Starting a business is a commitment and requires dedication, resources and sacrifice. We asked some of the rising stars in our community how they thought through the idea of starting their own businesses.

Frank Lopez | CPA & Partner of Lopez & Diaz Accounting

My father owned a mechanic for over 20 years and be raised in that environment encouraged me to think of the possibility of owning my own business one day. My parents thought my siblings and myself the importance of an education and to pursue higher education in order to create and find our career path. I obtained my Master’s degree in Accounting and my license as a Certified Public Accountant in order to have as many options as possible in opening a business in the future. I recall moments when I worked with my dad at his mechanic my dad did not fully understand the importance of financial statements, record keeping and profit margins. But he would continue to work hard each day to meet goals he would set. Read more>>

Laura Suarez | Pediatric Physical Therapist

My story started years ago in college when God gave me a vision of owning a pediatric physical therapy company and ministering to families. Once I finished graduate school and began working at an outpatient clinic, my dream was placed on hold for a while as I started my career. I honestly wondered if this dream would become a reality but knew if it was meant to be it would happen. Years later, I felt the urge to start my company Local Pediatric Physical Therapy, LLC. I was still working full time and not putting too much energy into it yet as I now also had a wonderful husband and three amazing children. Read more>>

Charissa Kovin | Owner | Professional Photo Organizer

I recognized a need that was universal for most people. It has been estimated that 1.12 trillion photos were taken in 2021 alone. That’s a lot of photos! We are all overwhelmed with the amount of photos we have and most likely, that lifetime of photos is scattered across many different devices. They are at risk for deterioration or disaster (such as hard drive failure, theft, fire, flood or other natural disaster). I discovered an opportunity to help people with their photos and developed a method to organize, save and share their precious memories. Read more>>

Jennifer Thompson | Freelance Seamstress and Designer

During my 20s I got a degree in biology and started pursuing a career in conservation, parks and the environment. Yet every job I took never felt right. I felt like I had no passion for what I was doing. I felt controlled. I felt boxed in. Although I loved the outdoors, I realized that I loved being in nature as a past time, not as an obligation. So I used the skill of sewing, which I had been practicing all my life, and created a job. I didn’t start a business to be a “girl boss,” I started it to be happy! I knew that there was no way that I was going to spend 40 hours a week, for the majority of my life, doing something that I just tolerated. Embracing my natural talents to create my own career has been one of the best decisions of my life! Read more>>

Lesley Jarboe and Alysha Reeves | Co-owners of Forward Salon

We’ve always had a passion for hair, hair stylists, hair salons, even being educators at salons for the first 10 years of our careers. It was when we met in 2014 that our dream of opening our own business really started taking shape. We were traveling to take classes as much as we could, while also working with our clients behind the chair. One trip in particular to Los Angeles, over drinks at our favorite place (the Beverly Hills Hotel), we finally said to each other out loud “Lets do this!”. We dreamed of a space where hair dressers could come in and just create- no drama, run your own schedule, and have a work/life balance. Everything fell into place after that with a lot of hard work and Forward Salon was born in August 2019! Read more>>

Patsy McGirl | Pet Retail Entrepreneur

I started my dog boarding business along with pet retail business 26 years ago. At that time the the pet industry was in need of proper daycare & boarding facilities that offered a fun and safe environment for dogs to play together in small groups. The key here was pets safety and I knew I had to learn canine behavior knowledge. My brother knew Cesar Millan in Los Angeles. I called him and he invited me to his center to learn pack mentality and proper techniques to manage canine behavior to ensure the safety for all dogs. This was before Ceasr was on television. So I went and learned. Read more>>

Marilyn Ramirez | Baker

I’ve always enjoyed spending time in the kitchen. Growing up, I would hang out with my mom while she created these amazing meals and the seeds were planted watching her put so much love & care into everything she prepared in her space. No one left my mom’s kitchen hungry. I would imagine creating a warm & inviting space within my community in which I’d be able to welcome everyone with a fresh baked cookie and a bit of friendly conversation. A place where old friends can hang out, or two people can go on a first date for some conversation, or someone can just sit quietly and enjoy a good book. I’m not quite at that stage yet, but I know it’s something I will achieve. Read more>>

Arlene Craig | Home Organizer & Realtor

I’ve always desired to create a brand where I could have multiple streams of income from one main source. After attaining my Real Estate license almost 5 years ago, I decided that I needed to take matters into my own hands. I have been in Visual Merchandising & Operations Management for almost 18 years with some of the top retailers in the world. After years of constantly trying to figure things out, my love of organizing took over my life in many ways. Combining that with my years of experience in fashion, home and beauty merchandising finally felt like I hit the jackpot. All of my passions and purpose finally aligned. And as much of a risk it is to be an entrepreneur, there’s no other gamble I’d rather take. Read more>>

Megan Martinez | Balloon Artist

My husband gave me the push quite honestly. I was hesitant because it’s such a huge leap of faith to put your work out there for people to judge. We went back and forth for months on whether I should start up my business and he gave me the courage to take the leap and I am so grateful I did! I Love to create and with balloons you can do just about anything. I started out doing balloons setups for my two boys and posted pictures for just my friends and family to see and it was such a huge hit. I received messages left and right from people wanting me to do balloons for them as well and it grew from there. I created my buisness and loved it. I wish I could go back and tell myself that no matter what you do in life people will always judge you so don’t let that stop you from going after your dreams. Read more>>

Monique J | AUTHOR | FASHION DESIGNER

I actually started by writing my first book because I slipped into depression, December 2018 due to heartbreak/betrayal. I didn’t want to keep talking to my friends about it because I know they were probably annoyed. So I tried writing my thoughts out and that didn’t work either. I’m a hopeless romantic and I’m a hopeful person. So I would always zone out at work and just imagining how things could be better, it can be a random day where we rekind and hang out in the city after work and then next thing you know, we’re married a year later. So I started off from that day dream/scenario. Read more>>

Andrew Harkins | Pool Designer/ Business Owner

Necessity. It always seemed that I was using my skills to accumulate wealth for other people, but never myself. I was always too busy working. I started new job as a Project Manager in June of last year. After working there a couple of months, I noticed things just weren’t adding up. I couldn’t get material, none of my jobs were getting finished. We kept starting new jobs, but not finishing others. I had worked for several reputable companies, and I could tell something was off, but didn’t know what. After two and half months the company closed. The man I was working for had swindled $834,000 from 28+ families. Read more>>

Laurie Coton | Interior Designer and Real Estate broker

I thought I could do better. It seems to be a reocurring theme when I look back at the things I’ve set out to do. Some probably weren’t that smart to take on, but I suppose I saw a challenge. Read more>>