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.

Angelina LeWand | Owner of MoVIN Eclectic & Marketing Project Manager

From a young age, I was drawn to entrepreneurship (even though I didn’t know what that word was at the time😊). I remember spending days at my Aunt Mary’s house drawing up menus for my future restaurant or adding stickers to pencils to sell to the neighbors. As I got older, some of my favorite projects in school were putting together blog websites or designing presentations. I always loved the idea of creating something from scratch that I could call my own and be truly proud of. Read more>>

Jackie Vujcich | Quilt pattern designer and quilt shop owner

Every business starts because of a problem they hope to solve. I started this business because I believe there’s an alternative to frustration! I loves designing quilts, especially landscape quilts, and I have a 20-year stash of landscape fabrics to aid in this endeavor. These quilts eventually become quilt patterns for retail. Unfortunately, when people see my patterns and want to re-create them, they don’t have access to my stash. Read more>>

Emily Rodriguez | Professional Crochet Artist & Stroke Survivor

When I started PostStroke Stitchin, I found myself in a new life, with a new normal trying to adjust to yet another curveball thrown at me and now I was overwhelmed with freshly made crocheted goods from rehabilitation therapy. It was suggested to me to take my wares to a craft show and I was instantly “hooked” (pun intended)! I had loads of fun at the craft show and I started looking into what I needed to do to make it into a real thing! Ultimately, my desire to get back on both feet after suffering a series of strokes at a young age and take care of my two young boys made me want to turn a life long hobby into a business! Read more>>

 Ian Peterson | Sock Maker

Gary (the other owner) & I have been long-time friends. We had both had successful businesses that we had individually founded. Gary is in hydraulics products and I have a printing company. We both felt that while it’s nice to have income, it wasn’t necessarily fulfilling as a career. My printing company had sold to a fulfillment/3PL company, which opened my eyes to a lot more ecommerce based businesses. I was still in the B2B arena, but seeing the vigor that a lot of the ecommerce entrepreneurs operated with left a very lasting impression. Fast forward a few years down the line and we’re both tossing around different business ideas. It seemed like everyone had a successful ecommerce business, so why shouldn’t we, right? We looked at t-shirts, subscription boxes and greeting cards. While they all had an appeal, the thing that real stuck was cycling socks. The marketplace seemed open for a company that focused on high quality and simple, but interesting design. I was attracted to the tight audience target and Gary, being an avid cyclist, knew the marketplace very well. So we began with no real knowledge in sock manufacturing and took our time to figure out best practices and really vetting manufacturers to ensure that the quality was up to our expectation. Once we launched and found our first customers, we knew we had something special, as the customer feedback has been fantastic since we started. Read more>>

 Ti and Jo Stroup | Owners

We were born in Seattle and on a recent trip back we frequented many smaller coffee shops and local coffee drive thrus. When we returned home we knew others would enjoy a local coffee spot too and we were inspired to create a coffee trailer of our own in the neighborhood. We have always loved creating unique coffee and tea recipes so we decided to share our passion with our community and open our own mobile coffee trailer. We feel it is important to have something on the menu that everyone can enjoy and we strive to cater to customers who drink coffee as well as those who do not. We are half asian and half white so growing up we were exposed to many different flavors from both sides of our family. We have a hard time finding some of our favorite flavors when it comes to tea and coffee so we offer a variety of specialty Asian drinks that we feel are hard to come by in our neighborhood. We also love to travel and we draw inspiration from the new flavors that we get to experience while we are abroad. Read more>>

Melissa Louch | Interior Designer & Business Owner

I love design. As a former Product Design Engineer, I was familiar with the creative process behind designing products and wanted to get back into the business. But with one kid still at home, I didn’t want to travel as was required in previous jobs so I decided to switch gears to Interior Design. I was incredibly fortunate to have a close friend who was starting a whole house remodel just as I was getting into the business. She trusted me to guide her in all of her decisions from initial floorpan layouts to final accessory choices. I’m a natural problem solver and go getter so after the success of that first project, starting my own studio was a no brainer. Read more>>

Michelle Sroda | Owner + Founder, Your Furry Pals New Best Friend!

My thought process behind starting my business changed several times before I actually launched Peanuts Pals™ LLC. I knew I wanted to start a business but had no idea what I wanted it to be or where to begin. When my chihuahua Peanut passed away in October 2022, I was absolutely crushed and I knew that surrounding myself with other pups was a step I needed to take in my healing journey. I’ve cared after dogs over the years for friends, family and neighbors. Now it was time to make it official. Caring after pets was my passion and I knew that starting a dog walking company was what I wanted to do. If I was going to do it, I was going to do it right. And I knew I wanted to honor Peanut in the process. I came up with a name and registered my business as an LLC. I created a website and social media pages. I got certified in Pet CPR + First Aid. I found an amazing pet sitters software program that allows me to manage my clients and staff, scheduling, invoicing and more. I ordered business cards, stickers and flyers to hand out. And once all these steps were complete, I was able to launch Peanuts Pals™ LLC and it was the best thing I could’ve ever done for myself! Read more>>

