Are you thinking about starting a business? If so, we think you’ll enjoy reading about how these seasoned entrepreneurs thought about the question when they were in your shoes.

Tonya Partlow | Realtor| Entertainment Management and Promotions| Entrepreneur

Deciding to start my own business was a life changing decision. However, as an owner, I can work in a field that I am passionate about. I’m able to build something that may become part of my families ongoing legacy. Moreover, it allows me to convert my knowledge, skills, interests, and passion into income. I also enjoy the flexible I have in making my own schedule and work environment. Regardless of the high financial risk, running my own business gives me an opportunity to potentially make more money than if I was employed by someone else. I benefit from my own hard work. In addition, as a business owner, I am involved in all aspects of my business instead of just a single task or obligation. Read more>>

Christina Edwards | Founder, CEO, & Career Coach

I started C3 Career Consulting, LLC because I did not see enough women and people of color in high paying careers and I wanted to change that. While working in corporate america, I would often refer to myself as “the trifecta” because I always ended up being: 1) The only woman in the room
2) The only person of color in the room 3) The youngest employee in the room I knew that my community was just as talented, educated, and deserving to have a seat at the table, and I wanted to create a career consulting business that provided more people that look like me with the tools and resources to level up in their career. Since then, I have helped over 1,000 underrepresented professionals worldwide transition into enjoyable careers that maximize their income. Read more>>

Dorie Reid | Crystal store owner, reiki healer

My initial thought for starting my own business was to be my own boss, and to be doing something that I enjoyed and that I knew a decent amount about. I didn’t know right away what that was until I was sick at home in bed and looking at my stand with all my crystals on it, that’s when I was like that’s it! There are no other crystal stores in this town, I love collecting them and what they can do for you and I know a good amount about them. Read more>>

Deja Bellamy | PuffnPearl Owner

The thought process behind PuffnPearl came from both of our interests and enjoyment in smoking hookah. We decided, why not turn our hobby into a business that has the potential to become a successful, profitable opportunity. Read more>>

Jess Rodriguez | Voice/ Songwriting/ Art Teacher

My parents were both entrepreneurs, and I saw how much time and dedication was necessary for success. For years, that amount of necessary work dissuaded me from wanting that for myself. Over the years I’ve worked well with people and found I am a natural at coaching and teaching. The draw towards music and art has also been a constant since childhood. I have worked professionally in teaching, ministry, music, and art, but never dreamed of having my own studio until the opportunity presented itself. It sort of feels like God did this, not me. It’s like the entirety of my life experiences have culminated to this point, where I can mentor budding artists, host songwriting workshops, teach voice lessons, and hopefully point people to the ultimate Creator, as we make beautiful things together. Read more>>

Chef Cole | Private Celebrity/Catering Chef

So I literally had an experience behind the meaning of why I started my business. Basically I was working a job and actually like it but there was a couple I met who was Indian-American who were very sweet. They made an impact on me like no other having lunch with them. God spoke to me and gave me Intimate Dinners With ChefCole!! He told me to start it because of fellowship was really missing from the household. So following that maybe 3 years later during Covid I started my LLC and here we are!!! Read more>>

Krystal Jadore | Visionary/CEO of iBIEC Hive

My vision behind starting iBIEC Hive was to create and strive to give the youth and young adults something to look up to as a role model and mentor. By starting my own outreach/business, iBIEC Hive allows me to perform at my fullest potential for outreaching to unique individuals to show them life is not controlled by how the world portrays you should be, when it comes to being unique and just simply being YOU! My motto, through iBIEC Hive exuberates that “Life is full of everything you put your heart and mind to believe you can accomplish by making healthy decisions for your fullest potential to shine again and again in the world.” I’m a woman of restoration and rebuilding. Read more>>

Kalon Carpenter | Artist and certified therapeutic recreation specialist

It’s a bit of a long story. My brother was in a nearly fatal car crash in 2018 and miraculously lived. He sustained a traumatic brain injury and we spent almost 73 days in ICU’s and rehabs. During that time, so many people stepped in to help and shared their gifts/talents with my family. I named my business after that experience and decided share my gifts/talents with others as a way to repay the kindness we were shown and to share his story. Thus light life love designs was born I began a new business venture in April for adults with special needs called the Sunshine Studio which aims to help participants with job skills training. I have worked with people with special needs for a very long time and I have seen this need for post graduate programming. Read more>>

