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.

Mike Steel

Need and Impact.

Need: We started GrassRoots Middle based on an unmet need in the market. Our oldest son was aging out of traditional homeschooling/microschooling programs, so after deep research we uncovered that there were, either none or very few, BIPOC centered, 100% outdoor, nature-based learning programs for homeschool middle schoolers across the nation….so we decided to create one! Read More>>

Deborah Carter

I was overwhelmed by a house full of stuff I couldn’t bear to let go. I was emotionally attached to everything. I had my stuff and stuff from family members and friends who had died. There was no room in my house, no room in my life, and it was all holding me back. Read More>>

Karisse Carnegie

Ever since I was a little girl, I knew I wanted to do everything. I grew up being told that if I wanted something—if I just spoke it into existence—it was mine. That mindset really stuck with me. Read More>>

Alika Rosser

I have always been a creative person. It started with writing short stories and poetry, drawing, and dance when I was in elementary school and morphed into studying journalism and public relations and continuing to dance throughout college. Once I graduated, my creative pursuits were part of my career in pr and marketing for the state, starting my own public relations company, and taking community dance classes. Read More>>

Christina Rodriguez

Starting my own business was a natural outgrowth of many years of teaching yoga in my community. I’ve been teaching part-time for about seven years, and while I always dreamed of doing this work full-time, the transition has been slow for me. I’m not a natural entrepreneur — I’m pretty risk-averse — and it can be really challenging to build a sustainable income from public classes alone. Read More>>

Mary Lane

My name is Mary Lane and I am the founder of the company PerfectedEverything. Founded in 2015, as a company that created custom empowerment t-shirts for businesses, which has now evolved into sharing the lessons I’ve learned. Read More>>

Mphatso Khuzwayo

My friends alerted me that I have created a product that solves a major problem, but is unfortunately not addressed enough. That is, vaginal health. From bacterial vaginosis to yeast infections to vaginal dryness.. these issues plague women on a day to day basis. Launching Yoni pHotion was an easy decision because I knew I would be helping so many women in a safe and tasty way. Read More>>

Tracy Rookard Shaw

The thought process behind launching both Black Art Unbound and History Gurus came from a deep need to preserve, elevate, and visually express Black history in ways that are both accessible and impactful. Read More>>

Becky Vocaire

I had very young kids at home and a husband that traveled a lot. But still, I wanted something I could call my own and keep an identity of my own. I had worked commercially in architecture firms for the start of my interior design career and hadn’t worked residentially before. It was a bit of a learning curve. I had a lot of construction experience but procurement was a bit new to me. I self taught myself a lot in the early years but I think that largest learning curve was the business ownership side! Read More>>