Deciding to start a business is an unusual decision. It’s often considered irrational and yet for many it’s the best decision they’ve ever made. So we asked folks to think back to when they were starting their businesses and to tell us about their decision making process.

Harli G | Podcaster- Purpose Cultivator

I created Inside The Bubble with Harli G podcast to provide a safe platform where women are able to connect and share their stories and experiences while inspiring and motivating purpose. Read more>>

Carrie Lane | Partner

My husband and his business partner opened their third Escape room and had asked me to run it. Due to the strains of Covid they needed to let it go just a short 7 months later. My mother has been helping me run the location and together we decided that we really enjoyed creating the puzzles and stories. Read more>>

Danae Moya | delphistem COO & Co-Founder

I am an ex-corporate business strategist turned into a mindful entrepreneur. I met my co-founder while living in Europe. He is an experienced stem cell scientist and published author & co-author in scientific journals. His biomedical vision of making stem cell technology accessible to the public resonated with me from day one. Read more>>

Cham and Joshua | Digital Marketers and Videographers

Well we have always been business people. Josh my fiance and business partner started his first of many business in elementary school selling candy. I accidentally started a foot massage business when I was 5. Read more>>

Shameka & Tamara | Feminine Hygiene Care Business

Our thought process behind starting our own feminine care business was personable . As women, we tend to fight our own battles silently, with the fear of being judged. When in reality, our silent battles, could help others just by opening up. Personal hygiene being one; We wanted to be able to offer a variety of personal hygiene care products that are gentle to use, natural, effective, and affordable. Read more>>

Aly Masters | Founder of Biocurlz Hair Care

Starting my own business came from my entrepreneurial family. My father and brothers all started successful kayak and slingshot businesses, and my mother had her own practice as an obstetrician delivering babies. Read more>>

Djuan Short | LCSW, EMDR Certified Therapist, CTCP, RYT-500

In 2017 I found a coaching program called, “Business School Bootcamp for Therapists in Private Practice” by Kelly, Miranda, and the Zynnyme Team. I had always known I would have a private therapy practice but did not know how to start the process. Read more>>

Ty Crawford | Writer, Director, Producer, Actor

Having the creative freedom to develop projects and tell my stories has always been a dream. When the opportunity came to build it from the ground up, I knew it was exactly what I wanted to do. Read more>>

Marcus Arnold | Motion Designer

To be able to work on different projects for clients and other companies. Having your own freelance clients helps you financially and makes me better as a artist overall. Read more>>

Andrew Antwi | Marketing Analyst and Photographer

When I first began photography, I never had the intention of “starting a business”. It was just supposed to be my personal creative outlet. Back in high school and middle school I always had an art class which allowed me to do more creative work but during my first year in college I only had math, english, business and science classes which didn’t allow too much personal artistic freedom. Read more>>

Sean Felder | Distributor,independent operator

3 things be persistent,patience and network.Also learn to take constructive criticism Read more>>

Boss Babe Awards | Recognizing women as well as the LGBTQ community in Atlanta

My thought process was to Empower and honor Women as as well as the Lgtbq+ community. I felt like women as well as the lgtbq+ community don’t get recognized enough or not at all. In my eyes everyone deserves their flowers. I wanted to make this an experience for everyone to remember much like the Oscar’s or the Grammys. Eventually I plan to take the Awards to Las Vegas, New York, Dallas & More. Read more>>

Brandie Caudle | Master Makeup Artist & Self Love Consultant

Honestly, I would have to say the year of 2012 when I hit my breaking point and realized that I had Severe depression and my only way out was to make myself look pretty in the midst of my own chaos. Read more>>

Kevin Williams | Game Creator & Entrepreneur

My thought process in starting this business was that I want to retain creative control and ownership of the game that we created. There was a lot of time and money invested in bringing Songnario to market and I’d like to build a successful game company that eventually I can pass on to my children. Read more>>

Rebecca McDaniel | Twin Mama

I am obsessed with finding matching outfits for my boy/girl twins. I wanted to share all of the outfits I found with other Moms of multiples so I decided to start a blog to do just that. Read more>>

Joy Edwards | CEO & Founder of Sweet Surrender

All my life I’ve suffered from sensitive skin that was always dry and itchy. No matter what combination of soap and lotion my mom bought my skin was always dry, tight, and ashy from my scratching all the time. Read more>>

Xsante Jones | Designer

I wanted to create a platform where I could control all aspects of the seller-to-consumer experience. In the past, I used such platforms as eBay, StockX, etc.) to sell my items, however, they were plagued with high fees and other unnecessary charges in my opinion. Read more>>

Desirée Chavis | Business Owner & Traveler

Starting my own business developed after years of feeling unfulfilled at work. As a job hopper, I had amassed a lot of really valuable experience but felt like I was never getting the actual “big break” that I wanted in the industry I wanted. Read more>>

Elainie Crowell | Registered Nurse & Entrepreneur

When the COVID pandemic first started I got into doing my own nails. Being a nurse I prefer to stay away from nail extensions and I was not very great at painting my own nails. Then one day I stumbled upon semi cured gel strips. At the time the product was not really sold in America and I would order from overseas. Read more>>

