Deciding to work for yourself is often cited as the best decision folks in our community have made. Hearing the same response over and over led us to ask them about the next best decision folks have made and we’ve shared their responses with you below.

Michael Holt | Chief Marketer for a financial services company.

I think you have to be able to believe I’m yourself when other people do not. I think that is very important. You have to operate with high level of self confidence without allowing it to be come entangled with arrogance. Read more>>

Mariana Lozano | Photographer

A very valuable lesson learned that helped me make important decisions, was learning how to say “no”. When I first started my business, I jumped at any opportunity to book a session. For example, if someone reached out to me on a Monday saying they wanted to book a session for that Saturday and I already had plans, I would move my whole day around to accommodate that client.
And in other instances, if it was a busy season and someone wanted me to squeeze them into my already overbooked scheduled, I would squeeze them in. Read more>>

Linsay Ferreira | Fashion Veteran and EDIT Owner

The most important decision was to just DO IT! There is so much doubt when jumping into the unknown of small business. If you let it take over, you will never do it. It sounds silly for that to be the “decision”, but think about all the ideas you’ve ever had- have you decided to actually DO any of them? Did you take action? Read more>>

Stacy Simmons | Owner + Creator

The pop up market world has really contributed to my shop’s success. They are not for the faint of heart. Many hours, hard work, and sleepless nights to prepare for these events. I started popping up spring 2021 and every since then I participate in a couple markets a month. Being an online store, I never get to experience a client’s reaction, or explain each piece and detail, and It’s challenging for shoppers get to know me, the maker behind the business while they are scrolling the website. It’ such a thrill and the hard work truly pays off when you see the happiness your creations bring to people. If you are a new shop just starting out and wondering if you should participate in a market-the answer is yes! Read more>>

Alisk’ Denise | Fashion Designer

The most important decision I had to make that contributed to my success was to never give up no matter how hard the process gets. Read more>>