Starting and growing a business is hard, but often deciding to start the business in the first place is even harder. We asked some successful entrepreneurs from around the community to open up to us about how they thought about starting a business.

Rebecca Becx” Redondo-Eide | Entrepreneur

Starting a business involves careful consideration and planning. At first, I came up with a business idea, like capitalizing on a particular passion or skill and of course identifying the needs of my market. Market analysis, conduct and assess market viability, my target audience and competition. Then, the business plan by creating overall strategy, goals and operational details. Starting a business requires dedication, persistence and a willingness to learn from both successess and failures. It is an exciting journey that can be filled with opportunities and rewards. This is where I started my company Adventura Enterprises LLC wherein I produced the first ever big Filipino concert in Atlanta GA. Read more>>

Casey Howard | Maternity and Newborn Photographer

I always felt a strong pull to do whatever makes me happy and specifically, to have that thing make money for me. I always knew when I was at my 9 – 5 corporate job that that was not the path for me. Instead, I wanted to steer my own ship, make my own schedule, love what I did, get away from the corporate grind and most importantly, create more time to be with my kids. I began photographing families as a side gig and after my first child was born I knew I needed to make my dream of working for myself a reality, so, that’s what I did! Read more>>

Morris Owens | Singer, Actor & Fashion Designer

Growing up my mom couldn’t afford name brand clothing so most of my clothing were hand-me-downs however they were from middle class students she taught. Lucky for me the clothes they didn’t care for were actually popular in lower income neighborhoods. At the time, POLO and Tommy Hilfiger were the top brands on the westside of Atlanta. This gave me pride because although I didn’t have Jordans or Nike like the popluar kids, I had on clothes I knew were high value. I fell in love with the designs, look and feel however as I grew I began to learn about the ethics of Hilfiger as well as some of the top designers. Being that I am a Black American, I was disgusted when I learned most of the brands didn’t care for “us” to wear their clothing. So I promised myself I would make clothing that I can take pride in knowing it was designed with the intent for any culture to wear. The prep look has always been my favorite which is why I modeled my brand “La Saint Amour” after it. La Saint Amour is inspired by myself AvaNu, my musical style and what I believe in which is LOVE. So in other words my thought process for starting my clothing line was merely to spread love through fashion and also make money while doing it. Read more>>

Martina Stellmaszek Juliana Caspari | Moms & Co-Founders

Ask any mom about the challenges of motherhood and you’ll hear words like sleep deprivation, stress management, keeping the kids entertained, and more. But one thing that nearly every mom goes through but rarely talks about—whether out of guilt or the fear of being judged—is the feeling of isolation. Being home with little humans who demand your time, attention, and energy day in and day out can be physically and mentally taxing. However, you might worry you will appear ungrateful, selfish, or weak if you mention needing help or needing more human interaction than what your child(ren) provide(s). This is exactly how we felt when we each became mothers – we felt isolated and very alone. We wanted to create for new moms in Atlanta what we had been missing: a network that brings new moms together to share their experiences and find the support they need. We believe that motherhood is challenging enough; no one should have to go through it alone. Read more>>

 Jasmine Coleman-Miller | Creative + Digital Strategist

After Ours started as a project management business. I helped small businesses set up their processes and frameworks to be successful. As creatives, we always know the hardest part of starting a business was getting organized and getting your processes written out. I wanted to take that frustration away and show businesses that organization didn’t hinder their creativity, it enhanced it. Read more>>

Ronika Ward | Owner/ CEO of Pretty Girls Wax Parlor

My thought process when starting my business thinking about my daughters future. I have three amazing daughters and I don’t want them to go what I went through. I wanted to show them a better way of life. Luke yea you can have your own business. They have seen my journey first hand when it was just an idea. I also new I didn’t want to work for anyone since I was a Child myself. I was wanted my own to be self sufficient. Leaving a legacy behind is where my inspiration came from when my journey as an entrepreneur. Read more>>