Janasha Bradford | Financial Advisor, Author, & Owner

The thought process behind starting my own business started with me questioning why. Why did studying for my Series 7 license feel like a foreign language? Why wasn’t I exposed to financial literacy topics at an early age? These questions sent me down a rabbit hole of research and a realization that I wasn’t the only adult wishing I had learned about financial topics earlier in life. A few striking things that I learned were that more than 40% of adults are financially illiterate, more than 75% of teens lack confidence in their personal financial knowledge, and that at the age of 7, your financial foundation is built. This frustrated me and sparked the need for me to create a brand to fill the void in financial literacy that is readily available to children between the ages of 6-11 and that would give our children some fun financial resources. Read more>>

Hannah Marie Smith | Cabaret Producer, Performer, & Long Time Friender

When I first arrived in the Atlanta theatre community in 2016, I noticed right away that the market was extremely saturated. I also knew that there was pool of unused musical theatre work just waiting to be heard out there. It didn’t take me long to realize that I could meet both needs, but in order to do that I needed more experience performing in cabaret/concert environments. It brought me a lot of creative fulfillment, especially in times where I didn’t have a show going on. It also brought me joy to gives other under-used, talented performers an opportunity to get seen and perform something they enjoy. After producing/performing in cabarets for 4 years, the pandemic came and shook us all, especially the tehatre community. That is when the realization hit: we all at our core crave community and connection. Read more>>

Pamela Lue-Hing | Coach P” The Coaches’ Coach”

After being downsized for the third time, I had no choice. Actually, I did have a choice and I chose to take a chance on me. Developing people and inspiring them to live on purpose is one of my purposes in this lifetime and a sheer passion for me. At the time, I was a single mom of a son who was a senior in high school and a daughter in kindergarten, so there was no time to waste. When I walked out that third door for the last time, I sat down and listed all of my experiences, gifts and things that I had done throughout my lifetime and it all pointed to coaching and entrepreneurship. I took a life coaching certification course and never looked back. Read more>>

Nitiya Walker | Seeds of Fortune Inc., Executive Director

I am passionate about solving the college affordability issue through educational and economic empowerment for women of color. As the Executive Director and Founder of Seeds of Fortune Inc., a unique organization combining girl power, financial literacy, career development, and higher education pipeline to put opportunity and financial power back into the hands of young women of color. who are informed about the best decisions to avoid the tramps of financial scarcity to afford college. The program helps minority teen girls become financially empowered by helping them learn about money through the college and scholarship higher education process. I created the program in my Senior year of college inside my dorm room. Read more>>

Sujatha Suresh | Baker and Entrepreneur

I wanted to start a home bakery to provide delicious and eye-catching desserts for everyone. They should not only taste heavenly but should also be the best center piece of any party. Read more>>

Amadi (Abundance) Agbomah | Afro Vegan Chef, Afro painter, & Model

I started my business in the beginning years of my college education, I was awakened to healthier eating habits by researching and learning more about Afro health. I went alkaline vegan to help heal generational health trauma and my family, eating healthier is about a lifestyle choice that fosters a healthy spirit. Once I understood that eating healthy doesn’t have to diminish cultural authenticity, in taste and flavor, I combined my national background (Nigerian) with American Southern Soul Food. I started to sell plates at my college from my dorm, students loved it, once I graduated I was my own boss. Read more>>

Antoinette Reed | Fashion Designer & Stylist

God’s business. He lead me every step on the way. One day God had given me an idea to make a purse. I wore the purse around with me everywhere I went and kept getting compliments after compliments on the purse and then God lead to me make another purse same style but a different color and the next thing you know I had made about 10 other purses and started marketing them. Soon after God gave me the name of our business one night while sleeping and I set up the website, business cards, etc and starting doing pop-up shops selling our one-of-a-kind baggs and earrings and the rest they say is history. Read more>>

Dr. D’Andrea Robinson | Elementary Education Expert & Education Consultant

I knew that I wanted to work for myself as a little girl and ended up in education as a teacher and later an administrator. Being a business owner never left my spirit and my time in education gave me the chance to study the school system to determine the need my business would address. Ultimately my goal was to create a business would have a positive impact on Black students’ learning experiences and outcomes. After reading Monique Morris’ book, Pushout, I knew that my business was going to focus on supporting Black girls’ academic experience. Read more>>