How did you decide to start a business?

We reached out to some of our favorite entrepreneurs and asked them to think back and tell us about how they decided to start a business. Check out their responses below.

Robert Rush | Owner of Euphoria Flowers

Starting my own floral design business has been an incredibly rewarding journey, and my thought process behind it was shaped by a combination of ambition, experiences, and a desire to make a meaningful impact. For years, I worked at various flower shops, gaining valuable insight into the industry. I saw firsthand what worked well, but also where businesses could improve. Those experiences taught me the importance of creating an environment where people are not only motivated but feel valued and supported. Read more>>

Briana Leach | Life Insurance Advisor & Commercial Cleaning Business Owner

The thought process behind starting my business was control of my time. I spent the first half of my working career in retail management. Pre-Covid, these hours were long, late, and often involved nights and weekends. I loved my career, however, I felt as much as I poured, I shouldn’t have had to negotiate days off. That lead me to wondering how I could be free and that was the thought behind starting my own business. Read more>>

Jeff Cowart | Entrepreneur

My mother in law was my inspiration. After years of smoking meat she suggested I have. Prost to sell. Read more>>

Ivana Chen | Wellness Pop-up Founder

After attending my most recent wellness retreat abroad, I identified a significant gap in the connection and collaboration of physical and spiritual wellness among students, coaches, and communities in Houston. With my passion for fitness (growing up with background in ballet, cheer, and track), and an extensive network in the industry (after coaching at multiple indoor cycling studios and working at SoulCycle HQ), I aim to bring the revitalizing experiences of these retreats to Houston. Read more>>

Ceon Lahar | Permanent Makeup and Brow Artist

After 15 years in corporate America, I started to look at my work life balance differently. Having a husband and 3 kids makes me prioritize my personal time with them. Although climbing the corporate ladder is financially rewarding, there came a time where I felt like I’d trade it all for freedom in my schedule to choose my hours, and to be my own boss. Starting my own business also sparked my rebellion towards corporate America and its politics after myself and 270 employees were laid off without notice in 2020, at the beginning of COVID. Read more>>

Dr, Glenda Demas, Psyd. | Licensed Professional Counselor

Upon starting my business as a Psychotherapist in Private Practice with a desire to service more than just my home state, my motivation derived from the following: Read more>>

Jennifer Le | Small Animal Veterinarian and Business Owner

Growing up, I always had a desire to start my own business. The idea of creating and building something from scratch was intriguing to me, probably because my dad, who was a mechanical engineer, had his own mechanical engineering services firm. Read more>>

Rashaan “tigmatic” Whitaker | Owner of The Pot Podcast

As far as I can remember, I have always had this ambition to want to try different things. In my early twenties, I had a paint screen T-Shirt hustle,where I would press up T-shirts, and sell them. I also ran my own music studio where I helped inner city youth develop their craft of becoming better artist. So for me it was only right that I decided to do something and make it official .After experiencing a gunshot wound to the Head in Philadelphia,Pennsylvania.. by someone I didn’t know just being in the wrong place at the wrong time, I knew I had to leave my city. Once I left and movedmy wife and children to North Carolina, was when I decided with my wife that we would start our business Damani Brand LLC. Read more>>

Robert Torres | Real Estate Broker, Invester, Entrepreneur

My thinking was that establishing a business would be the means to support the investment in the real estate it occupies; making the investment self-supporting (AKA it pays for itself). In the end, the business is secondary to the ownership of the property itself. Read more>>

Crystal Davis | Hair Stylist & Veteran

Barcode Hair Lounge was created to provide a space with diversity. We offer a wide range of services for all ethnicities. Read more>>

