We asked some of the city’s rising stars to reflect on what made a difference in their journey. We asked them to tell us about what they think the most important factor has been behind their success.

Matt LeBris | Founder, 1B Branding & Host, Decoding Success Podcast

The most important factor behind my success, both personally and professionally, has been my willingness to lose who I thought I was to gain clarity daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly on my essential self. As a man in today’s society, we’re often taught to toughen up or in more modern terms, “man up.” But, this personally led me to suppress many of the not-so-lucky events that had taken place in my life. By doing so, I’ve found myself becoming detached from my emotions and further distancing myself from who I truly am. Why is this so important to my success? Well, I’m a firm believer that we define success on our own terms. And, if you’re not in tune with who you are, what you value, where you want to be in life, what you want to do with life, and more, you’re going to be aiming at targets that were hand-selected by the “you” society created — not your true you. From my experience, when you hit the targets that the “you” created by society sets, the highs of achieving them wear off rather quickly. Read more>>

Charlie Rohlfs | King Whisker

We attribute a lot of the recent success we’ve had to just being true to ourselves, and not making any decisions on our music or creative process based on where other people have gone before. Honestly, we’re just having an absolute blast being ourselves and learning from each other’s uniqueness. I think that joy comes through in our music, and people seem to dig it – which makes us just so freakin happy. Read more>>

Michelle Tramel | Realtor

Loyalty & Honesty. Working hard for my clients in every single transaction as if this would be my own home. Read more>>

Samira Sadeghlou | Interior Plant Designer/Advisor

We care about our customers. we have built a community where customers are more like friends. we help them overcome their difficulties with their plant. we listen to their story and struggles. we provide resources for them to learn more. we give them advice on plant tips and tricks. we have a 100% message response rate which shows that every question or message means a lot to us. Read more>>

Valerie Carboni | Founder & Head Bartender of The Bubbly Car

Love and perseverance. When I decided to start my own business, I did so because I knew that was what would make me truly happy. In order to take on your own business, you really have to love it. And I do love what I do with The Bubbly Car. I can make people smile, bring joy to their lives, and do it all as an independent business owner. But there are days when it is hard, and the love of the business doesn’t take you through. That’s where perseverance comes in. I have to really convince myself on a daily basis that what I’m doing is what I love to do, and even when I face challenges, I can take on anything that comes my way. Read more>>

Tamara Romeo | Interior Design Firm Owner

I find the most beautiful, delicious, inspiring, and memorable success stories are never made from just one magical thing, one special event, or one amazing ingredient. They are the culmination of a thousand little things, that when combined together, create something spectacular. This is my world…the combination of items and ideas into something that creates ‘Wow Factor.’ So how do you get to ‘Wow Factor’ when you are developing an idea? You keep developing, you keep upgrading, you never stop improving, and you approach mundane tasks with as much passion as the ones that you love. Consistency is key…collaboration is a must…and absolute love for the business (and the clients that you serve) is imperative. I also believe in surrounding myself with inspiring people: employees, mentors, business owners, and friends that are doing great things every day. We are a product of the people we spend the most time with, so I make sure that those in my inner circle are people that I can learn from and grow with. Read more>>

Katie Collins & Lisa Lewis n/a | Owners, Directors & Instructors

Truly, believing in what we do has been the most important factor behind our success. We aren’t “selling” something we don’t believe in. The family environment paired with the quality of our classes/instructors and programs is what draws people to us (or so we’ve been told) but it’s also what keeps them coming back. We have a handful of students who have been with us since we opened our doors nearly 12 years ago. Our number one goal has always been and will always be for our students to feel safe, comfortable in their own skin and like they have a place here. We work hard to connect with our students, both young and mature, equally. We also love getting to know our dance parents. Another really important thing to note is that we are a non-competitive studio. We have so much respect for competitive studios and dancers, but it’s certainly not for everybody and that’s where we come in. We also are incredibly selective when hiring our staff. Read more>>

Jackie Gallardo | Fashion Photographer

For me, success is the effect of a desire that builds up and accumulates satisfactions, motivating to correct errors and possible limitations and that drives my goal to reach goal after goal to always be close to the summit, making me hope every day to continue doing what that I like and it makes me happy. Read more>>