Lauren Chambers | Photographer

Wow that’s a loaded question. Well, I went to business school with my sights set on being a Fortune 500 CFO for a major corporation; having never stepped foot in a corporate office. It only took 3 years for me to burn out and realize I was completely unable to politic. However, my love for business and the need to still be involved with one never waned. Fortunately for me, I married a brilliant sculptor whose career was just beginning to take off, so he needed a manager and we needed a studio for him to work and teach; KLC Studios was born. 2 years into that, the studio was pretty much running itself and multiple galleries had picked up Kevin’s work, but I became bored. We had always had connections in the art consulting world for hotel/restaurant art, so I thought if Kevin could make the original pieces of art, then I could make the molds and production casts.  Read more>>

William Walker | Audio engineer & CEO of M.MUDIAMONDPRODUCTIONS

Well me personally I always thought if I started a business and do things the right way my family could be straight forever. I graduated college with a bachelor’s degree in engineering and sound design so I wanted to capitalize off of that and started my own production company Read more>>

Alexis Williams | Business Owner, Hair Loss Practitioner, Marketing Professor/Consultant

I have always been surrounded by business owners and entrepreneurs. In my early teenage years, I was enamored by their lifestyle and ability to navigate life on their own terms. I used that as motivation to pursue my cosmetology license at a trade high school in St. Louis, MO. The beauty industry allowed me to build a business and lifestyle that worked for me and allowed me creative freedom and constant career development. So it was only a matter of time before I set my mind to working independently first while preparing to open my own space. In 2014, after completing my Bachelor’s in Marketing, I knew it was time to create my own salon space. Read more>>

Johneine “Nina” Grate | Children’s Salon Owner/Master Cosmetologist

After finishing cosmetology school, I knew I wanted to own a salon but I wasn’t sure what I wanted to specialize in. After working in a few franchise salons, I felt I serviced way more children than adults. They always seemed uncomfortable and nervous. I then had the brilliant idea to open full service children’s salon. Read more>>

Nuvia Lanzagorta | Nuvia Lanzagorta Designer of fruit & floral arrangements

I started my business because I had just had my baby, at that time my mother was in Mexico sick with cancer, so I had to have some income to help my mother but at the same time I had to take care of my children. Read more>>

RetroMind | Music Duo

Both of us were in the same rock band when we were in school. We were also roommates for a couple of years and really had our foundation in music together. After school both of us went to different universities and didn’t perform together for several years. Read more>>

Jamica Harper | Owner/ Creator

Red Elephant Candle Company was birth during the height of the pandemic. I was personally going through my own mental blockage and trying to figure out how to navigate through this unexpected life altering occasion without having a full breakdown. I decided to discover my outlet through candles. Being fully aware that we were in a space that we need reinsurance of ourselves, I wanted to make sure that what I created was a space of healing, So I did research on different essential oils that aid to elevating mood, focusing, clarity, restlessness, claiming and even aid to headaches. I said to myself that if making, I need to make not to light up the house, but the moment that the individual is in, by doing so I needed to create a candle that is safe for individuals and their homes. Read more>>

Danni McIntyre | Master stylist & Salon owner

After spending 20+ years in the industry I was able to identify unique offerings in the market. I was able to spend time learning and reflecting on my strengths and weaknesses plus learn from some of the best mentors in the hair world. I realized I had talent with hair combined with good leadership skills and a love for making people feel good. Most importantly for me personally I love anything creative and wanted to build something from the ground up that I could be proud of. Read more>>

Toni Marco | Producer & Recording Engineer

My journey really started right after I started my first collective of producers and artists called VIZIONAIRE with my right hand man Korron at the beginning of 2022. I had just dropped out of college and was lost, so I decided to start selling my beats on the BeatStars platform. I had been making beats on FL Studio since 2019 and decided my craft was at a point to where I could sell my product. It was scary since in a way I was attached to my beats but I just bought the subscription for BeatStars and started to upload them consistently. Read more>>