Starting a business is a commitment and requires dedication, resources and sacrifice. We asked some of the rising stars in our community how they thought through the idea of starting their own businesses.

Javier Silva | Founder / CEO Clean Up Company LLC

Starting like all of us who come to this country, with a dream of achieving something or being someone in life, I came to this country with many dreams, desires and a broken heart after having left my entire family in Ecuador, but with all the I wanted to get ahead, I started washing dishes in several restaurants, then I wanted to sell cars, I never sold anything, shortly after I opened a small advertising business, but seeing that I was making about $80 a month I decided to return to restaurants, as a cook I supported myself. several years, then I started doing Uber Eats, Door Dash and finally Lyft. Read more>>

Lety Castillo | Music Therapist & Founder of O.C. Music Services

I’ve always been a planner and thoroughly enjoy the process of initiating new projects. I also have a desire for creative expression and found myself constantly daydreaming and brainstorming business ideas in my head. Most of these ideas were small, like freelancing around the community or selling my crafts. I like to stay busy so this process was mostly to keep me occupied and create learning opportunities for myself. After years of small ventures, I finally had the opportunity to branch out professionally and create my music therapy and music lesson practice, O.C. Music Services. Read more>>

John Arendsen | Entrepreneur

I started working when I was 8 years old selling gift cards door to door. Paper route when I was 11. Worked as a bag boy/checker/stock clerk for a supermarket from 16-19. Tried college and didn’t like it so I hitch hiked to Florida and worked as a Cabana Boy, Scuba & water ski instructor and performed a high diving act for the Hollywood Beach Hotel. Water skiing led me to the boat manufacturing biz from ’67 until the ’73 oil embargo. Boat biz went South so I developed a paint protective coating that went world wide until the ’79 gas crisis. Read more>>