker packs. I mostly gave them to friends and sold them online. But it was never really a business. Read more>>
Tanner Steed | Oil Painter
My overwhelming passion for drawing and painting made it absolutely necessary that I begin to sell my work. I was working a full time as an Elementary School art teacher, which required many hours of not only teaching but also planning for lessons. Every moment that I was not working with students or planning, I was pushing my own artistic goals. I would eat lunch as fast as I possibly could, so that I had time to work on an artwork on the easel behind my desk. Read more>>
Roni Ayers | Registered Nurse and Cosmetic Nurse Injector
As a Nurse, I knew I didn’t want to practice hospital bedside nursing. I knew I wanted to dedicate my time being able to talk to my patients and get to know them and their families. This led me to working as an Ambulatory Nurse with a Physician. This is when I fell in love with patients coming in with skin conditions. Most of these patients are self conscious, depressed or have anxiety related to how they look. I wanted to be the one to treat their skin concern and see the results, not only physically but emotionally as well. Read more>>
Seth Davis | Certified Adult Sleep Coach
Starting my sleep coaching business happened at the intersection of needing to solve my own problem and wanting to start a business where I can provide life-changing benefits to many people. I struggled with sleep challenges on and off for around 15 years. During that period, I tried prescription sleeping pills, experimented with various sleep aids, worried about sleep during my days, and made many other efforts that worsened the situation. In early 2018, I finally reached a point where I needed to find a natural, sustainable solution. Read more>>
Matthew Snell | Creative Director & Cinematographer
Truth is I found myself longing for the ability to create my own schedule and focus, creatively, on the projects that kept the passion alive. Being a creative and spending so many years creating under a microscope or micro-managed by forces that weren’t invested on the same level became daunting. Being able to work exclusively with individuals that are open the creative process to bring their desired vision to life. The trust from clients and co-creatives, in my opinion, is what we search for when forging out on our own. Read more>>
Jordan Brooks Hill
*What was the thought process behind starting your own business? Growing up, I used to write short, funny stories for my family and friends. I had an active imagination and liked making my friends the star of my own Choose Your Adventures. When I was in high school I took a creative writing class and the teacher told me that my writing was too silly for any kind of serious career in writing. I tried to write “seriously” and found it to be an agonizing chore. Read more>>
Tracey Tee | creator and steward of Moms on Mushrooms
I have been working as an entrepreneur in the “mom” space for nearly 10 years as a performer in a live comedy show for moms that I co-created/wrote/performed/produced with my best friend and business partner called The Pump and Dump Show. In addition we hosted a podcast called Band of Mothers that was co-produced with Warner Bros. When covid hit, we lost our entire live entertainment business and were devastated financially, emotionally and spiritually. Read more>>
Emily Fritze | co-founder of city mud
My partner Kyle and I decided to start city mud about a year and a half ago sort of unexpectedly. I had gone to school for studio art and spent the 2 years following trying to make and sell my own work, and Kyle was working an engineering job that had never really been his end goal either. Both of us were in a transitional time and we were ready to take a chance when it came up. I had been looking all over Denver for a pottery studio that fit all of my needs and it was proving hard to find when someone said to me, as a joke, “you should start your own!”. Read more>>
Kat Mast | Adventure Navigator
I have always enjoyed planning weekend activities, vacations and adventures for my family and also planned for work teams traveling. When I started working at Monarch Mountain helping visitors plan their ski trips to the area I was constantly asked for advice about what else I would recommend for their group to do in the area. When I did make recommendations they were always pleased. So I decided that there might be a need for my services. Read more>>
Jesse Fox | Owner and Gangster of Love
Having been a barista in the small mountain town of Nederland for almost a decade, I had already grown to love the environment. I love my customers and had grown to see them as family. It feels highly fulfilling to serve people food and drinks that brighten their days. Having struggled with alcoholism in the past, I learned to appreciate kava bars. In the back of my mind, I had a plan to start a kava bar in some capacity. Kava offers a unique environment to relax and socialize that differs from an alcohol based establishment. Read more>>
Samantha Marzarella | Crochet Designer & Small Business Owner
My grandma taught me how to crochet as a child, forever sending me home with yarn and a hook to help set a creative foundation for me. It hadn’t stuck with any of the grandkids before me, but she finally got lucky with me, the youngest. I fell out of touch with crochet for quite a while through my teenage years and on, but when my grandma started to decline, I knew I needed to carry on her legacy. I picked it back up and challenged myself to create clothing rather than just blankets. Read more>>
Alexandra Redmond | CEO and Influencer
I went to grad school for my Masters in Business but I never considered the option of working for myself when I was in school. I always figured I’d do what everyone else did; go to school, get a good corporate job and work my way up in a good company. However, I found that through my years of working in corporate life I was missing something. Even when I was excelling in a job, I was never fully satisfied. What I was missing was purpose. Read more>>