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.

Tyriee Kasper | CEO of Extraterrestrial Music Group|Talent Management|Marketer

I had a deep spiritual awakening I was guided to starting extraterrestrial music group. I wanted to change the world. And this is my way of doing that. Read more>>

Tahrin (Tina) Siddiqua | Pediatrician, Obesity Trained, CEO NW Cypress Pediatrics & Family Medicine, Fitness Instructor

My husband and I jointly decided to start our own practice. We wanted to practice patient centered medicine where we put quality patient care first. I love practicing medicine and did not want a large company dictating how many patients I needed to see and how much time was allotted for each patient encounter. Private practice is a rarity and I knew it would take a lot of hard work and commitment to establish a thriving practice. We didn’t know anything about starting a private practice, we basically learned as we faced challenges. I have an open mindset and was willing to learn and be challenged. I love challenges. Anything worth having in life is always challenging. Read more>>

Brittany Hudson | Makeup Artist

There wasn’t really a thought process behind starting my own business. I just wanted a way to share my light and use my gift to bless others. Makeup has been one of the ways for be to do both. Read more>>

Salvador Herrera | Financial Advisor

Given my personal abilities and passion for lobbing, I envisioned a future of international relations, exchange of financial, law and political knowledge and realized no company could offer me to fulfill these life requirements. I started working for myself and a devoted but small list of clients. Then all turned into a company. Read more>>

José García | Roadside vendor & entrepreneur

At first like many, maybe I felt afraid but even so I took a risk because I was tired of working in a restaurant all the time and it was time to start my on my own. Read more>>

Visions Htx | Videographer, Photographer, Producer/Music Engineer, & graphic Designer

My thought process behind starting my business was to become better than & surpass my potential. I became a sponge and was ready to soak up & learn as much as I can. I didn’t want opportunity to pass me up. I knew if I stayed consistent I would be where I needed to be in no time. Read more>>

Nikki Lynch | Business Coach for Mobile Bartenders

Starting my business was a no-brainer. At the time I decided to start my business I had been laid off from my Bartending job due to COVID and starting from the ground up in the Bartending industry wasn’t an option for me nor was going to get a 9-5. I’m sitting on my couch one evening and it hits me. Start teaching others how to grow their Mobile Bar Business and I hit the ground running. I basically created a business based on my job experience. Read more>>

Tomekia Murphy | Owner of Matabele Essentials organic hair products

My business was created from my own personal hair journey. I was losing my hair and I tried many different products but nothing worked. I started researching different ingredients and trying to make my own product, there were a lot of trial and errors in the process however, I was determined to figure it out. I finally made a product that was working for me. My close friends and family saw my hair results and they asked what products I was using and I explained that I made my own products so that asked that I made products for them and this is how my organic hair products business was born. Read more>>

Jonathan Denning | Executive Director

The intent has been to generate a community of people interested in wellness that we all want to see win and leave feeling empowered. We could all work together simply in this system of generosity. And that’s really where all this came from, and we’re thriving. We’re seeing that when the system grows, everybody grows, and that’s what drives us and keeps me going. The thought process was systematic, though, was to do it the right way and build something that lasts with friends to work together and do something that will truly transform the way bespoke wellness service is delivered. Read more>>

Yvonne Cobb | CEO of TakeAway Tax

The thought process behind starting TakeAway Tax was geared around solving a need in my industry. It was to adopt a new process for clients seeking more flexibility and attention to the failing responsibilities of tax preparation. The business started as a necessity for all types of clients! Read more>>

Ridge Hardy | Creative Director

So I started the business alongside with my business partner Jerm with the mindset of wanting to make shows different from my past experiences. I was rapping for 6 years straight on an off and I experienced constant BS while performing. So I wanted to make a showcase that was strictly for the creative. I wanted to cater to my performers and give the the ultimate experience I could. Basically keeping the artist first and never making it about the money. Read more>>

