We asked rising stars from the community one of our favorite questions: other than deciding to work for yourself, what was the single most important decision you made that contributed to your success?

Cynthia Martinez | Fitness & Nutrition Coach

I was often told that the fitness industry was very competitive, which made me apprehensive about starting my own fitness and nutrition business. However, I would receive excellent feedback when sharing my business ideas with my family and friends. My support system encouraged me to take a leap of faith and just go for it. I knew my business would be different from others because I wanted to integrate healthy meals, fitness classes, and personalized merchandise in my own unique way. Once I stopped doubting myself and gained the confidence to push forward, my business began growing. Through all the trials and tribulations of starting a new business, my patience and drive to succeed pushed me through difficult times. Read more>>

Michelle Ikediobi | CEO of Bare Chats & Product Manager at BCG DV

While I started working on Bare Chats, I decided to channel more energy inward, and intentionally work on my personal development. I had goals and dreams for my future, but I knew that my mental health needed to come first if I wanted to achieve my goals, especially as someone with perfectionist tendencies. I started by doing a deep dive on who I was — how do I define myself? What were my characteristics? My core values? Then I moved into identifying my strengths and areas of opportunity. No one is perfect, and we’re all growing through our life experiences.
As someone who studied Marketing and Brand Management, I knew that at the core of every business is identity. It’s the aspects of the business that make it unique, different, and identifiable. As an entrepreneur, you are a walking brand. I wanted to make sure that I understood my brand better than anybody. Read more>>

Lucia Gamboa | Self Made Chef!

Me deciding to just go for it , and not keep procrastinating played a major role in my success ! I had to stop waiting on stuff to happen and just jump off the porch and make stuff happen myself. Read more>>

Carla Calderas, MA, LPC, NCC | Mental Health Therapist

I think it’s a combination of 2 things: I believe in helping others and in self-improvement. Having the right combination of those things can really help with success. I enjoy helping others and when you truly take that to heart you can have the clients’ best interest in mind; anything from being truly present in sessions to identifying the techniques that can be most beneficial for each client and their mental health. Along with that, believing in self-improvement allows me to constantly reflect on my routines, work-life balance, and my professional training to identify what is working and what needs to change. I think that true success is adapting and evolving to find what works best for ourselves and the people we work with. Read more>>