Many books on startups and business talk about how there are right and wrong reasons for starting a business. So, we asked a handful of successful founders about their reasons and the thought-process behind starting their business.

Cheyenne Bracy | Educator and Entrepreneur

I wanted to create a safe space for women who needed to feel free to express themselves. Also, wanted to have events that actually helped women with mental, physical and emotional support. Read more>>

Dawn E Webb | Licensed AFM Booking Agent & Artist Manager

The process behind starting my business was after being laid off from my corporate role as a Director of Human Resources, I became disenchanted with working for corporate America and started First Impressions Events & Services, LLC with the encouragement of one of my well respected colleagues. I was seeking freedom and independence. Read more>>

Kelsie Loy | Business Owner

Initially we started making homemade baby shoes for our own children after not being able to find what we wanted in the stored. We struggled to find high quality shoes that were not too heavy or constricting to natural foot growth and better for their foot development and were soft sole. The soft sole shoes we did find had limited styles and sizing and were still not ideal for a busy walking toddler. We were stopped countless times by people asking where we had purchased the boots or shoes our children were wearing because they had never seen anything like them. This led to us seeing the need in our community for an unmet demand. We started making them for friends and family and expanded from there with that publicity after word of mouth had really grown our small hobby. We loved the idea of being able to do something we loved while still being able to work from home and raise our children. We spent a lot of time educating ourselves on why soft sole shoes are so important for new walkers and young children and decided to grow our business with the idea of upcycling leathers, and repurposing materials to create functional shoes with less waste that were better for baby’s feet. We focused on building a strong community on social media where we were able to really connect with parents while sharing our products and educating them on the importance of the proper footwear while building strong friendships with trust with our customers. Read more>>

Karter Johnson | Literacy Influencer

I read a newsletter that said that if 3rd graders couldn’t read well, they had to repeat that grade. I also learned that the lack of books in their homes was also part of the literacy issue that some kids go through. This made me think of all the kids who don’t have books in their homes and that made me want to help them. Read more>>

Marci Musilli | Billing Coordinator & Crafter

I firmly believe that I was meant to be a business owner. The dream is to run a business where I generate money and not earn it from working under an employer. Read more>>

Jimmy Doom | Writer and Actor

The pandemic hit. I’m an actor, film work was shut down. Writing for Substack was the closest piece of driftwood to the sinking ship. Substack suggested that regular publishing would grow the endeavor the fastest, and I’m reckless by nature so I thought “Daily is about as regular as it gets.” There was nothing better to do. I had published 100 word stories daily on Medium. But with more time to fill and less distractions I started writing longer pieces of short fiction. The fact that it’s really a business didn’t hit me (hard) until later. Read more>>