We asked some brilliant folks from the community to tell us about the most important lesson their business or career has taught them. We’ve shared some of those responses below.

Ray Spitta | Rap Art

Born and raised in Jersey City NJ. Family oriented most of my life my city and where I’m from molded me to just bet on myself and never give up. Read more>>

Adrian Smith | Pet grooming expert

I’m from New Orleans, La. I was raised by a single mother. My dad was around every other weekend but not really. I’ve lived animals as far back as I can remember. After getting out of middle school I used to visit the pet store everyday. One day after I school I snuck and bought a pregnant hamster. I kept it in a shoe box in the top of the closet , which I thought would be great because my mom would absolutely not allow it. We had one previously and she hated the smell And the clean up. Well the hamsters eventually chewed through the box and started exploring the house. My mom found them one night when we were sleeping away at grandmoms and she called screaming and hollering. It’s pretty hilarious now that I think back on it….. in middle school I took a career aptitude test. The test results came back that my career should be involving math and involving animals… about 15 years later I own 2 dog grooming salons. I say that was spot on Read more>>

Paris Monet | CEO and MUA of The Pink Playhouse

I was born and raised in Atlanta, specifically Decatur. I was born into a single parent household. Although I was provided with everything I needed, I didnt get everything I wanted. This instilled in me a hunger for more and a drive to achieve my goals, leading me to start working at 14 years old. Working that young, instilled a strong work ethic, resilience, and a keen sense of responsibility in me. Being in Atlanta, a black mecca, I was surrounded by successful black entrepreneurs from work, church, and community organizations. Therefore, my active involvement in community organizations provided invaluable opportunities to strengthen my leadership, communication, and teamwork skills. I didn’t even realize at the time that I was learning essential traits that laid the foundation for my journey as an entrepreneur. All of these roles taught me the importance of dedication, hard work, and the power of connecting with people. Read more>>

Annalise Nelson | Writer, Painter & Photographer

I grew up in Sandy Springs and moved back to Atlanta in 2019, after my schooling in Boone, NC.
I think anyone from the South understands how special it is and how interconnected all of our joy and struggles are.
Living in Atlanta has influenced how I show up in my life, it influences my pace and what’s important to me. There has to be room for meals and breaks.. I don’t have the ability to be rushed. There’s a rhythm to Atlanta that’s very unhurried to me and I think we all work hard to get to those moments of play. To be an artist, for me, is to be present with all that’s around me so I can feel the stories and rhythms of my environment and let those be the guiding forces for how I want to visually describe what it’s like to be alive here. Read more>>

Victoria Clark | Fashion & Lifestyle Model + Creative

I am originally from Riverdale, Georgia, on the southside of Atlanta. My background and upbringing inspire a lot of what I know how to do and can do today- creative-wise. My parents did not always have the financial means to provide wants for my sister and me, so, in return, we had to figure out how to do many things ourselves, from learning how to do our hair, nails, and makeup to crafting art pieces that we admired but could not afford, creating and altering clothes, painting shoes, etc. This process alone taught me how to be independent, confident, and able to take risks and bounce back; in other words, resilience. So naturally, as I grew into an adult, I have always had different hobbies that I could turn into a career. From singing, drawing, painting, sewing, cooking, event planning, social media management, photography, and modeling, there was always something to keep me on my toes in the creative realm. Read more>>

Latika Sims | Entrepreneur and Author

I’m from a small town south of Atlanta called Palmetto, Georgia. growing up, my dad was an entrepreneur. He owned his own business, my entire life, and he was also a pastor. Just watching him as I grew up, I saw his work ethic, I saw how committed he was to his business, his church and his family. He gave me the very first business I ever had. I was 20 and he rented a space so I could do hair. I later quit cosmetology, but I never gave up on being an entrepreneur. My dad never gave up on his business, even when there were bad days or bad weeks or bad months. I would think of him when I was having a bad day businesswise. I think that’s how I have been able to stay true to myself, and true to the brand that I am working every day to build. Read more>>

Ricardo Brown jr | Music Artist/9-5er

I am from the bahamas. Lived there for the first 22 years of my life. Grew up outside and inside a lot from diving into beaches and lakes with friends to skateboarding downtown in traffic with friends to taking over technical schools with friends to now living in America started in florida with no friends then hating florida to moving to dallas texas and making lots of money there then moving to chicago n got scammed there then Alabama meeting my beautiful wife and now we’re both living in Atlanta together focusing on music and trying to make a better life for us and the people we love. The craziest part of my life was when i was about 13 y/o i went on a fishing trip with my dad and his friends and we caught so much fish that the boat flipped over and we were lost at sea for four days and got picked up by a 500 ft submarine. Ts was crazy but yea i think my life has been through enough. So yea Read more>>

 Nazahria (Coco) East | Model & Fashionista

I was born in Miami to a wonderfully diverse family. My mother’s side is a blend of Panamanian, Jamaican, Haitian, and Trinidadian heritage, which made growing up a rich and vibrant experience. This multicultural environment taught me early on that everyone is different, and that’s something to be celebrated. Read more>>

Iggy Badd | Rap Artist & Musician

I am a rapper from Memphis, TN. Since a very young age, music has been my passion. With my father being a DJ, I was immersed in beats and rhythms whenever he took me to his studio. My journey continued as I was fortunate enough to attend Stax, the prestigious musical school in Memphis. This is where I honed my musical theory skills and discovered my love for rapping as a means of self-expression. After graduation, I worked in various jobs from construction to customer service and lost touch with making my own music. A few years ago, I relocated to Atlanta to focus primarily on my music. I have dedicated myself to expanding my musical knowledge and crafting lyrics that resonate with people from all over the world. My experience in the music industry influenced me to become as independent and resourceful as possible. To not be financially taken advantage of, I learned how to make my own beats and produce my own songs. Please stay tuned as I continue to evolve my individuality in the music industry. Read more>>

Haze Nguyen | Artist & Designer

My family immigrated from Vietnam to the United States and I grew up in Chapel Hill, North Carolina with my mom, dad, and older sibling. I have a large extended family. We are all quite close and I always had cousins to play with and aunts and uncles to talk to. Growing up there was always some sort if crafts going on. My grandma knits, an aunt taught us sewing, an aunt showed us how to paint, and all the cousins would draw when we had the chance. When gathering on holidays we would be sewing clothes for our stuffed animals, having fashion shows, making t-shirts, crafting picture frames with sand and shells from the beach and sewing felt crafts as Christmas tree ornaments. I’ve become a heavily-detailed and hands-on type of person because of those influences, but never thought of it much as more than a hobby. As many asian households are, we reuse grocery bags, repurpose bottles, grow gardens with scraps, and DIY the hell out of anything to save money. I’ve always been surrounded by hustlers, hard workers, and crafty people whose habits now reflect onto me. Read more>>