We asked folks to tell us about the most important decisions they’ve made along their journey and have shared some of the highlights below.

Karen Zgonc | Director, Ztunes Music

The best decision I made was hiring my first employee. I feel like that is when Ztunes Music truly started. I was working 2pm-8pm all weekdays and had children in school. Because of that, I never got to see my kids except for breakfast and a kiss goodnight. I decided that I needed a change, but loved bringing music to the community and working with the kids. My youngest son had an amazing preschool music teacher who I brought on to take over teaching some of my piano students. A few months later, I was able to find local office space that gave an opportunity for growth and built a location out of my home for music lessons – Ztunes was born! Read more>>

Jaz McBride | Artist, Educator + Eco Girl

Other than deciding to work for myself, the single most important decision I made that contributed to my success was taking a year off of college when I only had one semester left until graduation. That decision did not come easy. There were a lot of tears, and a lot of feelings of disappointment, considering I was so close to the finish line (and would be the first college graduate in my family). However, during that time I was able to (forced to) practice all of the skills I would need to govern myself as an adult in this wild world. No one tells you that you will need to know how to structure your own day once your schedule isn’t packed with lectures and part-time jobs. Read more>>

Clayton Oetting | CEO of HIBO

The single most important decision I made to contribute to success is to focus on learning. From day one I have focused on finding mentors & investors that know more about the food & beverage product world than I do and let them help guide how we innovate and plan the business. Also, I love to learn from customers. If we can let customers dictate how our brand evolves then we’ll be in a much better position to help them solve their problems! Read more>>