Readers often email us asking us for advice about new businesses they are thinking about starting and we often find that many of them don’t have a framework for thinking about a more fundamental question: why should or shouldn’t you start a business?

Below, you’ll find how successful entrepreneurs from across the city thought about this very question when they were considering whether to start their businesses.

Jennifer Armer | Founder, Nonprofit Organization

Matt and Jennifer Armer are owners of Armer Air, an HVAC company located in Phoenix, Arizona. A need emerged as they began to grow this business and work with the local community. Jennifer found herself meeting families with children facing extreme medical conditions and struggling to find ways to meet their financial obligations with looming medical bills growing. Read more>>

Keegan Kuhn | Documentary filmmaker

I saw a need for a media company that was squarely mission driven, a company that would understand the needs of non-profit organizations and be able to help them achieve their goals. As a lifelong activist, I wanted to create a business that was sustainable for my livelihood while bringing about real change. First Spark Media has proven to be just that. We have been incredibly fortunate to have produced close to a dozen feature documentaries that are helping to shift culture to more compassionate and sustainable ways of living. Read more>>

Davis Fetter | La Costa Mathematics

I used to work for a big tutoring company but I noticed that they didn’t have a close connection with their clients. I was driven to start my own tutoring company because I felt that I could provide a better experience for each student on my own with one on one programs catered to each individual student. Not all students learn math the same way. Having my own company allows me to help inspire each student to find his/her love for math. Read more>>

Jennifer Alexander | Preschool Curriculum Developer, Wife, Mom, & Professional Dreamer

Having taught in a preschool classroom for over twenty years I spent countless hours developing lesson plans, learning, and art activities. Even with my education in Early Childhood Development, and time spent teaching at a Head Start Preschool, developing a quality program for my classroom would take hours of my time. I eventually purchased a few different monthly boxed curriculums to alleviate the time I would spend on my lesson plans. Read more>>

Julia Kim | Founder, Creative Director

I majored in Psychology at UCLA and had thought my path was to become a psychiatrist for adolescents. However, my drive has constantly geared me towards marketing since graduation. After much thought, I decided to put my foot into the fashion industry and to specialize in marketing for a B2B fashion online platform solely, connecting designers/manufacturers to retailers. Read more>>

Jordan Ohara | Founder and CEO of WindanSea Wellness Brands

My journey to entrepreneurship began with a personal search for plant-based and natural wellness alternatives after leaving the military. I struggled to find products that addressed the need for holistic wellness among veterans, so I decided to create my own. The first product we developed was a CBD-infused coffee, and the positive feedback we received from customers showed us that there was a wider need for jitter-free energy among the general population. Read more>>

Gabriella Alziari | Reiki Master, Tarot Reader + Transformation Coach

As a Tarot Reader, I have the ability to communicate with Spirit Guides. Spirit Guides are essentially your team of cheerleaders in Spirit who are constantly looking out for you. I have perfected the ability to channel Spirit Guide messages, to the point that it feels like they’re in the same room as me! When I share these messages, my clients are instantly reminded of the expansiveness of their Soul – and aligned back to love and compassion. Read more>>

Crystel (pronounced cris.tell) Patterson | Children’s Book Author

When I first started writing my ‘Inspired to Be…’ book series, my only goal was to help change and improve the narrative of Black people in children’s literature. I was inspired by my own children and their need to see positive representations of people who look like them. At first, I didn’t realize that I was starting a business. It wasn’t until after I published my first book that I realized how much of an investment it was and that I needed to start selling the book to make it widely available. Read more>>

Tina Davis | ADHD Business Coach

When I decided to start my own business, there were two main driving factors that influenced my decision. First I wanted to create a reliable and sustainable source of support for my wildlife nonprofit organization Petri’s Place. I am a rehabber for native urban wildlife and recognized the need for additional funding very quickly and needed to create a stream of income. I started by establishing two businesses that provide support to my nonprofit, This was purely out of necessity but started my journey. Read more>>

