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.

Tyasia Mathis

When I first set out to start my own business, my primary focus-like many others-was financial stability. However, that goal quickly gave way to something deeper: a sense of purpose. What started as a practical venture gradually transformed into a brand that I believe embodies the creative vision God placed within me. In creating Emarie Green, I was intentional about ensuring its message wasn’t clouded by materialism, but instead stood as a symbol of God’s love and creativity. What began as a business has since grown into a meaningful and expressive creative brand. Read More>>

Keisha Boyd McDuffie

I have always loved the spaces that promote creativity, expression and independence. The beautiful thing about Entrepreneurship, is that one can have the freedom of self expression; while building an empire on your own terms. Trust and Faith are the strong foundation that will build a solid business. One has to have a good road map, plan and discipline to work for themselves. Self motivation is the key to keeping on going when things don’t quite work out they way one plans. I love the confidence and autonomy that comes with being a brand for my own business. I always want to move at my own pace. I am truly a free spirit. Read More>> 

Dante Wesley

I have always been in the hospitality industry, so when my business partner Dominique Porter was thinking of starting a company to help people in the industry, I was immediately interested. We were thinking about how we can stay in the field we love, but also branch out and share our expertise with others. Read More>> 

Emily Bradley

I had been teaching for several years at other studios around the Atlanta area and learned the ins and outs of running a studio. After 10 years of working for others. I decided to go out on my own and start my own buisness. I wanted to help people learn to move better and live a more quality life. Read More>> 

Dr. Zoe Johnson

I started my business from a place of necessity. When my daughter was diagnosed with dyslexia, it became clear that she needed access to a specialized instructional approach in order to thrive. The school that offered the kind of holistic and integrated services she required had a cost of attendance higher than the university where I teach. And since there are no student loans for the third grade, we had to find a way to make the money.  Read More>> 

Hope Cross

I left my career to become a full-time caregiver, and that experience changed me. When I returned to being a mental health counselor, I realized how much support was missing for people in that role. During my caregiving years, I couldn’t find anyone who truly understood the depth, the overwhelm, the emotional and physical toll of it all. That really stayed with me. So when I came back to this work, I knew I wanted to create the kind of support I had needed something that truly honors the complexity of caregiving, grief, and the anxiety that often comes with both. That’s what inspired me to start my own practice. I wanted to offer a space that’s rooted in lived experience, where people feel seen, held, and reminded that they’re not alone. Read More>> 

Kara S Lawrence

Starting my own business was really about alignment and purpose. Becoming a homeowner completely changed my life—it opened my eyes to the power of real estate as a path to building wealth and financial freedom.

I realized I wanted to help other people experience that same transformation. Owning property isn’t just about having a place to live—it’s about creating generational security and opportunities. Read More>> 

Melissa Kennebrew

The decision to start my own business full-time actually grew out of something I was already doing on the side. I had been running my tax and financial services business part-time while working in corporate project management. Over time, it became clear that I wanted more control over how I served people—and I realized that I could create something more aligned with my values if I fully committed. Read More>> 

Leann Fish

We began taking our new puppy to day play and they always had fun activities with a Photo Booth and a pup cup. We always were happy to pay the $10-$15 dollars for our puppy Champ to get to do the special event and have a pup cup. We started thinking about having a dog ice cream truck and things went from there. Read More>> 

Shawn Vinson

Until my latest venture, I’ve never sat down and written a business plan – I’ve just followed my instincts and gone with the flow. Looking back, I realize I’ve been entrepreneurial since I was a teenager pulling weeds at my dad’s bank, working the midnight shift at a gas station, and getting my real estate license when I was 18.