Jamila Hubert | Skater, Musician, and Caterer

I honestly have always been in a kitchen since I was a child and my fondest bonds and memories revolve around food. I volunteered to cook for my friends all the time and did a few pop-up shops and saw how people reacted to my food. To me, it’s definitely something that’s lucrative and I still enjoy the look of awe and nostalgia I see on people’s faces. Read more>>

Ca$ino Roulette | CEO / Social Media Influencer / Artist / Digital Creator

My thought process behind starting my own business was that i wanted to leave something to my kids Read more>>

John Childs | Executive Director and Founder

Well..Ii was a teacher. I loved teaching. However, I had grown weary of the profession of teaching. For me it had become much too much about accountability and checking boxes instead of creativity and innovation. There are some amazing teachers that navigate the system flawlessly but I knew it was not where I should be. Read more>>

Charmaine McCall | Early Childhood Educator & Consultant

My thought process behind starting my own business was to pursue my passion of learning, inspire my children, and build generational wealth for my family. Read more>>

Milatto Wasson | Serial Entrepreneur, Influencer, Event/Wedding Planner, Creative Director

When I started Bossties Womens Business Sorority the goal was to create a support system/ sisterhood for women in business or interested in starting a business to collab, build and make genuine connections.. Read more>>

Colleen Gagnon-Beal | Makeup Artist and Owner of La Planta Skincare

I think I’ve always had a business mindset. Every since I was a kid I was always trying to sell something on eBay or host some type of yard sale or lemonade stand. Read more>>

Mikayla Taylor | Copywriter for Women Entrepreneurs

The thought process behind starting my business is a drive to live life on my own terms. As someone who deals with physical and emotional symptoms of anxiety, I felt my life wasn’t in alignment with trying to keep up with corporate culture, and my health suffered. Read more>>

Brandy Nair | Founder of Notebooks and Coffee / Virtual Assistant

I began my business, Notebooks and Coffee in 2020. It originally started as helping out a business colleague with administrative tasks virtually because he was short-staffed. I then grew into a small business over the next two years. Read more>>

Dr. Austin Saxon | Chiropractor

We wanted to bring our unique and thorough brand of chiropractic care and natural healing to our hometown of Woodstock, GA. We use a combination of chiropractic adjustments, myofascial release, and laser therapy to create a very effective approach to healing without drugs or surgery. We are very excited to be serving the people of our hometown! Read more>>

Makayla Harrell | Creative Entrepreneur

During the summer before my senior year, I realized that I wanted fun unique Senior themed shirts. I can up with a few designs and made shirts and people were really interested. I started Eleace’s Art with a Snapchat post and a google spreadsheet to keep track of orders. Read more>>

Kassie Banjoko | Fiber artist & Home decor enthusiast

I initially didn’t have any intentions of starting my own business. I enjoy the process of macrame and was making plant hangers mainly for myself. then locally I sold a few here and there. It wasn’t until a friend of mine really encouraged me to pursue selling them as a business that I started to think about it. Read more>>

Jeremy Brezial | Hair Stylist/Enthusiast & Comedian

I wanted to start a business doing something that I enjoy! A physician that I once worked with said “if you enjoy something, then it’s not work. It’s having fun”. I have been doing hair since my college days and I wanted to add to my brand by starting my own hair care collection. Read more>>

LEONARD DOZ’IA | Chef & Owner

I’ve been in the food service industry as Chef/Owner of Dozia Catering for over 20 years when the pandemic hit a couple years ago. Like everyone, we had to reset ours goals financially and look at ways to adjust our business model to the current environment we were dealing with. Read more>>

Teondrea Taylor | A Licensed Loctician & Mompreneur

My whole thought process was initially just trying to start a career where my schedule could always be flexible due to me having a child but soon after it be and more of a lifelong dream that I was finally achieving. Read more>>

Shakeela Shakoor-Carter | Business owner, wife and mom

I grew up with a family of entrepreneurs. Our first family owned business was Shakoor’s thrift store. I have always wanted to create and build generational wealth. Starting Etherianspace is just the tip of the iceberg into making that come into existence. Read more>>

Carsha Owens | Small Business Owner

To be honest, my ambition to start my own business did not arise until my late twenties. Growing up I felt like starting a business was too hard or too risky. It was not until I had a long conversation with my dad that I realized life is short. Read more>>

Bethany Nicholle | Artist/Author

I started painting and writing as a teenager. I got serious with painting in high school. I had two advanced art classes a day my senior year, but decided to go to college for music business to be a songwriter. Read more>>

River Grana | Licensed Massage Therapist & Bodyworker

In school I noticed that there was no curriculum, or even recognition of Trans bodies. My coursework was extremely gendered and made me uncomfortable. I knew too from my own experience that there wasn’t a lot of knowledge surrounding Trans people in the wellness world. Read more>>

Allie McAllister | Aesthetic and Dermatology Nurse Practitioner

The thought process really came down to wanting to offer a service in a way that I couldn’t working for someone else. I had a clear picture in my mind of what the patient experience would be like at my own practice, from the website, products available, aesthetics and vibe of the office, but especially the level of care and results I could provide when I had full control. Read more>>

Aaron Thomason | Leadership Coach & Speaker

When I played basketball in college, it was always my idea to go overseas, play and come back and start my own business. When my playing career didn’t go the way I wanted it to, I thought it was be easier to just be a 9-5 dude (and there is nothing wrong with that) but it wasn’t. Read more>>