Sarah Mae Miller | Bridal & Beauty Makeup Specialist

Early on in my career as a makeup artist, it was brought to my attention that I was just one of many people that do beautiful makeup. So aside from flawless soft glam, what could I bring to the table that brought true value to my clients? My desire to serve. Having a strong background in the customer service field, I know the value of good communication, prompt response times and being a helpful asset to each of my clients. My mission became that from the very first inquiry request, I’d wanted to make a personal connection, make myself easy to get ahold of and always respond to clients promptly and cheerfully. I know that my attitude, my energy and my quality of service all have the power to make or break a bride’s big day. I became determined that everyone that sits in my chair would feel not only beautiful, but seen and heard, knowing I did all in my power to make their planning process and morning of a complete success. Read more>>

Stephanie Kwo Friedl | College Essay Counselor

Ingenuity and authenticity drive the success of my business and brand. As a college essay counselor, I help college-bound students find their voice and tell their story, and, season after season, I’m thrilled to be a part of their journey. With my expertise and guidance, parents gladly relinquish the stress that goes along with overseeing the essay writing process, and my students confidently present their best selves in their applications. The college application process is one of life’s momentous milestones, and I consider it an honor to be a part of such a pivotal time in a young person’s life. My personal and individualized approach enables me to truly get to know my student clients as I guide them in identifying their core values, evaluate their strengths and weaknesses, and discover their potential to make an impact in their community and beyond. Because I genuinely love what I do, from the very first meeting, my clients experience my dedication to my craft, appreciate my professionalism, and trust my expertise. Read more>>

Carolyn Pascual White | Food Stylist & Photography Educator, Founder of The Social Sipper

The most important factor behind our success with The Social Sipper is amazing and valuable content! Beautiful imagery is a huge part of this for us but it’s also about knowing our audience and sharing the content that they want. Whether we’re creating content to serve our community or helping our clients create content for their audiences, our number one focus is making sure that we’re adding value. This is only possible because we know our audience so well. I’m always connecting with our followers, asking questions and evaluating analytics to see what is resonating with our audience. When we stay focused on sharing things our people love, it becomes so easy to attract the right people and build an amazing community. Read more>>

Katri Rantala | Boutique Hotel Entrepreneur

Hotels are for getting a little escape from our day to day lives, experience something different and recharge those batteries. We have always wanted to think what we ourselves appreciate in a hotel, or an airbnb, when we travel as a family with our kids and dogs, or when we go on a trip together as a couple. We love details in service, amenites and feeling welcomed and special, so those are the very things we want to express to our guests and that are behind our success. Keeping that in mind we added different amenities, extras without cost, anything that might make one’s stay here easier and more relaxing. When travelling with kids or fur babies we go the extra mile, because we don’t wan’t to just “accept” dogs or babies, but make them feel just as special as anyone else. We do this by offering kid friendly breakfast, crib, toys, changing table, anything from a night light to a baby monitor, and having a play ground. Read more>>

Danitzia Singh | Owner-Little Oaks Preschool, Realtor, Content Creator & Mom

The most important factor behind my success is passion. If I didn’t absolutely love what I do, then I probably wouldn’t be very good at it. I think that is what attracts my clients most. They see my excitement about teaching. My passion for this job is what drives me to succeed. I have had to adapt this past year and teach online to preschoolers. This became a good thing for my business though, I have more students enrolled now than I did before the pandemic! Passion is what drives my creativity, keeping my ideas fresh, new, and consistent! When I see the children retain what I have taught, it shows me that what I am doing is working. My goal is to provide the foundation to their future success. Read more>>

Rosy Crescitelli | Human Design Specialist & Network Marketing Professional

Knowing how I am DESIGNED to run my business has been the most important factor behind my success. It has been so fun to fully and consciously step into my strengths, to release the things that are holding me back, and marketing intentionally have made ALL the difference for me. It has been my great joy to unlock all of these insights for others as well. Read more>>

Twylla Brown | Spice Girl

Customer satisfaction. If not for them, Twylla’s Spices and Essentials would be non-existent. My product must be well recieved by those who choose to purchase. I don’t just want a one and done customer. I want to have my own shelf in their spice cabinet. Read more>>

Steve Hart | Entrepreneur

Without a doubt, the most important factor behind the success of my business is the steadfast commitment to my mission statement and core values. It is so easy to get wrapped up in the ups and downs of running a business, paying the bills, growing and adapting, that we can lose sight of why we are doing what we are doing. That is why the mission statement is so important. It is the foundation upon which you build your house. When things get tough, which they will, having that solid foundation of your purpose and your WHY allows you to adapt and survive. For a long time I stressed about money, how to pay the bills, how to pay staff, etc, and that mindset came from a place of lack. About 6 years ago I recognized this and worked steadily to rewire my thinking to focus solely on our mission and allow the finances to be a byproduct of the value we provide to the community. Read more>>