In our view, values and principles are the foundation upon which our lives, careers and relationships are built. So, we asked folks we admire to open up to us about the values and principles that matter most to them.

Khamari Frazier: Fashion Designer

Patience “Be patient everything will come in your favor over time“ . This is important to me because I’m not patient . I have to learn patience and with that I know bigger and better things will happen over time. Read more>>

Javier Vazquez Jr: Actor / Writer

The values that matter the most to me are faith, hope, and love, but the greatest of these is love. It sounds cliche, but it really encompasses so much. It’s the love I have for my family that makes me work hard. It’s the love I have for acting and writing that pushes me past rejection. It’s the love I have for my heritage that makes me want to tell stories about my community. Somebody once said, “Find out what you love then figure out how to get paid to do it!” I think this encapsulates all my efforts. My life is so much more than my career. I’m called to love God, love people and intertwine that with all my personal, professional, and social obligations. Read more>>

Tyler Shavers: Massage Therapist

I value Mindfulness. Everything in life seems to me to come back to being mindful of one another, which would ultimately lead to have respect, compassion, and peace. Being aware of things outside your own life allows you to be present in reality with a good balance of ego. Read more>>

Nermin Jasani: Management Consultant for Lawyers & Doctors

I think for a business to truly succeed, your values and principles have to be your own. Borrowing values and principles from other businesses because they sound good or make you seem professional or more likeable doesn’t work and won’t work. For me, I have my personal values that I strive to bring into my business. I value honesty and integrity. If a client isn’t a good fit, I’m upfront about it. If a client is a bottleneck in their own business, I’m not shy about telling them. I care about real results, not vanity results. I want to see bottom-line increases to profit, and I don’t care about an increase in the number of Instagram or YouTube followers or email opens. Read more>>

Daiyzah Glenn: CEO of Blazor Apparel LLC

Ever since I was younger, I was told to “treat others the way you want to be treated.” So, for my business, customer service is a main priority. Of course quality products are my first goal, but building a relationship with my customers and being able to rely on them for feedback is important to me. Why? Because they’re the reason my brand is growing. They’re the reason why I have clientele and why the purpose behind my brand still exist. I’ve always thought of business as a serving factor, so to see other individuals happy to receive their orders and empowered afterwards, is bittersweet. So in everything that I do, I make it my priority to receive feedback from my customers and work on ways I can improve in the customer service aspect. And also, I got frustrated with receiving bad customer service from other businesses so that also fuels my reasoning as to why it’s important. Read more>>

Rachael Porter: Freelance Videographer

There are two values that matter most to me in my business endeavors- excellence and integrity. I’m slightly a perfectionist, so that’s where the excellence originates. But additionally, I believe the most respectful and honoring way to conduct business is to give each client the best that I know how in the moment that I’m working with them. Sure, there are always ways something could be better, but my job is to do it to the best of MY ability in the time that I can. I don’t believe in shortchanging someone who has trusted me to complete a task, especially when that task is being entrusted with telling someone’s personal story. I also believe in operating with integrity. There have been many failures in my time as a freelancer, and I’ve taken the approach of being keeping my clients informed with both the successes and mistakes when appropriate, then moving forward in them together. Read more>>

Tara Mitchner: Owner/operator Kwench Juice Cafe, Registered Nurse

I think as priorities change and evolve over time..so will the values that matter the most. At this time determination is one value that has been a constant in my life especially over the last year…opening a business and keeping the doors open during a pandemic. Despite entering into this new world of entrepreneurship, mostly alone I know that whatever outcome I receive ..I have learned many valuable lessons. To keep moving forward on the most trying, bleak days…requires determination. I guess you would say the value of determination has been long standing with me..starting when I became a teenage mother, but I was determined to not just be a “statistic” and began going to college for nursing…and now years later opening a business that I run with my children. Read more>>

Sayma Waleh: Creative Designer and Freelance Photographer

I’m going to have to break the rules and give two. The first is to be proud of whatever it is you create. Put in the work and dedicate yourself so that you can be proud of what you make. This isn’t to say that everything you make will be ground breaking but it’s comforting to know that even if things don’t turn out the way you want it’s not because of your lack of effort. The second is cliché but it’s simply to have fun. Yes money, new opportunities, and pushing yourself are extremely important but if you are not enjoying yourself then what’s the point?. Read more>>

Suz Carpenter: CNC

Decide what it is that you need. most in the world and go do that. -John Maxwell I have spent a lifetime being hungry and afraid to eat. Worse still, I was pretending to be happy and confident when I really felt scared and lacked confidence. I am 6’2 and must have wanted to shrink my body to fit into a mold that I thought was more appropriate. I chose losing weight as my path. Unfortunately, I didn’t understand food and spent the better part of my life restricting, bingeing, and purging (exercise to outrun my fork). Food was in complete control during those years, I was so ashamed of how I was mistreating my body….so ashamed that I could not ask for help. I even kept this secret from my husband. Read more>>

Star Black: CEO of Oil Ethics Cosmetics and Sr. Student Services Representative at Blackboard

I am an individual who personally focuses a lot on ethics and principle in general, but one I stand on religiously is to do everything out of love. I believe that when you do good, good comes back to you. We are all constantly sending out signals to the universe about what we want, who we want to be, and what we want out of life. I also believe that it is important to be deliberate with my words, thoughts, and actions because when those are pure even in my downfalls or moments of opposition I am able to find the path of least resistance. Read more>>