We asked some of the city’s rising stars to reflect on what made a difference in their journey. We asked them to tell us about what they think the most important factor has been behind their success.

Sabrina Jane Watts | Skin & Lip Blush Specialist | CEO of Muse Sthetix

In order to have a successful brand what I’ve found is that you must be consistent, dedicated and to stay true to yourself. My father would always remind me to always be true to yourself and grounded at all times and take one step at a time. My philosophy is that every individual needs two things: Confidence and Hustle. I’m beyond thankful I got that hustle and drive from both my parents. To do it right and to do it well requires commitment and a strong work ethic.  I owe that to my clients. They trust me with their largest investment, and that trust has to be earned and kept. Performing with excellence and attention to detail, along with being on top of things at all times is the most important factor to success. From my experience, being consistent has been the single most important factor to ensuring success of any brand and to remain authentic, real and being passionate with what you do. Read more>>

Jochen Bast | Project Manager

At our school competition YES! – Young Economic Summit, we take it seriously what the young people think , offer them a platform to present solution ideas on today’s issues from their point of view and on a scientific basis.about today’s problems. We treat them with the same respect and at eye-level we have foras we do politicians, researchers, teachers, or basically any person. Read more>>

David Minor El | Father, veteran, global marketer, entrepreneur, and crypto enthusiast,

Consistency is the most important factor behind my success! People have to see you are about your brand and business. If they see you start stop over and over again they dont believe in you because you showing them you dont believe in yourself nor do you have the discipline to stay consistent. How could you complete a business task for anyone else or present a great product if you dont show you are consistent enough to keep your business relevant? One day of inconsistency is a day your business is not relevant Read more>>

Candice King | REALTOR®, Team Lead, Mentor

The most important factor in my success would have to be my willingness to help people and genuinely be of service, and that applies whether I’m counseling a Buyer or Seller, I’m mentoring a new agent. The path to homeownership, for most, is not an easy one. It can be tiresome, stressful and at times feel defeating. I know this with every fiber of my being and I have to keep that at the forefront of my mind when I’m working with clients. My clients need to know that the person they’re trusting to guide them through this major life change, sincerely has their best interest at heart. Read more>>

Sandy Weaver | Program Director, Center for Workplace Happiness

I work with veterinarinas and their teams, creating and implementing hospital wellbeing programs. As a dyed-in-the-wool dog lover, dog sports enthusiast and multiple-dog owner, having a good relationship with my veterinarian and their team has always been important. So when the CDC report on veterinary suicide came out in 2019, my training business, the Center for Workplace Happiness, had a brand new focus and mission – save the lives of those working in the veterinary field. Read more>>

Gi Grier | Creator & Host – The Black Vibrations Podcast

Our team. Each of us has a unique skillset that contributes to the success of our brand. Gi works on getting guests and exposure opportunities, Taaj handles our sound and production, while Manny works on our web/content strategy. Without each of us operating at our best, we would not be where we are today. We also make sure to support each other and fill in if one of us has things going on as we all know life can hit you fast. So without a doubt, the most important factor behind our success is our cohesiveness as a team. Read more>>

Brenden Mitchum | Real Estate Agent & Investor

People refer to this factor with different verbiage: “persistence,” “sticktoitiveness,” “resilience,” “perseverance,” “tenacity,” “grit.” Call it whatever you want, but the bottom-line is that successful people often attribute this trait to their success. Although my success has been more of a roller-coaster ride than an exponential curve of improvement, I know that bouncing back and refusing to give up is what has led to the success I have seen. No one who ever started a business was wildly successful on day one. There will be obstacles & failures, more than you’ll expect, but if you view these as learning experiences and opportunities to improve, this is exactly what will happen. Read more>>

Tavia Mapp-Deterville | Founder of The Tavia MD Agency and Future is Female

The most important part of my success are the relationships that I have nurtured over the years and the new ones that I have been lucky enough to encounter. Read more>>

Dana Samuel | Fashion Designer & Wardrobe Stylist

The most important factor behind success and the success of my brand is INTEGRITY! Integrity plays a strong role in my everyday life so it emerges into my business. Integrity sets the foundation of my core values of my business/brand. From there we have honesty, trust, accountability, dignity, innovation, creativity, lately but most important RESPECT! Integrity defines what you do and who you are when no one is around. Integrity is how do I show up or perform when I’m doing something that I love to do and when I’m doing something I don’t care to do. Integrity is the starting point of Success! Read more>>

