Our community is comprised of some absolutely brilliant entrepreneurs and so we asked a few of them to tell us the story of how they came up with the ideas for their business.

Tressa Walker | Handbag Designer and Owner

My business idea was 20+ years in the making. After graduating from High School I attended a fashion college but back then I was not encouraged to pursue a career in fashion, so I transfer to an University where I obtained my Bachelors Degree in Communications but my love for handbags and fashion never went away. I have had a love for handbags as a child and would save up my money to buy high quality handbags when in middle/high school so after I finished college I started sketching handbags and trying to make them by hand which was unsuccessful. At that time I didn’t know what to do so like many others who had aspirations or dreams but didn’t know how to execute it, I packed up my sketches and got busy into my career. I wasn’t until I moved after the pandemic that I found my old sketches and decided that I would do the research and start my own handbag line that was focused two of the things I loved the most, my friendships and handbags. My handbag line is my middle name Ahisa, named by my mothers best friend Bettye. Even 20 years ago I knew that my handbags would be my middle name but what is funny the first initial sketches I changed the spelling of my name since it was so different cause I thought it would be confusing to people, but this time I said no Im going to use the correct spelling and I used my first sketch as a inspiration for the first design in my inaugural collection, Bettye’s Bucket Bag. Read more>>

Stephanie McKenzie, Executive Director Jennifer Floyd, CEO | Cofounders of The Rose Bud Transitional Home

The Rose Bud Transitional Home was established in July 2020 by Stephanie McKenzie (Executive Director) and Jennifer Floyd (CEO). The Rose Bud Home is a 501c3 non-profit organization serving the Gwinnett County area in Lawrenceville Ga. Domestic violence is widespread, deeply ingrained in the community and has serious impacts on women’s health and well-being. The idea to form The Rose Bud Transitional Home was formed due to Stephanie McKenzie being a survivor of domestic violence and Jennifer Floyd being an advocate for domestic violence through personal experiences, community outreach and partnerships. Read more>>

Alissa Smith | Founder| Creative Director of Kontrol Kourse

Kontrol Kourse was created with the idea in mind that true control is understanding how to let things naturally flow. A lot of times we try to determine and dictate the final results in our life by trying to control the outcome but I’ve found that when you really dive deeper into what it truly means to control this course of life that we’re all on, you’ll start to understand that the true definition of control is letting go, and being present in the moment. So much happens when you decide to release power and simply attract all things in your life. Read more>>