We reached out to some of our favorite entrepreneurs and asked them to think back and tell us about how they decided to start a business. Check out their responses below.

Dru and Shay Phillips | Multi-Media Creatives

We had already been working together on multiple projects whenever we needed to lend each other a hand. I (Shay), was let go from a job after a merger and suddenly I had a lot of free time on my hands. At that point, we began working together even more frequently and paired so well as a team, we thought we should make it official. Dru was on board right away and 1Fourteen was born. We felt fortunate to have a mix of photography, videography, illustration, and graphic design between the both of us. It was the perfect match. Read more>>

Dominique Dolly” Hagler | Healing Instructor

The arts had always been a part of my life whether it be dancing, acting, modeling, or writing, I was doing it. I moved to Georgia in 2013, and at that time I started taking acting and modeling more seriously. After being in a few movies, I found that I was highly interested in writing my own short film, so I started writing Dating A’mari. As the years went on, I continued my focus on acting and modeling and stop writing altogether (outside of journaling) until 2019 after having my daughter. I had a traumatizing relationship which led to a massive breakup. Read more>>

Ashley Vetek | Small Business Owner, Air Force Veteran & Mom

This is such an interesting question, because I had so many thoughts prior to opening my business. I’ll start by providing some of my background. I was a military child, my dad served in the Air Force for twenty-eight years. With military service comes a lot of moving and I found myself always making new friends. I started dancing when I was three years old and always loved it. Every time we would move, my parents would make it a priority to find a studio where I could continue dancing. Dancing comforted me and always felt familiar at times when everything else was changing. Read more>>

Tommie Pressley | Branding Specialist

My thought process behind starting your own business is to just do it. If you are passionate about something then that passion isn’t there by mistake. Feel free to explore that passion. Read more>>

Deonte Holden | Founder of Law of Athlete & Global Creatives Agency

From a young age, I always understood the importance of maximizing your opportunities. When I started my football career, I knew that it would eventually come to an end–whether by retirement or injury–and when that day came, I wanted to be prepared. As an athlete, I had access to a wide range of resources and relationships that I could leverage beyond athletics. I considered this a solid blueprint to develop and share my business ideas, gain traction, and set myself up for success post-retirement from the game of football. Read more>>

James Richardson Jr. | Veteran & Executive Director

The framework of the idea to serve formerly incarcerated men and women grew from my first-hand accounting of witnessing my brother’s struggle with reintegration. After my 30 year career serving in the United States Army, I wanted to find a way to continue to give back to my community in a meaningful way. The skills that I had honed in leadership, personal development, and mentorship were great skills to assist people as they transitioned from prison and jail. I knew that my skills alone would not be enough so I became a certified John Maxwell Leadership Team coach, speaker, and trainer. Read more>>

Isabelle Trachtenbroit | Hair & Makeup Artist | Wardrobe Stylist | Interior Design

My main goal when starting my business, The Vanity House, was to connect with others who could appreciate and resonate with my style. Whether it be through my hair and makeup, wardrobe styling or interior design services, I’ve always had a desire to elevate everyday life with a unique touch. It’s been the biggest blessing to connect with others and turn a creative passion into a career. Read more>>

Joelle Gracia | Travel Host to Paris, France

The idea for Meet Me in Paris started with a passion that I have for Paris and France. I fell in love with the City of Light over 20 years ago and since then, and with every moment that I’m there, I adore it more and more. As with anything else, when you really love something you want to share with other people and this is how Meet Me in Paris was born. It is an invitation to those who’ve been wanting to go or were curious about Paris but didn’t have a travel partner, or who may have felt intimidated because of not knowing the language. As your travel host, Meet Me in Paris welcomes both first-time and return guests to enjoy Paris without having to plan, organize or have any of those worries. Read more>>

Kara Frenkel | Owner- Mobile Axe Throwing Entertainment company

Moving Target ATL was born as a result of COVID-19. In March of 2020, I was running a national multi-brand entertainment company with one of the industries being Axe Throwing. Once all locations were forced to close, my role immediately changed to remote management with a goal to keep the management teams engaged and ready to return when “we flattened the curve.” Read more>>

