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.

Adam Levinson | Event Owner

I come from a family of entrepreneurs so it’s probably in my DNA. Also, I spent many years in sales and realize I was good at developing great trust with people which led to some amazing business relationships. However, I was always working for someone else. One day I realized I was good enough to do it for myself and made the leap to start my own business. Read more>>

Nikki Badu | Houston MUA and Occupational Therapist

I remember being excited to attend a party or any event, simply to take advantage of the opportunity to do my makeup. I would do my friend’s makeup and family whenever they would ask. I also found joy in creating content to share my makeup process and the variety of looks through short videos. Eventually people saw my talent come to light and would ask me to teach them or do their makeup. In 2021 after taking everyone’s feedback into consideration, I decided to take a leap of faith. Read more>>

Rey Hernandez | Musician and songwriter

Believing in your self on at least trying. Cause it may don’t work but you will never know if you don’t try. Read more>>

Jenn Smith | Career Coach & HR Consultant

My first job post-graduation was working the graveyard shift as a front-line supervisor in a potato chip factory. Talk about not knowing what you want to do! Fast forward 15+ years: from supervising teams in a potato chip factory; to a major pivot into human resources; to building a college recruiting department for a global company — from scratch — I have successfully made 10+ career jumps, U-turns, Read more>>

Ashlye Jones-Dudley | Creator and Curator & Senior Business Development Specialist

My Father is a professional wedding and portrait photographer. While growing up, I saw how he made extra money while doing something that he loves. It inspired me to start a stationary business when I was about 10 years old. I would design a notepad or found cool paper that I would go to an office supply store and have it bound. From there I thought it was a good idea to take my creativity and make extra money. I found by starting my business it was also an avenue for independence. To work a 9-5 not because I had, but because I want to. Read more>>

Connie Anderson | Connie Anderson Photography | Interiors | Advertising | Architecture | Commercial

I’d always had a love for photography but the architectural aspect just sort of got dumped in my lap. At that time I was living on an island in Hawaii, I was brought there for a different job, a startup of an island magazine of which I was the photographer for. The magazine failed but from my photography work people began calling me to photograph high end vacation rentals.This turned into a very fun project. Before I knew it I was island hopping shooting different luxurious properties on all of the Hawaiian Islands. Read more>>

Nubia Hernandez | Makeup Artist and Owner of N.H Beauty

The thought process behind starting my own business came from the desire to create something that would bring joy to others while also creating the freedom to life the live that I want for myself and my family. I’ve always had a passion for beauty. Helping others feel beautiful and confident is something that brings me purpose in life that is why I decided to go to cosmetology school. While my time in cosmetology school, i discovered my true passion, which is makeup and that is when N.H Beauty was born. Read more>>

Kevin Kendrick | Video Producer & Small Business Owner

Self-Sustainability. As millennials, we have seen how volatile and unforgiving corporate life can be to our parents’ generation. I grew up in Houston in the 90’s and remember the Enron crisis all too well – specifically, I remember multiple children getting picked up early from school by crying parents who had just lost everything. Read more>>

Dominique Robins | Owner of The Kloset Boutique, formerly known as Mini Kloset Boutique

My thought process was simply to start a business that I really loved. I didn’t want to start a business just because of the money, I wanted to do something I was passionate about and I knew I would enjoy doing on a daily. I’ve always had a passion for kid’s fashion, so starting this boutique was the ideal business for me. I knew I could start by using my own kids as models until I was able to grow and branch out. The planned worked and I’ve worked with many celebrity kids all over to help build my brand. Read more>>

Matthew Jackson | Co-Owner

We started our business back in June of 2016, when I discovered my childhood LEGO collection. I pulled them out of the box and decided to rebuild them, while building I found I was missing pieces. The sets were older but I was hopeful I could purchase pieces from LEGO. After some searching I found out that they no longer produced or carried some of the parts I needed, so I searched around and stumbled across a website called Bricklink. Bricklink is a website of LEGO fans buying and selling to other LEGO fans! Read more>>

Lauren Keef | Photographer

Honestly I was a bartender for years at upscale martini bars and then when Covid shut everything down I decided to turn my focus towards my dream! I have an associates degree in photography and arts but pushed it to the side to bartend for awhile since it was good money! I wanted to be with my kids more and do more of what I love which is photography! I am so lucky to have the best clients in the world they help my dreams come true every day and A lot of my clients have become like family! Read more>>

Aaron Thomas Booker | Owner & Head Chef

Honestly, I turned my hobby into a career. It started with following my mother, grandmother, and aunt around the kitchen. As a child I always had my hands in a mixing bowl or on a skillet. I took those lessons learned and put my own twist and flavor on those homey feel good meals. After graduating from Andy Dekaney High, I began studying business MNGT. at Sam Houston State. There I found myself cooking for almost every event that friends or I threw. It only took one person to tell me “man you should be selling this” and I took off from there. Read more>>

Cooper Abercrombie | Bar-A-BBQ Owner

We have always had a servants mindset. Creating smoked goods for the community is what we feel allows us to serve those in our surrounding area by providing a quality product. Read more>>

Omokayode Kareem | Entrepreneur

I guess my entrepreneurial spirit. Iv always known at a young age I wanted to do this was just waiting for the right opportunity and time. As a kid I always forced my friends to play my staffs and we used monopoly cash to run businesses I would think off at d time. We would sell anything from paper planes to manual labor lol Read more>>

Aalia Al-Barwani, MD | Obesity Medicine Physician and Owner of Albidaya Wellness PLLC

I have been a physician for many years working in various settings from federally qualified health centers to hospital outpatient clinics and direct primary care. In all those settings I worked as a primary care doctor and saw that my patient’s weight played a big role in their overall health and how well they did with management of their medical conditions. In the settings I mentioned, I was not able to properly address this issue due to many factors including lack of time in the schedule, lack of proper education and autonomy. Read more>>

Victor Lofinmakin | President of The Lofinmakin Group of Companies

One of my biggest motivations of starting a business comes from my desire to give back. I have always been so grateful for the business owners and entrepreneurs that I have worked at their firm and always pondered if they did not make the effort to start their business, would I have had the opportunity to work at their firm and learn from them. With that spirit, I wanted to do the difficult thing and open my business, so that I can pay it forward and give others the opportunity to make a living. Read more>>

Ayreona Rucker | Makeup Artist & Model

My thought process was simple, turning something I love doing into my career. I watch makeup videos on YouTube, TikTok and instagram and the main thing that I always heard was to start my business. Iv’ve been doing makeup since 2020 when covid started. Read more>>