Joey 60 East” Atilano | Artist & Founder of The Happiness of Pursuit Festival”

After nearly a decade of being a touring artist and having a daughter, I wanted to build something that would allow me to do a few things. One is something that would allow me to stay home more and be able to spend more time with my newborn. Two I wanted something that would allow me to continue as an Artist and contribute to not only the local music community, but Hip Hop as a whole. Read more>>

Lori Truman | Ladysmith & Maker

In starting Loco Made my thought process, to put it simply, was to learn a new skill in a medium of art that I loved as a consumer. This desire, paired with the extra time at home due to global pandemic allowed me to take the risk in just trying the damn thing. Like many others, having that mandatory time to sit still allowed my creative wheels to let loose. Read more>>

Sisters Of St. James Productions | Drag Production Company

We were called to start our production company during the midst of the Covid Pandemic, back in 2020. Our Co Founders Amber St. James, LUXE The Drag Queen and Brennda Joy with their many years of experience as drag show producers were in the midst of producing a few digital drag shows and content for San Diego State University and decided to use their skills to create digital shows for folks outside of the university. Read more>>

Cristian and Alex Sanchez and Hendrix | Content Creators

Our thought process on starting our own YouTube channel, All Takes No Whiffs, comes from our passion of sports. The main sports we focus on are baseball and professional boxing. From the beginning, our objective has been to inform others in our own unique ways while also building a community of people that share the same passion or want to learn more about each sport. As former athletes, our perspectives provide first-hand knowledge. We have always wanted to build our own network and that’s where we are heading towards next. Read more>>

Britney Sandoval | Owner of Reflection Art Studio

When I decided to start my own business, I hit a really hard point in my life and I decided to follow my childhood passion. I had worked for my aunt and uncle in UTC doing finance and accounting for an asset management & trucking company. They allowed me to work my way up from filing to keeping books and then to managing the financing aspect of the trucking company. Read more>>

Rossette Dimalanta | Event Designer

I am a crafty person. I like everything about arts and fashion. My love for balloons started with doing my kids or other family member’s party. I am a stay at home mom of 2 kids. I know i needed to do something that will keep me sane. I always pray to find my purpose besides being a mom. Little did I know his preparing me to this business venture with all the parties we had in the family. I started posting my work in facebook marketplace. I was just trying. I had to hide it with my Facebook friends because I was so shy and afraid to fail. Read more>>

Jordan Almond | Drag Performer and Current Student at San Diego State University

Growing up, I always looked up to queer individuals and queer events because I longed to be part of them, but thought that I would never be able to come out and do that. However, I stumbled upon a show called Rupaul’s Drag Race when I was about 12 and it became my dirty little secret! I would watch secretly with my hand on the “Recall” button of the remote prepared to switch the channel back to Disney. Read more>>

Anannyaa Kapur | Digital Content Creator

Being Gen-Z, I feel like I grew up with social media, especially in my formative teenage years. I’ve been captivated by the beauty industry since then. However, for the majority of that time, I didn’t really see people who looked like me at the forefront. I witnessed Eurocentric features being treated like the norm and saw features like mine being criticized. I didn’t realize it right away but that really impacted my psyche and affected my self-esteem. But that was a while ago. I’ve come a long way since then. Read more>>

Gisell Saavedra | Lash & Brow Artist

I’ve always enjoyed the side of the beauty industry and overall creativity since I was a little girl. I decided to start something of my own in 2020 and learning from experienced people and feeling confidence about it. I wanted to use my skills that I developed all my life and turning it into a reinforcement after my daily routine Read more>>

Makaela Isaacs | Social Media Marketing

Covid hit and all of a sudden I had way too much free time! Instead of dwelling in my isolation I looked at this weird and depressing time as an opportunity to build up personal autonomy and freedom to work from anywhere. I spent hours researching and building up skill sets. I took master classes and watched countless you tube videos. I am still learning years later and could not be more grateful for the community and opportunities that have been fostered through my business and entrepreneurial life style. Read more>>