Tiffani Chiles | Self-Care Coach

Initially, with starting Tiff Tips, I had no idea the route I wanted to go & where I would start. After shifting through several ideas, I put the concept of Tiff Tips on the shelf & came back to it a few years later. After seeking ways to improve my own mental health, the idea of a Self-Care company came to me while sitting in the airport. Self-Care was a lifestyle that I had adapted & so desperately wanted to share with others & at that point, I knew starting a self-care company would be a part of my life purpose. Read more>>

Andrea Young | Co-Founder & CEO

I’ve been a CEO since I was 27 and have been fortunate to have a fair amount of success. My husband and I have a financial planner, an estate lawyer and a professional CPA, but I was shocked that not a single person had ever told us about the advantages of donating appreciated stock. I realized that not only did people not understand the benefits, but the status quo for donating stock was cumbersome and full of administrative burden. My co-founder and I saw a huge opportunity to unlock tremendous value for donors and not for profits by making it safe, fast and free for all people to donate stock to the charity of their choice while taking advantage of the tax benefits. This was a chance to do something that helps people donate more and have a bigger impact in their communities. Read more>>

Anette Rasmussen | Crafter of baby clothes and gear

Back in summer 2017 I got my first grandson Villads. I made a lot of baby stuff for him like e.g. a baby nest, diaper bag and a lot of clothes. Friends and family really liked my stuff as it is not like anything else you can buy in the stores.. In the fall my husband and I moved to Houston Texas because of my husbands work. It was a big cultural change for me. I am used to have a fulltime job as an accountant in Denmark where I’m born and raised. When we were settled in Houston I began sewing baby clothes and went out on markets to sell my creations. It started as a hobby. I got really good feedback from my customers and I therefore considered to make it a business. Read more>>

Felix DJ FXBOX Olmos | DJ•Producer•Remixer

FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE that was the driving force that took me down the path I’m in right now. I feel like the norm is to collect a check twice a month, I like to collect checks everyday of the month. There is a saying that not everything in life is money but it really helps to be stable and to be safe and sound when the struggles in life come your way. HARD WORK PAYS OFF. Read more>>

Shirick “Rick” Faison | Confectioner

For as long as I can remember I’ve known that I wanted to have my own business. As a teenager, I would sell candy or whatever else I thought I could make a small profit on. I never knew exactly what type of business I wanted to start though. In my 20’s I looked into franchises and even started a business recreation business with a friend, but it didn’t really interest me. After a spending some time in Central America, I realized I wanted to do something with food. So, the idea for sorbet actually came to me in 2018 while I was in culinary school. I thought it would be a nice dessert option for my mother for Mother’s Day. It’s a long standing tradition with my family that all the men would cater to the women that day. Being that I was in school, the menu became my responsibility. Being that I’d been accepted to UH (Conrad Hilton), and I knew I was leaving I wanted this last dinner in New Jersey to be special. That day I served a Rosé Apricot sorbet and everyone enjoyed it. At that moment, I knew this could be a business opportunity. Read more>>

Jacqueline Tran | Owner & Aesthetics Nurse Practitioner

After working at numerous different Medical Spas and visiting countless others, I began to realize the need for a more personalized, specialized approach to facial aesthetics. I have a vision for a high-end, modern space where facial aesthetics is prioritized and where I could seamlessly integrate regenerative medicine with facial rejuvenation. I strategically made these visions come to life and began Injection Bar Medspa and Wellness. Read more>>

Jessica DeFeo | Social Media Coach & Branding Strategist

I turned 40 in January of this year, and was a pivotal moment for me. I know 40 isn’t old, but in definitely seems like I could have accomplished, or at least lived, more by that time. The last few years of my thirties kept proving to me over and over that if I wanted a drastically different life, I was going to have to make drastically different decisions. At some point the excuses for staying in the same place became obnoxious and exhausting. So when the opportunity came for me to make a decision: go back to the world and career I had known for 20 years because it was safe and consistent and predicatable OR start my own business doing what I know I can do well with business strategy, social media marketing and website design even though it was none of the other things I thought I needed to be happy, I chose the latter. Read more>>

