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.

Amber Garcia | Dentist

As a health care provider, I really wanted the freedom to treat my patients as they should be treated and not by corporate regulations. I want my patients to trust that I have their best interest in mind. That can be difficult to maintain in other environments. Starting my own practice, I’m able to control every aspect of patient care. As a mother, starting my own business offers me the freedom to watch my children grow. I love being able to control my schedule to be available for the important events in my kids’ lives! Read more>>

Donald Stutson II | Strength & Conditioning Coach

I saw how the world of fitness transformed my life not only physically but mentally and emotionally as well. I wanted to create a space where people could grow in those three states as well. To hear my clients say, “This is the best hour of my day”, has been the greatest compliment to receive. Read more>>

Kiki Reyes | Entrepreneur

I’m always thought of be a independent women, i come from a family of powerfull womens and my father always taught me that being myself is enough, that i can achieve every thing that i propose. So behind my own business my family and what they taught me is always present. Read more>>

Hallie Rae Ward | Artist & Art Business Director

For me, I have always had the entrepreneurial spirit. It all started with my daddio, Dave Ward, who is a business man himself. I grew up influenced by his mentality of having drive, passion, and creating one’s destiny. Growing up, I had decided that I wanted to own a surf and skate shop. I went to Eckerd College where I played volleyball and was planning on majoring in Business Management. My mom, Kem Ward, is an artist, so art has always been around, but I had not pursued it. I had to take an art class for a credit in college and from that point on I decided that I wanted to major in Visual Arts and minor in Business Management. Once I completed my solo exhibition for my senior thesis in 2012, I knew I wanted to pursue art as a career. Read more>>

Marixa Andrade | Boudoir Photographer

More than a thought process it was life happening and giving me new opportunities. At the time, I had a good job, but I didn’t feel like I was making a difference sitting behind a desk all day. I was also going through a transition in my life. I was getting married and I had recently moved from Colorado to Texas. It all seemed like the perfect opportunity to reinvent myself. From the very beginning I was having a lot of fun creating photos outdoors. I was enjoying being outdoors and learning about every family’s life was very interesting. As the years have gone by, I have learned that I am truly making a difference in every single family’s life. Especially now that I have gotten to the point where people I have photographed have passed away. I have really gotten to understand the value of capturing memories of people with their loved ones. Read more>>

Emily Sayre | Co-founder

Amil and I had been working together doing dance photography solely for my needs for about 4 months. I used those pictures to market myself on social media and such. Through that, we actually received a request to do a photoshoot. We both love dance photography so we hit the ground running in launching Fluid Frames so we could serve more dancers more professionally. Read more>>

Nikki Berry | Singer, Songwriter, Actress & Entrepreneur

I started my business to encourage others and give them hope. Being a singer, songwriter and actress has allowed me to reach many people through my God given talents. Once I decided to move forward with my music recording, my business platform begin to grow. The music lead to my inspirational line of candles and apparel company. Read more>>

Joseph Elmore Jr. | Film Director, Writer & Producer

I had been working on and off in the film industry for ten years. One thing i learned is constancy is the key to success. I could not keep shooting a movie and then searching years for another investor in order to shoot my next movie. I know how to make a good film, I know how to make money doing it, my biggest problem has always been working capital. If I could just create a legitimate company (ElmoreVision Entertainment) and use that company to build up working capital then I could finance my own projects. Now when I find an investors they’re investing in my company so that we can shoot more than one movie. It’s all about shooting back to back to back. An entire slate of movies that people want to see. Read more>>

Chef DeeDee Coleman | CEO & Executive Chef

I wanted to create an atmosphere for adults and children to come and enjoy cooking, to learn fun, exciting & approachable meals with a twist! I have always dreamed of teaching people how to cook. I figured a cooking class studio would be a great way to do it. I have learned so much through this process. My studio isn’t just for the people who have no idea how to navigate in a kitchen but for the awesome home cooks that just want to add some new recipes to their repertoire and have fun doing it! The cooking classes at Cooking With A Twist are for all cooking types and our classes are designed for kids & adults to enjoy cooking new recipes! Read more>>

Nicole Patterson | Athletic Trainer & Founder

I was in college when I started selling hair extensions to earn extra money and later on, I decided to start making my own hair care products because I wanted a more cost-effective way to take care of my hair. It started off as a hobby but soon friends and family members would see my hair and ask what I used so I decided to start selling products. The following year, I was diagnosed with Grave’s disease which is an autoimmune disease that causes hyperthyroidism. After taking the prescribed medication, my levels still had not dropped so the doctor prescribed more medicine; however, I am not the best with remembering to take a daily pill. At this point, I decided to take my health a bit more serious by being mindful of what I put in my body and used on my hair. Read more>>

Ky Singleton | Registered Medical Assistant

I’m very grateful to have a job in healthcare serving others but at the same time I feel that the if I can dedicate this much time to helping grow somebody’s else’s company and vision there’s no reason why I can’t do the same for myself. Read more>>

Emre Tichelaar | Videographer

I saw a huge need for there to be a local producer of videos, who created great videos for a fraction of the cost of the larger corporations. This is how my business was started, we make high quality, low budget videos! Read more>>

Nicole Howard | Business Consultant

Working in Corporate America, starting at entry level positions to leadership; gave me the opportunity to learn and understand how to develop my career path to success. My thought process was to build a business that would help others do the same. As well, turn their failures into success. Read more>>

Ndi Jeru | Creative Director & Founder

Tribe and Sol was created to honor the women in my family and the legacy of my Ghanaian roots. From an early age, I’ve had a love for jewelry, invading my grandmother Mattie’s jewelry box of strung pearls, vintage pendants, and clip on jewels. Mattie would sit me on this brown dresser during the try-ons and compliment how beautiful I was. I watched as she crocheted these divine articles of clothing to adorn her daughters. My mother was really into vintage and would take me to thrift stores and fire sales when I was young to help her merchandise her brick and mortar—and that set the stage for my future, too. I “have an eye for cool things,” as someone once told me. I love to feel the softness of fabric paired with the textures of jewelry. In remembrance, I curate vintage loungewear and create jewelry full of color, texture, and lyrical design. Read more>>

Brittany Jernigan | Jewelry Designer

In between working several odd jobs and trying to figure put what I wanted to do for a living, I knew I wouldn’t be happy working a regular 9-5. I was enjoying making jewelry as a hobby and a girlfriend of mine in Austin made jewelry and up-cycled clothing while she toured with her band. She came across a small, store front for rent that was tucked away in an art village and was too affordable to pass up so we just went for it together! My dad passed away soon after and there wasn’t much foot traffic anyway so I moved back home to New Braunfels to be closer to my mom and took a break to refocus. I had sold enough those first few months, though, that I had a little bit of confidence that I could continue to make it work. Read more>>

Alana M. Hill | Speaker, Author & Consultant

I decided to start my own business to provide me work-life balance. A major catalyst for me was looking at the social impact that I wanted to make, and I felt that entrepreneurship would afford me the autonomy and flexibility to make that happen through my business and through my personal time. As a project management professional in talent development, I enjoyed a great corporate career, and I took that expertise to organizations of varying sizes and purposes. Being an independent consultant meant I could work across the professional spectrum, servicing Fortune 500 companies, small businesses, and non-profits, expanding my influence and my impact. Read more>>