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.

Mallory Burnett | Professional Princess & Character Entertainer

Starting my own freelance princess entertainment company was a dream that blossomed from my deep love for working with children and my background in acting and singing. As a stay-at-home mom to my two little ones, I often found myself immersed in the magical worlds of fairy tales and adventures, and I realized how much joy these stories brought not only to my children but to kids everywhere. This passion for storytelling and imagination sparked the idea of bringing those beloved characters to life through engaging entertainment. Read more>>

Chelsey Whitcomb | Certified Labor Doula and Childbirth Educator | Spinning Babies® Certified Parent Educator | Hypnobabies® Hypno-Doula

I started birth work in 2018 while I was still a full-time high school teacher. At the time, I used to tell people, “Every teacher has a side gig and doula work is mine.” I began this work because I had a doula for the hospital birth of my oldest child in 2016 and she was instrumental in providing educational resources and TRULY educating me on all of the options I had in a hospital setting. I had told my OB at the time that I might be interested in an epidural and while she was a great doctor, she simply said something along the lines of, “Oh we can definitely do that,” but then she never said anything else about it. Read more>>

Dani Banks | Licensed Esthetician & Brow Artist

Honestly…I’ve had so many jobs where the managers would have me do these tasks & processes that didn’t always make sense to me. When I asked questions or made suggestions, it was frowned upon. I found myself saying “If this was my business, I’d do xyz…” So I decided to create one doing things that I love! And let’s be honest, being able to make decisions and police myself is an amazing perk! Read more>>

John Watson | Full Control. Bloom Fitness, our logo, virtual people name of BloomLIve, our tagline of Lead With Heart are all trademarked

At its best, a person starts a business because they want to solve a problem that is currently not being solved. We started Bloom Fitness, a fitness program that looks to lead all people living with an intellectual and developmental disability diagnosis to choose a lifetime of fitness. Read more>>

Andrew Gomez | artisan

Honestly the idea started to form while my time in prison. I was pretty much living the fast life since a young age, I ended up getting a 10 yr sentence and while inside i found a passion for leather-craft, I spent most of my time at the leather-shop. learning as much as possible, practicing and preparing. As my time was getting short I started to plan. With the help of my family I was able to get situated and in 2022 I was hired by Louis Vuitton to help open the repair center in Irving,Tx. While I am grateful for LV for teaching me all I know, I was starting to feel under appreciated. Read more>>

Tyler Osburn | Award Winning Tattoo Artist & Shop Owner

First and foremost I have been tattooing for over 10 years. When it came to starting my own personal business as an artist I was simply determined to pave my own path and be an independent. This included but not limited to doing what I want when I want, tattoo what I wanted, and inspiring others along the way. Now that I have started my own shop, the mission has now evolved to giving artists a safe zone to work on their craft and give clients the best experience possible. Read more>>