Missy “Mama Miss” Weeks | Mother Figure to women in need of a mom

I came from a background where I had personally experienced mother wounds from three different mother figures in my own life. Over the years I’ve met so many women who also had pain around their mother in some fashion, and I knew that by creating this business I could end up creating a community where not only did these women get the love and support of a mother figure finally, but that they could experience what it’s like to have safe siblings. It was so important to me to be able to create these opportunities for healing through healthy relationships. Read more>>

Laura French | Jewelry Designer

It was a happy accident. I had been in another career for almost twenty five years and was ready for something new. To be honest starting another business was the furthest thing on my mind. Read more>>

Andrea Tuck | Owner of Rolling Ritual Coffee

I’ve always had the entrepreneur mindset. I started with selling handmade items in 2020. From there I wanted to create something bigger. I wanted to build something that allows for easy community connection, fun, and flexibility. I thought, what is better than bringing something most everyone loves (coffee) directly to them! I love how coffee brings people together and that is what makes me happy. I have worked in the service industry most my life so pairing those skills with my creative mindset I was able to build my coffee trailer. I built Rolling Ritual with the help from my amazing family in 2021 and started operating in 2022! Read more>>

Dana Coleman | Hand Lettering Artist

When I first graduated high school, I was the classic teenager who didn’t know what I wanted to pursue or if I should get a college degree or not. But I knew that my greatest desire was to one day be a wife and a mother, with the flexibility and set up to be able to stay at home with my children. So with that vision, I decided to take a skill that I had spent several years developing — hand lettering — and turn it into an online business that could be fully managed from home and on my own schedule. It has been quite a journey of growth since then, and though there have been many challenges that I have had to overcome in being an entrepreneur, I wouldn’t trade it for the world! I am so grateful for the opportunity to work from home, and I love being able to use my creativity not only as a means of income, but more importantly, to make a difference in the lives of others. Read more>>

Brittni Gorman | Certified Ayurvedic Health Counselor

It was important to me to fill a need that didn’t exist in terms of how health and wellness are supported here in the US. Educating women and young girls especially about their own bodies and how they can connect with themselves relative to the world around them is crucial to overall health. For years my body and mind were disconnected from each other and in turn the world felt very confusing. As I began to study Ayurvedic philosophy, an ancient science-based medical system, the puzzle fell into place and the understanding of what it means to feel balanced. Read more>>

Samantha Lauren Pike | Founder of The Hosting Société

Starting The Hosting Société was a gradual experience that began in 2019. At first, it was a simple concept. The idea originally came from the desire to treat myself. After a very busy season hosting guests at my first vacation rental, I was looking for my own getaway. I was in search for a property that provided the same level of attention to detail and curation. Read more>>

Ashley Blevins | Seamstress, Craft Smasher & Small Business Owner

Sewing and creating handmade crafts have been life-long passions of mine. I started receiving requests from friends and family for custom items in college, and the idea of “Smash-a-Craft” was born. After working in Colorado’s nonprofit sector for 10 years, I dreamed of the idea of owning my own business. In the fall of 2022, I launched my Etsy page. Success in online sales led me to venture into pursuing my own small handmade business full-time as an LLC in 2023. I was very inspired by my mother, an Interior Designer, and my grandmother, an Architect, who were able to turn their artistic passions and talents into professional careers. Read more>>

Crystal Heaven Barrix | Prismatic Crystal Creations

I’ve always wanted to run my own business. It was just a matter of choosing what kind of business to run. After living with so many artists my entire life, while being one myself. I came to the conclusion that until I was able to open my own establishment, I would start my own online/travelling Prismatic Crystal Creations business. This business allows me to share my whimsical creations with while working alongside other artists that crave to share there works with the world. Spreading creativity, and providing a platform for artists of all kinds to share there specialized artistic talents is my overall goal. Read more>>

Elizabeth Cutler | Founder SoulCycle and Peoplehood

Julie, my business partner, and I from SoulCycle started looking at the science of connection and the ways in which people feel most connected to themselves and others. Because that’s what we found in the room at SoulCycle.. Read more>>

Steve Prosowski | Owner and General Manager Parker Racquet Club

I have been lucky enough to play and pursue tennis ever since I was a kid. From starting to play at a very young age, to beginning teaching at age 16, I knew this is something I wanted to do for the rest of my life. After many years of teaching at top notch facilities for wonderful people around the country, and in some cases other countries, I decided that the ultimate goal was to one day open and operate my own facility. Read more>>

David Muelken | Business owner and Mycologist

When Denver became the first City in the US to decriminalize psychedelic mushrooms in May of 2019 I knew I had something to add. I had been growing mushrooms for several years and was very familiar with the process. I launched Monster Mushroom Company in June 2019 and we were selling through stores by December that year. We have never looked back since then Read more>>

