Starting a business is a commitment and requires dedication, resources and sacrifice. We asked some of the rising stars in our community how they thought through the idea of starting their own businesses.

Erynn Dostaler | Professional Photographer

I have truly always been drawn to owning my own business. When it comes to photography and pairing my passion and college degree with owning something that is solely mine, it just made sense. I always need to be learning and being challenged with whatever I am doing and that’s what my business does for me. The days, photoshoots and people are ever evolving and changing. I am challenged every day when it comes to my passion and business. Being my own boss is just…. the best! Read more>>

Akorede Hassan | Freelance model

Well, I didn’t have a genuine one per say. I just tired of working for someone so I say F it, I can’t continue like this. Initially, I use pose for my photographer friends for free. I saw my worth and I tax it. Read more>>

Noga Heyman | Founder, Venus Spice Co.

I have long wanted to have a business to share my own heritage and traditions. As an Israeli growing up in the U.S., I knew that my upbringing gave me a unique opportunity to bring new flavors to my community. I have spent over a decade in the food industry, working in many different cuisines along the way, which helped me feel equipped to begin my own journey with Venus Spice Co. Read more>>

Rezquizit | Producer/Engineer

Starting a business is not what everybody thinks it is, there are many sleepless nights and hours of constant work even when everyone else is sleeping. I’m awake. I knew that if I could build my own record label, my team and my family would have residuals for life without incorporating a middle man. There will always be an obstacle, but if you adapt you will overcome many situations and, in the music industry, there are plenty. Read more>>

Liz Terry | Yoga Teacher & Certified Rolfer

Back in 2008 I had been an employee of a few different companies for almost a decade. During that time, the economy was going through a lot of change and companies had to lay-off several employees. I experienced a few lay-offs myself at some big companies and decided to take my fate into my own hands. So I received my 200hr Yoga Teacher Training certification and began teaching yoga. From there, yoga has taken me all over the world teaching from Japan to Dubai, from Bali and Mexico and I haven’t looked back since. Read more>>

Travis Michaels | Sales Business Consultant & Entrepreneur

I was inspired to create Epic Adventure Guatemala because it gave me a unique opportunity to help people that couldn’t help me. I wanted to created an everlasting impact in a community in need and at the same time share my experience with the world by bringing people to Gautemala and showing them all the beautiful country. Read more>>

Cloud 9ine KO | Artist/Songwriter & Producer

Starting my own business is one of the best things i’ve ever done for myself. I quit my UPS job in 2017 and haven’t looked back ever since. I felt like I was taking control of my own destiny, and whether I succeeded or failed, it was entirely up to me. Years later, with the help of my amazing team, we have created a reliable brand, by being consistent and true to ourselves. It was hard and somewhat overwhelming in the beginning, but nothing in life is easy. There is no celebration without life’s challenges. Read more>>

Carolyn Pampalone Rabbers | Dance Artist & Professor

Once I had turned 30, I had been investigating what my calling is for my life. I always thought it was dancing or to be a dancer. It was only recently through my spiritual practices, overcoming trauma, and staying persistent in the dance industry that I realized my life’s calling is to ‘inspire growth’. Inspiring growth for myself, my work environments, and the people I engage with. Working as a professional dancer, we are constantly molding ourselves into the design and aesthetic of our choreographer’s vision. Read more>>

David Corder | Personal Trainer/ Yoga Instructor

It started because I had gotten really out of shape and was have health issues. I went back to school to learn why and how to fix myself. Then friends saw the changes I was making and asked if I could help them. Soon, I found my self in a new career. Read more>>

Samson Tran | Professional Photographer and Content Creator

I was working in a completely different industry and just wasn’t happy anymore. It was a good job, but I didn’t have the passion and drive I used to have and eventually came to a point where I asked myself the question: is this where I want to be in 20 years? At the same time, I have always been doing photography on the side and loved it. It has always been a dream of mine to earn my living doing photography, being creative. Read more>>

Shannon Massey Smith | Owner, Girls To The Front! Productions

I’ve been working in the film industry on set since 1998 and as a script doctor/ghostwriter (one of the good ones) and sensitivity/authenticity reader casually since 2002 and professionally since 2004. While we have made strides in making the industry safer and bettering advancement opportunities for marginalized creators, there is still a long way to go. Read more>>

Ryan Gaede | Pitmaster

We bought a smoker about four years ago, and started cooking smoked recipes. We really enjoyed the process of cooking new creations and photographing them all while growing our social media page. It really was us sharing our passion for cooking, BBQ, smoked meats and recipes with everyone who was interested. All of this led to us starting The Smoked Culture brand and business and about one year in we were able to open a food trailer and have launched smoked snacks and more. Read more>>

