Deciding to work for yourself is often cited as the best decision folks in our community have made. Hearing the same response over and over led us to ask them about the next best decision folks have made and we’ve shared their responses with you below.

Drea Mack | Business Woman

Networking is a big contributing factor in my growing business. Not being afraid to put myself out there and talk to people has help me open door for my business in many different aspects. Using social media to connect and network as well as in person at any event I’m booked for!!. Read more>>

The Birth Story Collective, Brittany Knapik, Claire Mandrycky & Chanda Williams | Birth Doulas, Photographers & Filmmakers

After years of working as individuals, the three of us came together to create The Birth Story Collective. We recognized the importance of community in birth work, and knew that in order to make the work sustainable we needed to come together. We made the choice to value community over competition. The support and encouragement that is built into the Collective has been a game changer. Working together has allowed for a healthy work life balance, as we share birth clients, and therefore the time we spend “on-call” awaiting their labor. Coming together also provided us with a built in community to share our own experiences with. Attending births can be trying and birth workers need to be able to confide in people who ‘get it’. We are very lucky to be able to do that with each other. Read more>>

De’Quan Green-Gause | Owner of DesignsTooGood, Graphic Designer & Custom Painter

Being obedient to God and a faithful servant. To give you some context, in college, I was a graphic design major with a minor in marketing. Throughout school, I was always looking for ways I could use my gift to serve the Kingdom first. I knew once I graduated I wanted to continue serving God, but to be honest, I didn’t have a plan on how I was going to do that. After graduating in December of 2018 from Radford University, I decided to take a leap of faith move to Atlanta, GA. After getting settled, I began looking for jobs. My search came to an end after I decided to take a position at Victory Church in Norcross as a Graphic Design Temp. I honestly started to lose faith after working hard for 5-6 months as a temp on the design team hoping to get a full-time position. So I started looking for other jobs just in case. During that time, God checked me and said to me “Serve me and I will take care of the rest.” Read more>>

Joshua DJ Swaye Bautista | CEO Swaye Productions & Entertainment, LLC

The single most important decision you made that contributed to your success outside of working for myself would be making the decision to expand DJ’ing into a full business ( ie.. LLC ). Working for myself is one thing and self satisfying, however, there had to be more to it than that. So with some motivating in-depth conversations I finally decided to grow DJ’ing into a brand and an Independent production and entertainment company. While some DJs just spin records which is cool, I decided to venture into the entire aspects of a full show. I learned about Lighting equipment, special effects equipment, Laser lights and high definition video equipment as it pertains to the DJ/Entertainment world. I now incorporate all of these external elements into DJ’ing a show or and event. expanding my DJ’ing into a business that can handle any size event and be in full control of every entertainment factor has been the best decision I have made other than working for myself. Read more>>

Brandi Phillips | Print, Commercial and Lifestyle Model

The most important decision I made for myself was to release fear and step outside my comfort zone. For me, it was traumatizing pushing my brand every day in front of people, interacting with others not in my circle, or simply being vulnerable and personable. Thanks to social media, I have the ability to build a platform and gain a faithful audience checking out for my new photoshoot work. However, I must remind myself to be very transparent in my posts and captions about this process of becoming a full-time fashion model. But I always remain positive and determined to transform this dream into a reality. Read more>>

Melissa J. Martin | Visual Content Producer & Entrepreneur

Honestly, believing that I had what it took to work for myself. Since my business started out as a side hustle, there was a certain mindset shift that had to happen because I hadn’t seen myself running a photography business when I started shooting in 2015. So, after a couple years I realized I would need to look at my business differently if I wanted it to now be my career. But more importantly, it became a daily decision to believe in my abilities and that while the journey isn’t always easeful you have to believe that you can do it and reinforce that belief by making investments into yourself and your business that’ll continue building on that confidence. Read more>>

BRILEX | Writer, Musician, and Creative Entrepreneur

The single most important decision that I made that has greatly contributed to my success was to embrace the uncomfortable. Sacrificing comfort for growth has led me to some incredible opportunities, that I’m not sure I would have had otherwise. One quote, in particular, has helped me with this, “if you can’t beat the fear, do it afraid.” This quote continues to inspire me, as it encourages people to take action regardless of if they are uncomfortable or afraid. Read more>>

Eniyah Crayton | Student & Serial Entrepreneur

After deciding to work for myself, I took another leap of faith and this time I decided that I wanted to start my journey on becoming a cosmetologist. My junior year in high school, I sat down with my counselor and got myself registered to become a dual enrolled student, meaning I’d be attending HS and a college. After being accepted into the college just by using my GPA, I started my journey to becoming a licensed cosmetologist which will later support my brand down the line. Knowing that I graduate HS this upcoming May, makes me excited because I know for sure that my decision on starting my journey as at Cosmetologist has been successful and that I will soon be taking state boards, which means I’m a step closer to my success. Read more>>

Jasmine Ryans | CEO & Founder of Soul(tre) and SANS Supply

The single most important decision I made that contributed to my success was deciding to obey God, His Word and intentionally deciding to give Him a yes every single day. Read more>>

Charissa Cunningham | Boutique Owner & Business Coach

The most important decision I had to make was to risk my savings and a dependable check every week from a job to follow my dream! I had to become very very confident in myself to know that all things are possible for me and to know that I am making the right decision no matter how scary it was! I knew I would experience times where things were uncomfortable but the freedom that I have being self employed outweighs all of that. Read more>>

Quiana Cloud | Tech Founder & CEO

It’s important to find your tribe. I’ve submerged myself in the startup space in Atlanta and virtually on the west coast. It’s equally important to network across the ecosystem as it is to network vertically. Running a startup requires flexibility, agility, and the ability to understand when and how to pivot. As of March 2020, barazzo® shifted gears, and we’re now developing smart retail technology to create a seamless, cashless, limited contact shopping experience. As a result, barazzo® has moved on to the SBIR.gov proposal phase!. Read more>>