Rita Hunter | Co-Owner/Chef/Safety Professional/Radiation Safety Officer

A Lil This A Lil That came into fruition from our mother. She had a catering f company called, Hunter’s Catering for nearly 30 years. She served the surrounding Houston area for years, catering large weddings, corporate events, and creating specialized custom cakes before they became a “thing.” As she was approaching retiring age, we (her 3 daughters, Joycelyn, Charisma, and Rita) decided we couldn’t let all of our mother’s hard work and legacy vanish. During Covid she officially closed Hunter’s Catering, but During the pandemic we had people reach out wanting meals since the restaurants were closed. Read more>>

Andrew Ton | Co-Founder & Director

Believe it or not, opening a dance studio was never our goal. For over a decade, Taylor and I focused on dancing, performing, and teaching in our communities—dance is what brought us together. While owning a studio now feels like the natural next step, it never really crossed our minds until recently. Read more>>

Bailey Mier-nava | n/a

Well, I have been an aspiring entrepreneur my whole life, and along the way I also realized that I have a tremendous passion for helping people. Eventually, after exploring and ultimately tabling many different business endeavors, I became a Licensed Massage Therapist. I found that I had a natural talent for doing this kind of work, and a built-in passion for therapeutic massage specifically due to its ability to reduce chronic pain and make a positive impact on people’s quality of life. Read more>>

Celeste Potter | Owner and Founder of Serenity Sips

I had a personal injury about 5 years ago and that led to multiple surgeries and therapies. Those led me to finding alternate options for pain relief and treating my body better by putting good things in it. This all led me to wanting a wellness emporium. A place where others could find wellness based coffee, tea, products and services. There isn’t anything like it, so I had to create it. Read more>>

Shannon Mcgriff | Energy Consultant & TEPA Executive Director

Early in my career, I had the opportunity to help start a new energy consulting group with colleagues. I quickly discovered how much I enjoyed the challenges of building something from the ground up, and the experience taught me valuable lessons in leadership and entrepreneurship. Read more>>

Dr. Daisy Su | Performing Arts & Pelvic Floor Physical Therapist

As a dancer and martial artist, I spent years training my body’s movement and understanding the delicate balance between strength, flexibility, and power. I was consistently surrounded by sports injuries, which sparked my interest in the human body. Watching ankles get taped at taekwondo tournaments and seeing my friends sit out of ballet class really piqued my interest in rehab and how one actually returns from an injury. Read more>>

Jasmyn Grey | License esthetician

My thought process came from receiving genuine feedback and compliments from so many people , seeing that so many people loved my beauty look made me want to build other women self esteem and confidence , so I started selling lashes first and then after 2years of selling the lash strips , I started doing the application of applying lash extensions. Read more>>

Levean “myss Lovie” Pinkston | CEO, Weluv2jam Radio LLC

As a service- connected disabled veteran, there are not many regular 9-5 jobs that I personally would be successful doing. After the military, I recognized how important music was to me when on those long deployments. I wanted to be that for my fellow service people that were still serving. I wanted to be a platform for those who didn’t realize how their art was impactful. Read more>>

Rock Latino Alternativo Houston | Collective

The idea behind starting Rock Latino Alternativo Houston (RLAH) wasn’t originally to create a business, but to fill a significant gap in the Houston music scene. It all began with the need for a centralized space where people could find information about Latinx alternative music events. At the time, the Latinx community in Houston was largely overlooked in terms of alternative music coverage. Traditional media outlets weren’t highlighting the diversity of music genres within the Latinx community, and we were often boxed into specific, more mainstream genres like salsa or norteño. Read more>>

Jaykub Rodriguez | Audio Engineer & Musician

So, a couple for friends and myself got together in middle school and started a band. The more we played, the more we realized we needed recordings to get gigs. My partner in crime, Peewee, had access to recording software via his dad’s computer. Once we figured out how to record ourselves, we were hooked. Fast-forward to 2009 and we began taking recording engineering classes at Loyola University on New Orleans. Around 2012, my father helped me turn the old garage practice space in Houston into a recording space with wood floors and sound proofing. Then I met and apprenticed under the great Paul Cox of 226 Recordings and learned everything from wiring cables to calibrating tape machines and the beast that is ProTools. Read more>>