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.

Hannah Kemp | Wedding & Event Planner

After working in the wedding industry for 5 years doing florals and styling I saw an excellent opportunity to step into a larger role of wedding and event planning. Pursuing this allows me to work with couples start to finish on gorgeous designs and making sure their day is carefully curated and thoughtfully executed. Read more>>

Jennifer McCann | Founder of LDR Bags, Mom of 2 and PhD Scientist

I started Life Done Right Bags (LDR Bags) with the focus of improving everyday travel for parents with young kids that have moved beyond diapers bags. We are designing parent-approved “day bags” for those with young children that are constantly on-the-go at sports practices, errands, adventures… you name it. As a parent of two (1 and 3 years of age) I became very aware that bringing diapers, snacks, clothes, toys, and medicines/creams for two kids was impossible to keep organized, dry and compact in the bags currently available. Read more>>

Melissa Foster | Founder and Owner of Happy Home Organizing

Ever since I can remember, the only thing I even wanted to do was be a teacher. My whole life was dedicated to teaching. Pulling my sister, my cousins, my stuffed animals into my “classroom” (which was my room) as a kid. Making them memorize lyrics to songs and sing with me during music class, read out loud with enthusiasm from all my favorite books, and even complete extra worksheets I had collected from school that the teacher no longer needed. When I graduated from college and stepped foot into the classroom, I was ecstatic. Read more>>

L.N. White | Owner/Founder of Lighthouse Effect LLC, Nurse, Doula & Reiki Master

My thought process behind starting my business was simple, to fill a void. As a nurse, I’ve witnessed people of color (mostly women) be disregarded, abandoned, and unheard by those in the medical profession. As a woman of color, I can relate all too well to this experience and I chose to start a business that helps the global majority, especially women of color, feel heard. I aim to gently and compassionately guide my clients to feel empowered and to advocate for themselves so that they have an opportunity to have the most positive birth or end of life experience they set out to have. Read more>>

Daisy Arvizu | Businesswoman

Make worth al sacrifices we made when we left our home and show that we are in the country of opportunities. I am so grateful to each one who has supported us to achieve our dreams. Read more>>

Matthew Wagner | Strength Coach – Kettlebell & Strongman Enthusiast

I had been in the service industry behind the bar for over a decade when COVID had shut everything down. That gave me the time I needed to see that I couldn’t continue that lifestyle. I hardly had time to spend with my wife and kids. You consume alcohol to make the shifts bearable. You get home in the early AM and are completely drained from having to be “on” the whole shift, which is kind of excruciating and exhausting as an introvert. The shut-down gave me the chance to attempt to make a pivot in my career. Read more>>

Yuk Mouth | luniz/rapper

When me & NUM signed to C-NOTE RECORDS in 1993, our executive producer was down with TOO SHORT DANGEROUS MUSIC CREW…so between those two labels i soaked up the independent rap game. So, after our 2nd album LUNITIK MUZIK i was able to fund my own record label SMOKE A LOT RECORDS in 1996. Read more>>

Kathy Vigil | Litigation Specialist & Creator

We wanted to explore music more in depth and branch out from our normal musical roots of country. When starting the channel our viewers started to help us along our journey and introduce us to new and interesting musical paths. Read more>>

Daniel Ekker | Founder / Owner of Meridiem Spirits & Founder / Co-Owner of Affinity Snowboard Company

I really just wanted to be in a position in life where no one could lay me off. I mean, I grew up in the Midwest and watched as companies came (as tax incentives came in) and went (as tax incentives went away). Many of my friends parents divorced because of the financial strain of not knowing where their next job would be and it ruined their famlies. At a young age, I decided that I would not do that… so starting a company (or companies as the case maybe) was my way out of that rat race. Read more>>

Irena Pergjika | Entrepreneur & Licensed Psychotherapist

The initial thought process behind starting my own business was driven by a sense of purpose that went beyond personal gain or career advancement. Alongside the ambition to create a bigger impact in my community and contribute meaningfully to the world at large, there was an incessant feeling I just couldn’t shake off. A voice inside my head, my higher consciousness, kept reminding me daily that I was destined for something greater, something that aligned more closely with my values, skills, and passions. Read more>>

Veronica Jean | Creative Director & Artist

I never considered being an artist as a career: It was just who I was. Even as a kid my imagination ran wild, and that never really changed as I got older. Art was both my way of seeing new things and my way of communicating that to others. It was a permanent part of my expression, and how could such a personal expression turn into a cold, cut and dry business? Then, June 25th of 2020, I was on the road trip of a lifetime the skoolie bus I was traveling in overturned on a mountain road and rolled 72 feet down a cliff into a ravine. Read more>>

Andi Kirkegaard | CEO, Cookie Artist and Instructor

It was sort of a sink or swim situation when it came to starting my cookie business. I had been dabbling in cookie decorating and when COVID hit I truly lost everything. I could t teach cookie decorating in person or make cookies for people to order anymore. So I switched to teaching online cookie decorating classes and it completely took off!!! I had to loose so much to gain so much! It was a beautiful transformation. Read more>>

Daisy Montgomery | Founder & CEO

I have been involved in advocacy and diversity, equity, and inclusion for a long time in the corporate space, yet it seemed no matter how hard I fought to create meaningful change for women, people of color, and disabled people, nothing changed. Lots of lip service with no action. So I decided to create my own company to make the impact I wanted. Since I am an autistic woman, and my husband and my son are also autistic, I wanted to focus on the autism aspect of DEI because that’s my life everyday and I can speak to it from experience. Read more>>