Our city is home to so many incredible businesses and so we asked the founders how they came up with the ideas for their businesses and have shared their responses below.

Linda Walker

I have told this story so many time because it is one of those “right place, right time” events that changed the course of my life. I was working at a hotel in Miami (Reservations Manager) that had a vibrant night club with national live entertainment every week. I became friends with lots of the performers who appeared in the club. At the time I decided to move to Atlanta, I was talking to Mr. Bill Pinkney, leader of the Original Drifters who were appearing in the club at that time. Bill told me that the Drifters hadn’t performed in Atlanta in a long time and would I like to try to find them a gig or two once I got settled. He promised to write me out a telephone speech that I could use to call venues to see if they might be interested in hosting the Drifters. Read more>>

Sara Ra” Perez | Embroidery Artist & Costumer”

I am a embroidery artist and a costumer one path sort of lead to another. I have always been a maker, and I started embroidering as a way of coping with my anxiety. I loved that it was transportable, that it can be done almost anywhere. The more I made the more I had, so I started Ra Makes and started selling pieces. Market after market people were asking me to teach classes, we connected over my pieces and our struggles with anxiety. So, I started teaching classes. historically women have spent time in community making clothes, sewing, quilting and embroidering, it was a safe space for them and this is what I wanted my classes to be for people. Read more>>

National Association of Black Professional Organizers (NABPO) | Professional Organizing Association

In 2015 Naeemah Ford Goldson created a Facebook group for women of color who were either in the professional organizing industry or thinking about becoming professional organizers. The reason she created the group was because women of color in the industry were drastically underrepresented, and lacked the support and resources for starting their businesses. Having joined several other professional organizer groups previously, Naeemah never felt welcomed in any of those groups. She noticed her questions were being met with snarky responses, or not being answered at all. She then started to observe the different groups and noticed that was the same trend for other women of color. Read more>>

Lana Joseph | Audiologist & Entrepreneur

As a young girl, I faced speech and hearing challenges, enduring eight years of struggle due to financial constraints that prevented timely medical intervention through Medicaid. The bullying and teasing I endured during this period were difficult to bear. When I finally received therapy, it took only three months to completely overcome my speech issues. Reflecting on those lost years, I couldn’t help but imagine how different my life might have been with earlier intervention. Motivated by my own experiences, I founded the High Level Speech and Hearing Center to ensure that children facing similar obstacles could access speech and hearing services irrespective of their economic circumstances. In the past eight years, we have made a significant impact, aiding over 50,000 patients, including 250 schools and daycares. Read more>>