Starting and growing a business is hard, but often deciding to start the business in the first place is even harder.  We asked some successful entrepreneurs from around the community to open up to us about how they thought about starting a business.

Hillary Caceres | Owner Handmade Soap Company

The idea behind Sweet & Sudsy Soap came from a need as a parent. My business partner, Debbie, and I collectively have four girls. We shared the same bath time/shower struggles of our girls either not wanting to take a bath or pumping an enormous amount of soap on the shower floor while “flexing” their independence. We were shocked when we could not easily find super cute bars of soaps for kids on the market. We quickly realized this was something we could jump into and enjoy at the same time. During the inception process we discovered the joy of visualizing a design, developing it and ultimately watching it be sold! Our original theory that supports each of our our designs is that if a soap bar looks cute, is easier to hold compared to large bars and smelled amazing then children would be more inclined to use them. Read more>>

Tracy Lynn | Movement teacher and Performer

Yoga is a very funny business to be in in 2020. Especially now in the midst of a pandemic that is causing studios to shut around the US. Additionally, yoga as an industry is under a spotlight right now because of its lack of inclusivity to specific communities and social classes. The boutique studios, designer gear, the $25 drop-ins (and that’s the average price) is indicative of privilege. But this concept is not new, this is how a “modern” version of yoga developed in the East and I want to highlight that fact before I segway into my thought process around starting my own business. Yoga in the West was brought over by B.K.S. Iyengar. Originally yoga was reserved for men of a specific social class in India and the able bodied. Many of today’s practioner do not realize this, they see a friendly space that touts acceptance and wellness. Read more>>

Elysia Sange | Food Blogger

Well for starters, I grew up being obsessed with food. As a child, I had a big appetite. Fast forward 20 years, I’m still a big foodie. I was that person taking pictures of food even when everyone was annoyed with it. The colors, the textures, the sight, everything about food is literally beautiful. I already had an album of food pictures on my phone and I thought why not just create an Instagram with all the pictures that I’ve taken. So that’s basically where it began. Little did I know how big the food scene in Houston was. It was like a whole new world I just discovered, and luckily two of my friends were already a part of it. I don’t know if I’m allowed to say them but @Nkmedeats and @Houandmefood helped me out a lot. Read more>>

Megan Martinez | Illustrator & Graphic Designer

My thought process behind starting my own business Meg Ya Look was to start doing something I loved and to work towards something I could be proud of. Straight out of college after receiving my BFA in Graphic Design I started working corporate agency jobs because I thought that’s what I was supposed to do. I quickly realized that wasn’t the place for me & I took a retail job at Anthropologie to start freelancing and took on creative projects that fulfilled me & this was the start of Meg Ya Look. At first, I started doing branding for small business owners and then I took on wedding stationery and custom dog portraits. Now Meg Ya Look is a shop with art prints, enamel pins & tote bags. My future goals are to one day expand into clothing or even design a food truck. Read more>>

Tim Cook|  Co Founder & Director of Athletic Performance

The first thing that came to mind was being able to create something that my children’s children would be able to benefit from and start setting them up for success. Once I knew that was my goal I took what I loved to do and started to create something that would not just benefit myself but those that I come in contact with on a day to day basis. Read more>>

Dozie Oheri | Founder/CEO

I created Choose to DO, Inc. because of a few things that transpired in my life. I come from an immigrant home, and I am the only girl among four boys. That dynamic brought on a lot of emotional challenges that caused me to struggle with my self-worth as I grew older. By the time I got to college, I was depressed and did not know it. At some point, I recognized that I needed help. I decided to see a therapist, which started my journey to work on my self-esteem. Also, I’ve worked with children since I was about nine years old. I saw that no matter their economic background and racial demographic, every child wanted to receive and feel love. Choose to DO, Inc. was born out of my own experience of dealing with low self-esteem and from my career working with young adults. Read more>>

Brandon Roberson | Owner Orbit Moonwalks & Party Rentals

My wife Grace and I have always wanted to pursue our own creative path. We wanted to be able to cultivate an experience that families would never forget. It is a very rewarding and exciting emotion, getting the opportunity to bring joy to a person’s birthday party, corporate event, school field day, fundraiser, or family reunion. Yes! We offer bounce houses, water slides, obstacle courses, yard greetings, foam parties, slushy machines, and much more, but we made a promise to ourselves to always honor our core value of delivering exceptional customer service, a high quality product, impeccable communication and an overall family business feel. I love collaborating with Grace each and every day. There is nothing like bringing your thoughts and ideas to life! Read more>>