Many books on startups and business talk about how there are right and wrong reasons for starting a business.  So, we asked a handful of successful founders about their reasons and the thought-process behind starting their business.

Nancy Weiss | Fertility Coach & Reiki Master

I started my business as a Fertility Coach and Reiki Master because I was going through the process of IVF and I just knew I could share my light around navigating the journey with unwavering faith. No one signs up to go through the heartache that infertility can bring but I believe we have the power to shift our mindset and our energy around it to bring our baby into the world. Going through cycle after cycle myself, I saw so many women in the fertility community really suffering with so much emotional pain and loss of hope and I knew this was my calling to support them. I was already a Holistic Health Coach so the transition was easy in choosing my niche and I decided to blend energy healing into it all which is my calling in life. It’s been a little over four years now and it’s been incredible. I love helping women connect with their spiritual energy to bring their baby in. Read more>>

Patrice McLaurin | Author & Image Activist

A goal of mine has always been to be a servant of the community. I’ve had the fortunate opportunity to realize that goal in a variety of capacities: mentoring, volunteering, various jobs, etc. Through those experiences I discovered that working with youth was the ideal way for me to be of service. In fact, my first book was an extension of said service, as the intention behind it was to not only raise the vibration of our children, but to also interrupt the pattern of negative stereotypical imagery that is so often propagated against our people. So when considering the question of what was my thought process behind starting my own business, I’d honestly have to say that it was the timing surrounding the opportunity. Before branching out into entrepreneurship, I was a staff accountant. While working as an accountant I wrote my first book, Have You Thanked an Inventor Today. A couple of months before it was due to be published, I was laid off from my job. Read more>>

Aaron Renfroe | Photographer

I fell into the business because the hobby became too expensive. In order to grow, I had to learn the business side: taxes, deductibles, how to pay my contractors, etc. Once that ball started rolling, I knew that it had to continue if I was going to be able to expand the brand. It’s been natural growth sense then, though at first it was quite difficult. Read more>>

Brandi Myers | Photographer & Digital Creator

My thought process behind me starting my own business was “I don’t want to work for anybody” lol! I wanted my own. I wanted to reach and serve people in my way through creativity. I love the feeling of capturing special moments. I tend to laugh and smile while editing my images because of those special moments my client and I encountered. I also wanted to break that generational curse in my family of not fulfilling their purpose. I truly believe that if one generation doesn’t fulfill their purpose, it will be passed down to the next generation. Read more>>

Byron Robinson | The Better Dads Society President

My Process was if we had better dads it would be a better society. Read more>>

Sam Rueter | S.Rueter Art, Figurative Painter

In the very beginning there were never any set plans- only a yearning to get back into what made me feel most alive. I had been an educator for nearly four years after I graduated, and had no plans of ever moving forward in an arts career outside of the classroom. When I relocated from New York to Charleston, things shifted a bit when I decided to decline the teaching positions I had been offered, and I was feeling a bit lost. I turned the spare bedroom in my new apartment into a studio and was working part time as a barista and painting every other hour of the day. All of my spare time was spent researching, creating, experimenting, and learning as much as I possibly could. I was able to utilize the variety of skills I had gained from my art education degree in order to build my website and get my small little brand up and running. I worked hard to break into new markets in the local area and kept pushing. Most importantly, I kept painting. Read more>>

Christopher Campbell | Chef Owner

At first, I had no clue what I wanted to do with my brand. I just knew that I had over 8 years of experience within the hospitality industry as a chef. I knew for a fact that I could make quality food and I had a desire to share my kitchen with creative and passionate people. So with the help of elaborate dinner parties, I created a communal space for creatives of various skills to have unique connections and collaborations. I wanted those individuals, my extended family, to have an intimate space where they could talk about debatable, personal, and business-related topics in a safe place. My company inspires creatives to think beyond their own limitations. HOW? Collective thinking allows creatives to be open to different perspectives in regards to their own brand, portfolio, etc. FOOD’N GROOVIN allows those creatives to meet somewhere they can be inspired, culturally driven, proud, and resilient. The food is what gets them there. Read more>>

Rachael Schwarz & Bella Corwell | Co-founders

Bella: Rachael and I have been friends for a long time and have always bounced ideas of of each other like “aw I wish this existed or we should do this!” Some ideas came to fruition, others stayed a dream, but we never really had the time or cash flow to pull them together. It wasn’t until COVID hit that we had the “why not” epiphany and went for it. We put our stimulus money in the pot and we started buying some materials to make it happen. With strong interests and backgrounds in textiles, furniture design and art, we aim to make affordable high design objects for young creatives like ourselves. Our mirrors are step one, starting with something tangible and affordable, so we can work towards our ultimate goal of a well rounded furniture and home goods collection. Read more>>

Kiya Page | Entrepreneur & Author

The process behind starting my own business (Page Testing Solutions) was just a matter of understanding what’s going on in the world today. When the pandemic happen i was working as an Amazon supervisor when i said to my self “what can i do that will help me, my family, and others?” After some heavy prayer and surfing the internet God directed me to start my own drug testing business! I thought to myself this will be a very lucrative business. Although many people are out of work there are still “essential” workers that businesses need to hire or keep employed. Warehousing, Trucking Industry, and hospitals will need a place where their employees can get tested. Yes i thought about other places that provide the same services. So i did research on clear wave lab then add that be part of my drug testing center. I will provide point of care testing, gender reveal, dna analysis, background checks and also dot and non dot physicals. As October 2nd 2020 Page Testing Solutions was born. Read more>>