Tony Vincente | CEO & Designer for Rossario George

I have always enjoyed creating beautiful things. It started with creating fine art and thanks to a great opportunity from Shop Vida, I moved to creating garments. When I became a top-seller I knew that it was time to try it under my own brand and in 2018 the Rossario George lifestyle brand was born. Read more>>

Flex Beau | Beauty Mogul

When I think back I truly was thinking what am I going to do I need money ; i was at a really dark space in my life every job I had that year I was fired from it was at peak of my legal troubles that put very large pause on everything , I had to make a decision stay low and fight my chargers because I was in sticky situation that i wasn’t sure how go get out off or stop crying and figure out which talent is going to help me make it that’s when I created flex collection mixture of hair services and makeup. Read more>>

Lauren Stapleton | printer & co-owner of Wolf & Wren Press

My background is in printmaking, bookbinding, and book conservation. After working with books and specifically conservation of old books while working at Colorado State University’s Morgan Library I became interested in how those books were printed. I already had an undergraduate degree in printmaking and realized that letterpress was the intersection of everything I had been doing. After college I moved to the Bay Area and worked at Taurus bookbindery in SanFrancisco. Simultaneously I took some letterpress printing classes at San Francisco’s Center for the Book. After that I started working for Hello Lucky, a greeting card company, as one of their printers. Read more>>

 Inbar Madar | Business Consultant

After spending over a decade in the corporate world helping large businesses grow and expand, I decided to pursue my passion for supporting small business owners and entrepreneurs to achieve comparable success. I believe that even those with limited budgets can achieve their goals with the right frameworks and tools. I aim to use my knowledge and experience to empower small business owners to make a greater impact and establish a stable foundation for their businesses. Read more>>

Bron Lowe | Photographer

When I first decided to pursue photography I had it more as just a side business. Something I could do to make me happy/supplement a little extra income. Once I became a mom I was determined to make it my full time career. I didn’t want to go back to a 9-5 job where I would be away from my kids all the time. Photography gives me the flexibility to be with my kids so much more. I set me own hours and schedule and I absolutely love what I do! Read more>>

 Xiao Xiang | Climbing instructor & Personal Trainer

A new immigrant from China, I moved to the United States at the end of 2019. It was a new start for me, but it was also the beginning of Covid-19. I felt lonely and like I did not fit into this country. Read more>>

Kara Admire Connor Jordan | Floral Architects

Our backgrounds are both creative. While Kara has been a florist in Arkansas for over a decade, she’s also worked as an event planner and done marketing work. Connor has a graphic design and branding background and is deeply interested in experiential design. We both are also attracted to a challenge. Those paths led us to pursue an education in Architecture and Planning in Denver. Read more>>

Eric Nonamaker | Father, Outdoorsman, Pilot, Triumph Motorcycle Enthusiast

I was visiting a motorcycle dealership in Korea. They were amazed that a niche didn’t exist in Colorado for adventure motorcycle rental. The gears started turning and I decided to give it a whirl. Upon returning to the States purchased an adventure bike for leasing. Wanted to truly test the market and added a street bike as well. Read more>>

Alyssa Book | Fiber Artist & Rug Maker

To be absolutely honest with you, starting a business wasn’t my goal. Tufting, for me, was a hobby that got out of control. The more that I would post the things I would create, the more people would ask me to make them a rug. I finally realized that people liked my creations enough to put them in their homes, maybe they would actually pay for them too! Read more>>

Christina McCoy | Holistic healer & herbalist

So my whole business idea came about because one day my cousin took me to this book store in L.A to get a Qur’an, which is a muslim bible but as I walked into the store I noticed it was filled with a bunch of natural body oils and soap and it immediately caught my attention. I think we’ve all heard of shea butter and coconut oil before, but I’ve never had a soap made of those oils and I’ve never had an all natural body oil so I bought 2 soaps and a body oil. I was so excited to try it so as soon as I got home I showered and used the shea butter soap. As soon as I stepped out of the shower and was drying off, I noticed I was super ashy lol and I was like oh no, why is my skin this dry? Isn’t shea butter suppose to have me all soft and moisturized? So I looked at the ingredients and noticed it wasn’t a completely natural soap because it still had synthetic ingredients that contribute to dry/irritated skin. Read more>>

Shena White | Fractional CFO and Certified Scaling Up Coach

When I started my very first business over 10 years ago I honestly did not want to be an entrepreneur. I had a good job and really enjoyed the perceived safety of a paycheck. My now ex-husband pretty much insisted we start a business because he did not want to travel anymore since we were going to have a child. I had a background in sales and he in construction so our business was born. For the first few years we struggled to make our business profitable and then we found out our accountant had embezzled all of our tax payments for the previous 3 years. I took that next year to learn everything I could about business, finance, tax, etc and turned the business completely around. We went from 4% to 24% profits in one year. Friends and colleagues started asking me what the secret to my turnaround was and my current business was born. I found my passion helping other business owners to truly understand and own their finances and create exponential profits in their businesses. I still work with a ton of construction companies, but as their fractional CFO instead of directly in the business anymore. Read more>>