Hardwork? Luck? Good habits? What would you say is behind your success? We’ve shared some thoughtful responses below.

Jestacia Lanette | Wholistic Selfcare Author/ Educator

Do what you love, and love what you do! Find your passion project. Passion = Profits. Keys: Relentless- don’t give up. Perseverance Endurance- encourage yourself Self motivation Laser Focus Faith -Flow Forward. Read more>>

Kris Johnson | Trumpeter, Composer, Arranger, Educator

As soon as I made a clear decision to be my true authentic self in my branding I saw my business begin to soar. As a young business owner, there was definitely a time early on when I felt that I needed to fit a certain mold and fall into the practices and habits that I saw trending amongst my peers. However, it never quite felt right. It felt plastic and put on, and it also didn’t reach people because it was immediately clear that I wasn’t comfortable. Honesty and transparency are at the heart of my business practices, and the defining characteristic of my music as well. And it feels good too. Read more>>

Barbara Bueno | Founder & CEO

At Saint Coxinha we strive for the best, we relentlessly try multiple recipes before launching a product. We want to make sure our customers experience the authentic Brazilian taste of our food as if they were in Brazil, we carefully selected ingredients that we could find locally without compromising the taste. We focus a lot on the customer and do our best to make their experience unforgettable. I work very long days, often 7 days a week in order to ensure customer satisfaction, our goal is to have every person in America to experience our food. Read more>>

Tyler Wright | Clothing/Skate Brand Owner

Tenacity, patience, access, depth and huge amount of self awareness. Success is relative but the answer here is super clear to me. Keep at this even when it doesn’t make sense to. Building a business is hard, building a brand is even harder. A lot of people could do exactly what I’m doing, they just quit too soon. I needed to recognize super early that this business wasn’t going to be a casino or a lottery where I would win big all at once. It’s a long term investment that has been built mostly on losses.  Being accessible in meaningful ways to my audience has played a much more major roll in this than I expected. Just talking to the people who support Nothing Serious on a regular basis is huge. I try to respond to every DM, email or comment myself and I speak very candidly with everyone. I get as many questions about my day as I do questions about orders. I’ve talked on the phone at 3am with supporters who got stood up on a date just because they wanted to. Read more>>

Perlizbeth De Leon | Choreographer, Teacher, Dancer, Creator, and Activist

Accepting failure. Often, failing can stop us in our tracks and convince us we shouldn’t do what we love. It’s enough to change your life. But failure is so normal. It happens to us all the time. Small or large, it can have lasting impact on us. Learning to accept failure carved me into a resilient, hard-working, patient person. I have been disappointed in my career a lot. From not making it at an audition, not being asked to a gig, not being asked to teach or choreograph, being ignored, being overlooked. Many things happen for all kinds of reasons. When we fail, it isn’t usually a direct correlation to our worth. But we’re raised to believe so. If we don’t get exactly what we want, it means we failed. It means we failed because we weren’t good enough to get what we wanted. But that isn’t the case. Sometimes we don’t get what we want because it wasn’t the right fit for us, we weren’t ready for it, we were meant for something else, or simply they liked someone more. Liking someone more doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty about ourselves to like. It just means they liked that specific person. Read more>>

Shelby Gilbreath | Wedding Stationery Designer + Artist

Authenticity and having a clear “why” to why you started your business in the first place. My “Why” is having a business that makes me feel fulfilled while also allowing me to live by my own schedule so I can spend more time with my dog, Miller. Hence the name Miller & Me. Miller is who I built my whole brand around and by doing that I have an instant connection with other people who love their dogs as much as I do. Having a “Why” is super important because there will be times when running a small business gets scary and stressful. Money will get tight and you will want to quite. But having a solid “why” should keep you grounded and motivated to keep going. I also think authenticity is just as important. With so many “influencers” plaguing social media platforms I think the best way to separate yourself from the rest and give your business a fresh perspective is being your true authentic self. There is no one else like you, so you should use that to your advantage. Being true to yourself to your followers is how you continue to show up for your brand long term and avoid burnout. Read more>>

Garth Voisin | Empowerment Agent

Being authentic and transparent. As the Journey progressed learning the ability to share openly and honestly in an effort to help others deal with the ups and downs of their own Journey, has played a major part in my personal success. Read more>>