We were fortunate to catch up with some brilliant artists, creatives and entrepreneurs from throughout the Houston area and they share the wisdom with us below.

Pimptress | Musician/Songwriter/Entertainer/Model

Honestly I don’t have a specific budget but what I do have is definitely not enough for all the things we as artist in the entertainment business have to invest in. It can get extremely expensive. You only can do what you can do though. If you have a business mindset and kind of have knowledge in the marketing and promotion side you will know what to invest in that’s best for situation. I have to still think of my bills at home. I’m not going to be homeless ever but I will do what I can to get to where I need to be. If I don’t have it I just don’t have it. Read more>>

Krissy Osborne | Entrepreneur, Photographer, Artist, Designer

KO Studio is the latest evolvement of my business which includes photography, art, and design services. I began photography when I moved from Austin to Houston in 2018 and it was birthed from the desire to be able to take incredible photos of my nephews. Initially I photographed my family and their kids for holidays as well as friends who were entrepreneurs in need of new content. Not long after, I designed my wife and I’s first home and fell in love with the process and photographing the journey of upgrading a builder grade home. We were able to stage the home in such a way that resulted in a 6 figure home sale profit just a year and a half into owning the home.  Read more>>

Ryan Cooper | Ryan is a respected Father, Actor, Model, Health Coach and Producer

I have really made listening to my daughter a priority. Even when I have a long list of things to do and she was upset because she couldn’t find a toy, if I gave her just a minute of attention to show her that I heard and maybe I couldn’t even help in that very moment, it helped her process the emotions faster. Read more>>

Razelle Smith | Team Leader HBO (Having Better Options) Team

Education, each buyer and seller are different and you need to know what is important to them. You need to listen and explain No 2 real estate transactions are the same. It is emotional you need to be a teacher, referee, therapist, friend and their realtor You need patience and tons of understanding , , Read more>>

blakedamnsure | Musician, author

Since I was a kid, following the norm of what’s expected in life never appealed to me. Watching music videos led to making my own music. Reading stories and watching movies led to me creating my own novels. The stories I have to tell through my lyrics and novels are endless. Read more>>

Sal Soriano | SSCHICAGOMUSIC

I have always had a love for creativity; particularly in music. Since a young kid, I have been captivated to the audio aspect of art. Being a first generation Mexican-American in this country, really helped me diversify to basically; every group/entity/genre of music that exists. My native and first language is Spanish, even though, I picked up English rapidly. I originally pursued my artistic/creative career through poetry. Hand written, non-destination verbiage via my own eyes & words. This resulted in lyrics that eventually were used in my own creations & projects related to my business. Read more>>

Sarah Englade | Founder & Executive Headhunter

I started Monarch Talent Solutions in late 2020 after being laid off due to the pandemic. Starting a recruiting firm when there were no jobs was not easy. I was not only new to entrepreneurship but also had no book of business when I started the company, so I had to start from ground zero. Everything was difficult, but it was necessary to go through. See, there is no reward without risk and no success without failure. The ups and downs in business are necessary, and the down times, in particular, teach you a lot about yourself and what you’re capable of. You overcome the challenges by going through them. You have to experience everything, good and bad, to learn and grow. The hard times are what build champions. The more you compound your activity and the more laser-focused you are on your goals, the more success you’ll have. What I’ve learned is that you can not be seduced by success. Once you get a taste of success, most people start relaxing and taking their foot off the gas, and that’s when their competition catches up and beats them. If you can remain focused on your goals and mission and not get seduced by the success you achieve, you will never lose. Read more>>

Jesse Cushman | Owner, Papabubble Houston

Papabubble is one of those amazing ideas where we’ve taken something old and made it new again. Our processes have been around for over 100 years, but we’ve taken the old and added some new ideas. We are constantly experimenting with designs, flavors, and processes to create candies that are both delicious and fun. Read more>>