Maurice Costello | Clothing Brand & Music Producer

The thought process was long, I knew that I wanted to start a business that was unique and not so repetitive. I always knew I wanted my own look, my own brand, so I took the time to think of different designs not only I would wear but would grab the attention of others when they say it. I took the time to really get every detail and every sketch right until I found the perfect design. The first design came out and I ran with it and the process of coming up with different designs after that was easy. Read more>>

Matt Griffin | CEO – ACTION Wrestling

I just wanted to see if I could do it. I’ve been in the pro wrestling business since 1998. I’ve seen a lot of different business ideas succeed and fail. I’ve seen some people talk big and be gone in months, and some last decades. I wanted to see if I could pull together all my creativity into one effort, ACTION Wrestling. Read more>>

Keshawna Pritchett | Aromatic Designer

Starting my own business was not only a way to create generational wealth but to bring an affordable all-natural luxury candle company to the world. It all started with my self-care routine where I would run a nice hot bath and surround the tub with candles, rose petals and a glass of wine. Through research and development, I found that curating candles was a more daunting task than anticipated. There is a very intricate formula that must be executed to ensure a candle performs properly. Read more>>

Alicia Houston | Founder & Chief Experience Officer

Originally, I wanted to provide a platform for rising artists and help develop and promote them. I worked as a team with my clients to ensure that they maximize their earning potential and developed a mutual relationship between myself and the artist to work tirelessly to achieve success. My passion for creating events took over and now I create and execute experiential events for rising talent that also provides an ultimate fan experience. Read more>>

Shawn and Bess Allen | Shrunk3D Atlanta East franchise owners

Shawn has always wanted to own a business, but we just didn’t know what exactly it would be. This past spring break he and my daughter were visiting his dad in Missouri when he sent me a picture of my father-in-law. I thought it was a picture, but when I looked closely I realized it was a small statue of him! My sister-in-law had gotten a 6″ statue of Dad made for herself, and then she decided to have one made for Shawn and their other sister. Then, she decided the business was so cool that she wanted in! We quickly followed suit. All it took was seeing our wonderful father in law and his mannerisms forever in 3D. Read more>>

Glenn Douglas | Producer, Actor & Writer

As a child, it was always my dream to act, write and produce. Instead of waiting for others to reach out and hire me I decided to create my own opportunities. As a result, I launched my own production company GdJ Productions. When I started this company my vision was to revive, inspire and create. Read more>>

Jessica Brown | Photographer & Respiratory Therapist

I would love to say that I’ve always known that I wanted to start my own photography business but if I did I would be telling a lie. Jess Snapped It Photography started off as a hobby. It wasn’t until months after getting my first camera that I even decided to take shooting more seriously. I honestly had no intentions on it blowing up the way that it did, but I’m beyond grateful for all the support everyone has shown me thus far. Read more>>

Celicia Butler | Cake Designer

I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit but the start of my cake business wasn’t planned. When I was planning my wedding, I started watching episodes of cake boss. I’ve been baking since I was twelve so I was inspired by the show to try decorating cakes and I thought it would be a great way to save money if I made my own wedding cake. Afterwards, I made my first specialty cake. It was a simple Spongebob cake for my sister’s birthday. My second cake was for my cousin’s baby shower and people started ordering shortly after. Read more>>

Monique Valentine | Baker & Cake Artist

My initial thoughts when starting my business was to begin with something that I have always had a true passion for, wholeheartedly. I also thought about the current market ratio at the time and if there was an effective demand for Baked goods in my community and then I began to outline what I wanted my business to look like. I did research to see what other similar businesses were offering and aimed to angle my business where there was a shortage. Read more>>

Abby Plusen | Licensed Therapist + Certified Transformational Life Coach

My own family needed mental health resources during the pandemic and I was working with a life coach at the time. I loved the idea of marrying therapy and coaching to create a look-back as well as a look forward in discussing life’s challenges, patterns, and blocks. My clients love the combination of a deep-dive into the past to inform and plan for the future. Read more>>

Marie Nadal Sharma | Founder, Director & Coach

I wanted to soften the boundaries between tech savvy and non tech savvy people and bring back some trust in our industry. I felt like some communication was broken, and I wanted to bring a more holistic approach to the digital space. I strive to apply self-care in the digital space and advocate for more kindness online. Explaining the ‘what’ before the ‘how’ in digital marketing has helped shift the perspective from what we should do to what we want to do/share online – what matters to us. Read more>>