Funmi Ford | Content Creator

The most important factor behind my success has to be my relationships with my audience. When I first started I wanted to be friends with everyone I came in contact with virtually. They have been some of my biggest supporters and friends. Even now, I answer all my messages, reply back to my comments and periodically reach out to them just to check in. Building a great relationship with your audience is key to building a great brand. Read more>>

Fernando Gomez | Photographer / Graphic designer

Personally the important factor of my success was knowing a connection of what you love to do. I personally met a guy by the name of Mondo. He was a photographer who did a photo shoot of my Lowrider Bike for a magazine feature. The more and more I talked to him the more I got interested in photography. The more I was seen with him the more people started recognizing me. Within a year I was shooting pictures with him for the magazine. 2-3 years later I found out a couple of my homies where promoters here in Denver Colorado. I got connected with them doing flyers and photography from big artists such as Twista, Dogg Pound, Bone Thugs and Harmony, Lil Flip and much more. Read more>>

James Israel (DJ J Blacc) | DJ/Entrepreneur

The most important success factor behind the success I’ve obtained would have to be networking and taking risk that I thought was impossible to accomplish. Over the last year after making the decision to leave my job, I’ve been able to work with celebrity artists as being a full time DJ and built relationships with key holders in the music industry. Throughout this year I’ve also help grow the brand “OnDemand DJs” as one of the top DJ coalitions in South Carolina. Read more>>

Jose Llano | Water Treatment Specialist

Always think about going back in to the basic of your business. As businesses progress, it’s easy to get lost in to what do you need to do in order to get better results. Getting back to basics and refocusing attention on the foundation of a business is a great way to maintain momentum and growth. As business owner, there’s always something new to learn and apply to the business. And while innovation, new technology are always a good thing, so is going back to the basics as the foundations of business. Read more>>

Tameka Pettis | CEO

Our nonprofit organization was founded by my daughter who was a young heart transplant recipient herself. Within her life, she encountered many hospital visits for which she witnessed favoritism being given to the cancer patients.. She felt that someone, like herself, whom had undergone a heart transplant deserved reward for sure. She mentioned to me that she was interested in starting a business that would cater to the heart transplant community. My daughter never allowed her condition to hold her back from living her dreams and began college to become a radio personality. Read more>>

Michelle Deleon | Nail technician

I think the most important factor is that I’m a 8 th grade drop out with three kids and no one thought I’d be anything but one day I was cut off couldn’t get my nails done anymore it became a cost to my kids father who supported me basically stopped paying for me to get my nails done it wasn’t important since I wasn’t allowed to go nowhere .. I’d get hit on spit on kicked and I’d still get up and do nails because it was all I had to escape Read more>>

Lisa Dixon | Girl mom & Entrepreneur

You have to be and stay consistent when being a business owner. Being a business owner is a full time job, but the main factor is, knowing manifestation, because knowing manifestation is the key to ANY success! As long as you believe and have faith in yourself and your business, it will be as successful as you believe it will be! Read more>>

Calshaun Vinson | Singer,Rapper,Songwriter,Engineer,CEO & Entrepreneur

The most important factor behind making my brand successful is Love & Family. Because my love for my family keeps me going,keeps me hard working to succeed. My love for them also tells me to do better every morning that I wake. I love to show my children to never give up on something you want to do in life because we can do anything we put our focus and minds too. Read more>>

Wendy Gajadharsingh | Atlanta Food & Lifestyle Blogger

The most important factor for me is to be real. I like to highlight businesses I love. Whether that’s a restaurant, hotel, bar, activity or product. Running a business is hard work so I like to let others know when I see one being ran successfully. When their products and staff are phenomenal, that deserves recognition. Read more>>

Destiny Murray | CEO of Señorita Boñita Cosmetics

The most important factor behind the success of the Señorita Boñita Cosmetics brand is connection. We connect with real women with real bodies, real stories, and real triumphs. We want women to feel a part of a larger community of women who are striving to be, feel, and look their best (or “Boñita” as we like to say) in the face of beauty standards that tend to promote the same boxed in beauty standards. We have been able to connect with women because we send this message loud and clear: your body is sacred, beautiful, and you have every right to feel sexy in it! Read more>>

Jonathan & Ayanna Kilgore | Marriage, Family, & Relationship Therapist & Coach

The most important factor behind our success and the success of our brand, outside of our faith and guidance of Jesus Christ, is the health, honesty, and transparency of our marriage & relationship. God healed our marriage to transparently share with others the real truth of what it takes to stay happily married, not just the good parts of marriage. Our willingness to be vulnerable in sharing let’s other couples know that they are not alone in what they are facing and there is help, strategy, and practical ways to get through the tough places. But if we are not healthy, if we re not honest about our journey (past and present), we will drop the assignment. Read more>>