Kendall Dingee Stephanie Frausto | Get Ahead Prep, LLC Directors

We began working together in higher education and developed a friendship because we think alike and have the same work ethic. What is funny is that we both came to each other with this desire to do something, to start a business that would benefit students. Our ideas were really fluid in those beginning conversations, and we just threw out ideas until we finally landed on an idea that we both thought was vitally important, which morphed into Get Ahead Prep, LLC. Based on our years of experience in the college classroom, we saw a significant need for additional preparation for high school students. Semester after semester and year after year, we have witnessed the struggles of students who were not prepared for college, who had to withdraw from a semester’s worth of courses, only to be expected to repay for the course and try again.  Read more>>

Crystal Nguyen | Certified Charcuterist

I was fortunate enough to live in New York City for 7 amazing years and during that time I dined at plenty of fancy restaurants full of rotating menus, fresh farmers market produce and best of all: chef selected charcuterie boards. At the time, I was working in media (I still work in media full time, ha!) and got to enjoy endless amounts of business meals at places my bank account definitely could not afford. But with that opened my tiny world to fine dining and charcuterie boards that, I learned, made me very happy. I found myself hoarding cheese from D’Agostino in NYC and making makeshift boards in my 400 sq ft. studio for me and my roommate. Read more>>

Stephanie Henderson | Owner, Good Sense Provisions

Good Sense Provisions was the realization of a dream to start a family-owned business that would allow us to share some of the great finds that we came across in our travels through Texas, the United States, and abroad. We seek out unique, high-quality products from vendors who focus on representing their communities — exactly the way we want to focus on and give back to our community. You’ll find that all of the provisions we offer either have a “one-for-one” community commitment model, are family owned, feature talented women, and/ or are Texas based. We are proud to feature artisans that you’ll be hard pressed to find anywhere else in the greater Houston area. Read more>>

Mel Bell | Chef Mel Bell “A Legacy of Delicious Food & Good Eating”

My thought behind starting MelDe’Z Catering was wanting some Authentic Creole & Caribbean Cuisine that will nourish people Mind, Body & Soul. I remixed a business venture my parents had before we relocated to Houston, TX after Hurricane Katrina. Read more>>

Keiara Taylor | Business Owner

My thought process behind starting my own business was to create a brand with a trustworthy reputation with the intent to sell high quality products and provide superb customer service. It was important for me to help eliminate the several bad shopping experiences I’ve had with certain hair companies within the United States and overseas from continuing to happen. I’ve had terrible hair sent to me with no sort of resolve. I’ve also had horrible customer service to accompany the poor quality product that was sent to me. I could no longer sit back and continue to watch this happen. I decided to create a brand that celebrates women, motivates and inspires women to strive for more, and ultimately provide products of supreme quality along with superb customer service. Then boom…. Kandy Royal Hair was born! Read more>>

Angel Morton | AKA Sawana-Ra – Your spiritual friend

My thought process behind starting my business was for others to see how important getting to know who you are, not the person you thought you had to be to please others around you. Read more>>

Asia Johnson & Hakim Monroe | Fashion Designers

Starting a clothing line was never in our plans. We were already owners of a executive protection company based in metro Detroit. #MYBROTHERSKEEPER was created in memory of Asia’s brother who passed away in 2018. When someone passes away one of the first things you have are regrets, from small childhood arguments to wishing you were there to protect them, dealing with the loss of someone is an emotional rollercoaster. I was in a dark space for years suffering from depression and just being mad at the world. This brand was created not only as an apology to my brother but to remind everyone to be there for one another. Read more>>

Tia Daugharty | Portrait Photographer

I started photography for a couple of different reasons. I always wanted something I could do that was “my thing”. I had thought about photography, but never took the plunge to see how to get started. In 2016 I had my final baby and decided we should get Christmas photos done by a photographer. The experience wasn’t what I expected and it left me wanting more. After the session I found myself visualizing myself capturing sweet memories for families, couples, and others. In 2017, I decided to jump in and bought my first DSLR camera. I joined many groups and bought courses so I could learn the art of photography. The following year I got more serious and finally had a little business of my own. Tia Daugharty Photos allows me to meet new people and capture those sweet memories. Read more>>