Thinking through whether to start a business – whether to take the risk, whether to go out on your own – isn’t easy. So we asked some entrepreneurs we admire to tell us about how they thought through the process of starting a business.

Cavin & Claudine Davis | Owners of A Taste of Tremé LLC

The thought process was living out my purpose God intended for me. Being able to serve others is our passion. Cooking with passion and with your heart allows customers to forget everything going on at that moment and bring them to their happy place. Read more>>

Venancio Mendez Levy, Wilmer Baron | Field Engineer at Webber / COO Bodego Market

My friend and I share the same Venezuelan origin. Both of us came to the US at an early age, but we grew up eating the same meals our grandma’s used to make back in our country. While going to college, the time that we had to cook and meal prep was very limited. Meaning that either we had to spend tons of money eating out or take a full day to just prepare food for the week. Given our tight budgets and strict schedules, we knew there had to be a better way. Read more>>

Ronide Pompe | Caribbean Caterer and Restaurant Owner

After leaving a difficult work environment in the health industry due to an injury, Ronide Pompe was left unemployed. Moreover, because of her age (63 years), it was difficult to find a new job that would accommodate her energy and recognize her experience despite her age. In turn, she was left unfulfilled and isolated. This was intensified even further by the pandemic. So she turned to what she knew how to do– cooking. She knew she had both a love and talent for making Caribbean and Southern foods, so she thought to try her hand at giving the Houston community a taste of her twist of Haitian food, and by God’s grace they embraced KizinRonide with much love. Read more>>

Kate Skeffington | Social Media Manager and Content Creator

About five years ago, a wholesale home decor brand approached me about managing their company’s social media part-time while I finished high school. It was daunting and exciting, I loved doing it so much that it never felt like work. I knew at that point that I was passionate about marketing, but I always thought that I would pursue this passion in a corporate setting. Read more>>

Andy Lu | UH Alumnus & Entrepreneur

I wanted to make a business that can sustain my family. My parents are both restaurant workers that had their first business destroyed by Hurricane Harvey. I saw a opportunity to start a restaurant on the Campus of University of Houston and I immediately proposed it to my parents and they agreed to help me start a new small restaurant there. I graduated from University of Houston with a degree in business and I knew the ins and outs on campus so I thought it would give me an competitive advantage. I created the business model and plan to attract students and staff alike with an affordable and sizable food portions so everyone can have a hot meal without spending much. Good food is always hard to get on campus without paying more than what you want to spend as a student and I really wanted to change that for them. Even the prices for fast food chains on campus are marked up. Read more>>

Savera Haque | Designer & Small Business Owner

Women are meant to be CEOS. We have to manage so many different responsibilities and wear so many hats. Women who come from my background, South Asian backgrounds, are raised in a way where it is built into our systems to multi-task. We have the responsibilities of a daughter, a wife, a mother, a grandmother, a sister, an aunt and so on forth. That’s not a negative thing. I’m a family person. I love my family and always look for more ways to be able to spend time with them. Read more>>

Ian Hodgson | Owner

MacMillan Studio really developed organically. It started with my love of music and deciding I wanted to start learning about music production, at the same time I was learning some video and photo editing techniques at my day job where I was developing training material for new systems I was helping implement. The next thing I knew I was creating advertising material for family and friends. Read more>>

Briquel Robinson | Esthetician & Serial Entrepreneur

The thought process behind starting my own business to be honest was to help heal others how I have healed my children. I believe real happiness comes from helping others. This business was lead to me and I just followed through with the vision that was given to me. Read more>>

Marina Caradanian | Health & Beauty Enthusiast

I’ve always been into health, fitness & beauty. As a mom of 2, I have always understood that taking care of myself first will allow me to be a healthy, happy and energetic mom and wife. I want to help men and women feel their absolute best. With that said, I have opened a wellness center to the encourage and help anyone looking to better themselves from the inside out. Read more>>

Nguyen Tran | Entrepreneur

I used to be a full-time mom and I understand the mom guilt when thinking of leaving my kid and go work. However, I believe in success for myself is a great way to set a role model for my daughter. With the thrill of being independent women and being successful, I start Le Reussi with a vision of helping women to succeed. I understand that true success is achieved when women gain financial freedom, respect, and find happiness in life and work. Read more>>

Kara DiCarlo | Entertainment Manager

Well I actually fell into this work and was loving it! So after a few months, I thought I should make it official and start Bayou City Entertainment. Read more>>

Courtney Hall | Media Influencer & Entrepreneur

I wanted to create a platform where I could showcase individuals who are doing great things for their communities and/or themselves. The Courtney Hall Show not only does that, but is a networking opportunity for guest who film their interviews on the same day. Two of my guests met on set, one is an author and the other a film maker. After hearing each other’s stories and connecting, they decided to move forward on producing a film on the author’s novel. The author went on to use my interview to get on other platforms like Great Day Houston. That’s the “win” for me. L.I.B.I. (Linking Individuals, Becoming Invincible) Read more>>

Nawaz Ali | Owner – The House Of Smokez (HOS)

I felt that there was no smoke shop in Houston that was offering a complete experience; they were either dark and dingy, carried an odd assortment of inventory, and lacked in several other areas. I’ve never been afraid of a challenge so I ultimately decided on finding a retail location in the Heights area, more specifically on Washington Ave. near the night life. I knew that HOS was certainly not the first smoke shop to open on Washington Ave., at the time we opened there was four established shops in the same 1-mile stretch and a new shop only about a block away. Despite, the competition and risk I pushed forward and I’m proud to say that we are performing well. Read more>>