What was your thought process behind starting your own business?

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.

Andrew & Chelsea Evans | Co-Founders & Owners

Joshua Tree is an obvious desert in every sense. There is a fascinating variety of plants and animals living among a land sculpted by strong winds and and surreal geologic features 3,000 ft above sea-level in an area known as the Hi-Desert. Read more>>

Julio Martha | Artist and Founder of the San Diego Art Society

Well let me start with, I wasn’t trying to build a business at all. I started posting my artwork on the streets of San Diego with the Instagram handle @sandiegoartsociety and suddenly artists began to reach out to me asking how to join the society. Read more>>

Dani Waters | Business Owner and Fitness Lover

Upon moving to La Jolla (San Diego), I took the time to enroll in a 200-hr yoga teacher training program. It was something I always wanted to do but never had the time (200 hours is quite a commitment). I found Prana Yoga Center and knew it was the place for me to learn and grow my love for yoga. Read more>>

Karlee Dorian | SoCal Photographer

My entire life I’ve always had this question of “what’s my purpose and what’s gods path for me?”. I got my B.A in Marketing and worked in different industries trying to find my calling, but never did I feel like “yes!, I’ve finally have found it!”, until I started my business K.Dorian photography. Read more>>

Erika Belalcazar | Cake Artist & Cookie Connoisseur

As a lover of desserts and with an interest in cake decorating, I initially started my business as a side hobby. I loved baking small desserts such as brownies and cookies on my spare time for myself and my family. I later decided to take a couple of private classes and started watching YouTube tutorials. Read more>>

Valerie Cruz | Makeup Artist

I believe the most important lesson that my business has taught me is to never stop learning. Even with becoming a profesional makeup artist, I never felt like I have “made it” and officially know everything that I need to know. I’m constantly leaning tips and tricks from other artists that are killing it in the game. No matter how good you are, there will always be someone that’s more experienced and skilled in areas that are perhaps not your greatest strength. Read more>>

Leeann Fox | Tropical Houseplant Nursery Operator & Ceramicist

The process was definitely not linear, but more an amalgamation of ideas and circumstance. Ultimately, I saw the prefect storm of challenge, opportunity, and privilege, and it pointed pretty clearly to jumping right in. Shortly after the pandemic started, I quit a job I had poured myself into, Read more>>

Andrea Anderson | Visual artist

I was a little scared and at the same time very excited to start something new, to offer unique items. I knew there would be obstacles but I had the mentality of giving my best Read more>>

Dominique Montgomery | CEO

I struggled with obesity throughout my childhood and weighed over 300 pounds by my senior year of high school. After almost drowning, I had a wakeup call that sparked the drive to lose weight by focusing on changing my lifestyle rather than dieting. Read more>>

Erika Flannery | Entrepreneur , Coffee Shop Owner ,

Planning and research! Because this was my first venture into opening a cafe, outsourcing professionals such as coffee consultants, financial advisors, and building architects played a key role in allowing me to fully realize every aspect of the business. After many hours of consultation and research, I could confidently shape Cafe La Jefa into the vision I had since day one. Read more>>

Stacy and Al Delcome | Business owner & escape room enthusiast

We generally just wanted to bring escape rooms and the fun it intel’s to families, couples, and business corporations. As enthusiasts ourselves we definitely saw a need for these kind of fun activities that encourage people of all ages to step outside their norm and experience something mind blowing. Read more>>

Josh Stotler | Luthier & Owner of Oak Creek Guitars

I made my first guitar when I was in High School. I worked on guitars and built a few of my own in the years after I graduated. I lived in Germany for many years and was able to volunteer at the wood shop on the Wiesbaden Army Airfield. In doing so, I was able to repair many guitars and really learn about guitar building, or Luthiery. Read more>>

Rye Von | Balloon Artist

When I initially started dabbling in balloons back in 2017 my intention was to operate as a hobby. It was designed to give me something to do, a creative outlet to avoid life’s problems. During that time, I was working full time and displeased with the positions I held. Read more>>

Salina Salter | Cafe Owner

I love to be creative and I am always looking for ways to integrate my creativity into my work, whatever it is I may be doing. For many years I have worked for other people, sharing my skills with my employers meant running the front of house, doing graphic design, photography, social media management as well as interior design and overall store management. Read more>>

Harut S | AirBnB Super Host (@IndioGetaways) & Short Term Rental Consultant(@HomiesBnB)

I’ve always been an entrepreneur at heart, starting businesses from a young age. I’ve dabbled in everything from selling fidget spinners in high school to creating my own clothing brand, and I even built a photo booth business from the ground up. I’ve always been on the lookout for new opportunities. Read more>>

Kori Ryan | Coach and Consultant

I’ve always been in the “helping professions” and while I really enjoy my day job as a professor, I found myself wanting to return back to my roots in helping individuals. I felt the pull more and more. I found so much success in therapy and coaching as a client, and felt like after many years of both clinical and academic training, Read more>>

Karlie Troyan | Brand + Website Designer, Social Content Creator

To be honest, I never dreamed of owning my own business when I was younger or even out of college. At that time, I just wanted to find a job where I could fit in and prove what I was capable of. Looking back, I had no idea how MUCH I was capable of and the places my strong work ethic could take me. I think I have growing up in New York to thank for some of that. Read more>>

Jennifer Eastwood | Cheese Shop Owner & Cheese Monger

Social impact: how does your business help the community or the world? Smallgoods started in the local San Diego farmer's markets and we wholeheartedly believe in supporting local food, Read more>>

Gracie Shafqat | Portrait and Branding Photographer

Photography became more than my hobby towards the end of my college career. I realized I had to lighten my course load and sacrifice parts of my social life to keep up with how many photoshoots I booked. From that moment on, I never stopped questioning if photography should be my full-time career or if I should keep pursuing the corporate life. Read more>>

Christina Valencia | Designer / Partner, Colossus Mfg.

Before Colossus Mfg., Kele and I had spent a decade building some of the country’s most prolific brands and telling their stories. While we loved our work, we were yearning to build something tangible that we could markedly put our stamp on. Designing physical spaces gives us the opportunity to do just that. Read more>>

Alicia Lea | Art Curator / Artist / Art Instructor

I always wanted to be in a space that was inclusive, creative, and supported the arts in my direct community so i decided to create that eventually! Things naturally progressed starting in college and I realized every job I took and opportunity offered served my goals! Read more>>

Brad Lefkowits | Landscape Designer

I spent my 20’s and most of my 30’s in the music business. I travelled the world with a few different bands, owned a small independent record label, ran a recording studio, and worked more than a few odd jobs in between it all to fill the gaps. Once I got married and started to settle into family life in my mid-30’s, Read more>>

Graham K | founder and admin of Restaurant Worker News, lifelong foodservice worker, union organizer

I started Restaurant Worker News in March of 2019. A month prior, there was a walkout that had happened among three Sonic locations which occurred on the same day, same shift, and over the same issue. There was barely any discussion around it in the labor movement, Read more>>

Magely Martinez | Makeup and Hair Artist

I started to learn that creating my own business would allow me to have more liberty and control over projects I work on and and my time. As I started to be more involved in the makeup and media community it’s amazing to see how professionals get to choose projects because of how they can relate to a story or how wedding artists get to work with clients they fit well with or artists that get to choose their own vacation time. Read more>>