Magdalena Aravena | Founder & Principal Landscape Architect

Studio Siembra was founded out of both, necessity and a desire for more alignment out of my career in Landscape Architecture. I had always felt slightly out of place and underwhelmed while working at other firms in the first 7 years of my professional practice – which ranged from very small firms, to very large corporations; and traditional landscape design firms, to multi-disciplinary full service companies. Then, like many other professionals when the COVID pandemic began and the country began to undergo the necessary social and racial reckoning in 2020 after George Floyd’s murder, Read more>>

Erica Notini | Adventurer and Blogger

I wanted to start writing my own blog so that I could have a record of my adventures. It lets me go back and read about these cool things I’ve done. It also lets friends and family at home follow along much better than just posting on social media. Plus, writing is fun! Read more>>

Adam DENT | The MC, A Hip Hop Fundament list, Marketing Manifesto, Lover of People

Starting your own business is definitely not a easy choice or path. Endurance is key! Great ventures start with small beginnings. You have to be self driven and relentless in your execution! Success is defined differently for each person, but If you think about it, no one will work harder for You, than YOU!! My thought process is always seeing the opportunity and embarking on the journey to build with likeminded individuals to form a solid foundation within your business . i want to create a product or a demand to help change the world we live in. Be able to do the things that make my heart smile! Always quality over quantity Read more>>

Shannon Dolan | Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, Behavior Change Specialist & Nutrition Grad

I started Health With Shannon as a business with a mission to make sure that people feel supported, heard, and valued in their healing journey. It was through a combination of my own healing, continued education in Nutritional Therapy, and conversations with friends and personal training clients that I realized how little education people are given about their body’s and how to take care of themselves. The alarming rate of burnout, hormonal imbalances, and gut dysfunction that is happening in this society demonstrates the tremendous need for change to be made. Read more>>

Lori Corken | Real Estate Broker and Small Business Owner

From selling timeshares to selling multi-million-dollar homes, my interest was always in how to best help my clients achieve their dreams. I have a passion for my clients and their families, seeing them with a big smile at the end of a transaction is what I continue to work for. This passion for creating joy for others was instilled in me from a young age as I jumped into my career. I started with a larger brokerage and quickly learned that I could not support my clients the way I felt they deserved under their constrictions. Read more>>

Cat Widner | Artist and Maker

Honeysuckle Handmade Studio is a vehicle for me to practice ART AS ACTIVISM. I started this business in 2016 while I lived in Knoxville, Tennessee and was still an art educator in the public school system. When I moved to Utah, my business evolved as I did. I wanted a way to give back to non-profits, and Honeysuckle provided that possibility. When I left teaching in 2020, I dove all into this business and it flourished. The moment I gave all my attention and love to Honeysuckle, my ideas flowed, my designs got stronger, and my passion was being fulfilled. Read more>>

Radiance Bukari | Artist, Vocalist, Poet, & Designer

Working in corporate Healthcare was never apart of my life plan, yet here I am four years in. I am a creative at heart, my first love being music, and later, poetry. In 2018, I performed with my friends in the electronic group Spectacle at the Arise music festival, and spoke to a couple after the performance, not thinking much of it. A couple of weeks later, I applied for an administrative position at a clinic, and was contacted by the same woman I had spoken to after my performance, who turned out to be the hiring manager. Read more>>

Gesina Null | Wedding photographer

I started my business as a side hustle. I thought once I graduated with my undergraduate, I would move onto a job in my field. Starting out, I did not think Gesina Marie Photography would be where it is today. Read more>>

Tiera Newhouse | Book Author

Before the text message, I had thoughts during the pandemic on what I’d like to do for the rest of my life. I tried selling T-Shirts, watches, printing services… but it was nothing I could do forever. I realized I did not know anything about what I was really doing. That’s when I opened a Gym with Ahmad Alaajiy! We made it pretty far until I needed $250,000 to actually open a charity to help communities get healthy. We wanted to end gun violence, so I took advantage of the text I received. One morning, I received a text message! It told me I can become a best-selling author during the Pandemic! Read more>>

Lina Verovaya | Photographer & Traveler

I cultivated a passion for art towards the end of High School. have spent most of my entire college years creating, editing, painting, designing, and doing photography. It has been the way that I have experienced much of the world. Photography is and will always be the universal language that speaks to the heart. That is why I started capturing destination weddings, engagements, couples, events, etc. on the side at a very early age during college. It put me in a position where you get to engage with different people everyday and serving them with the best of your ability. Read more>>

Gina Rosato | Commercial Artist/Art Director

Upon landing in Silverton, Colorado full-time, not too long after graduating college, I was immediately acquainted with the business community while working as an ad designer for a local publisher. The business owners started asking me if they could hire me for other marketing projects. Read more>>