My driving force has always been an inherent desire to promote talented people. It started with my musician friends in high school, then my karate instructor Jim Graden (a world kickboxing champion), and eventually the artists whose work I began selling in the early ’90s. I married one of those artists – Ruth Franklin – and that’s when promoting art became especially personal. Read More>> 

LaTonya Warren

Before I started my career as an educator, I would sell baked goods. Over the years, there was a demand for the cakes I baked from scratch. I began selling cakes from my apartment, but when I began teaching, I stopped baking because I simply didn’t have time anymore. Fast forward 21 years…former customers asked if I would ever bake again because they wanted to place orders for the holidays. I decided to gradually ease into, but this time I felt it was necessary to start a business as a home-based bakery and name it after my late brother, Bobby Kelley ( I used his last name), which is how the name Kelley’s Cakes & Confections originated. Read More>>

Jeff Walker

It was a necessary evolution over time. I worked in guitar shops for years. I would do repairs on the side and eventually realized I could take it on full-time. Around 2017, I began to acquire some basic woodworking tools and started making replacement bodies. Every body I made sold quickly, and I began to get requests for recommendations on necks, which are expensive. This went on for a couple of years until I realized I should start building necks as well. Once I got my processes down, I was officially building complete instruments. Read More>> 

Virginie A. Nord

I was working for an established design studio at the time, but I found myself craving projects and an environment I could more deeply connect with. I wanted the freedom to fully express my creative ideas and to have a more direct, personal relationship with clients. Independence was also a big part of it, I felt ready to take ownership of my vision and trust my instincts. And truthfully, I’ve always been drawn to a challenge, starting my own studio felt like the right kind. Read More>> 

De’Shera Milan

I started my business in 2020, during the pandemic. I recently graduated with my Master’s in Business Administration, and because the world shut down the week after my graduation, my business was born. No jobs were hiring in my professional industry, and I, of course, needed to work. It was really out of survival that my business was birthed. I remembered God gave me a vision for a business, and I even challenged him on it and told him, “Lord, if you want me to start this business, then it is your business and you will have to show me how to run it”. I went through every step of starting a business. Read More>>

Elizabeth Cheney

Back in 2017, I had been working the ‘corporate America’ hustle for a few years and was already feeling burntout. Surely there’s’ more than working 40+ hours a week making barely enough money to live, let alone comfortably. I started asking myself, what was my dream job? And from there, who says I couldn’t create it? I had to open my mind to the idea of endless possibilities, and as long as I believed in myself and didn’t give up, it would eventually happen. So then the brainstorming started happening! Read More>> 

Tatenda

I’ve always loved cute things ever since I was a child. I remember always being excited when my friends would come back from China or Japan with adorable erasers and stationery that they had gotten on their travels. I often times would ask to have one piece of paper or a sticker just so that I could have some part of the cuteness myself. When I got to middle school, a friend of mine at the time introduced me to bullet journaling and I got really invested in it.  Read More>> 

LexC

My reasons for starting my own business were completely selfish. I wanted an entity that would represent me as a music artist and would be used to give me legitimacy as well as serve as an umbrella for any ventures “LexC” went into.

Often times, as music artists, the creative side of things are easy and get the most attention, but we often forget that we’re part of the music “business.” In order to be a “successful” music artist, we have to treat ourselves as such and take ourselves seriously.  Read More>> 

Megan Givens-Gilmer

Starting my own business has always been a goal of mine. I come from a family with a strong entrepreneurial background, so I was exposed early on to the mindset, work ethic, and creativity that go into running a business. That environment really shaped me. I’ve always been drawn to the idea of building something from the ground up that reflects my values and passions. Weddings and events have always held a special place in my heart—the energy, the emotion, the opportunity to bring someone’s vision to life—so it felt like the perfect industry to pour my heart into.  Read More>> 

Tomeka Kimbrough

My thoughts when I started Just Think Ahead Insurance was to change the way the business of insurance was being implemented and distributed to the black community; while creating generational wealth for the black community collectively. Read More>> 

Kadin Collins

The thought process behind starting my own business came from a mixture of creativity, inspiration, and wanting to make cool, unique products. When I was nine, I got inspired by my mom’s business, and that’s when I decided to start my own! I started my company in September 2023, and I wanted to honor my mom and my grandparents who aren’t here anymore by including them in my business. I even picked the colors—pink, purple, and blue—because those were my grandparents’ favorite colors. My business, Kraftzbykadin, is all about love, care, and dedication, which makes it super special. Read More>>