The first step to starting a business is deciding to start a business. They say the first step is the hardest and in our experience this is especially true when it comes to starting a business. Getting over the mental roadblocks can be tough, often harder to overcome than the challenges you’ll face once you actually start the business. Fellow entrepreneurs share their thoughts below.

Mie Kobayashi | Cosmetologist/Permanent Makeup Artist/Flight Attendant

As a young girl, I was fascinated by my mother’s chosen profession as owner and operator of a beauty salon located near our family home in Hokkaido, Japan. In May of 2023, in loving memory of my mother and in fulfillment of a longtime aspiration, I opened Sakura Serenity Spa, on the other side of the Pacific Ocean in beautiful Encinitas, offering Permanent Makeup, Eyelash Extensions, Facials and Back Treatments. A licensed cosmetologist since 2011, I continually strive to improve my knowledge, skills and techniques. Read more>>

Monica Abarientos | Beauty Content Creator

I started my beauty content creator journey because I’ve always loved art and making people feel pretty, so it felt perfect to help & inspire others while doing what I enjoy. Read more>>

Ellyza Dawn | Owner & Founder of Kaphé Muna

My journey began with a passion for coffee and a love for serving others. Making coffee and drinks has always been something I enjoy, especially when sharing them with others. Over time, I realized this was something I wanted to pursue more seriously—I wanted to create a special space where people could connect over a great cup of coffee. Read more>>

Melisa Aleman | Director of San Diego Soaring Eagles Powwow Dance Group

In 2008, the Director of the San Diego Unified School Indian Education Program, Vickie Gambala, decided to bring back cultural awareness to Urban Native American families. Vickie developed the group alongside other community members; they started having dance classes, which brought the urban Native community together, from a cultural night, where families learned to do beadwork, sewing, and other cultural activities, to a family night, where everyone brought in a dish to share and held a community potluck which later powwow dance class was implemented into the programming. Read more>>

Maria Tulchinskaya | Creative Conceptual Photographer 📸 Featured in Vogue, Paris and Milan Exhibitor Limited Edition Prints

I moved to California three years ago, and it was a very challenging period of my life. Starting my own business was a way to bring my personal vision to life. As a conceptual photographer, I seek and create meanings in my work, aiming to express ideas that go beyond the surface. I wanted the freedom to explore and convey my values, experiences, and emotions. My main inspiration was my personal journey with emigration and the challenges of adapting to a new country. By turning my thoughts and feelings into art, I hoped to connect with people who might share similar experiences or simply appreciate the depth of those themes. Read more>>

Heidi Gammarano | Interior Designer & Home Stager

It’s funny you ask, because I was just talking about this with my sister. We are both married to guys that have very solid careers and have been in their respective industries for very long times, and both come from families that all have worked jobs in pretty stable professions. Communications and Utilities, Medicine, Accounting, Education, Armed Forces, etc. On our side, our grandparents were like that too…Banking, Firefighting, and also Utilities and Armed Forces. But when it got to our parents, I don’t know if it was because we are both considered Xennial (part Gen X and part Millenial) and the era in which we were born, but our parents were very much into letting us choose our paths on our own and that path could be creative and entrepreneurial. Read more>> 

Sara Bacon | Founder of Opulist and lover of beautiful spaces

As a little girl, I never aspired to have my own business. I didn’t dream of climbing any corporate ladders and definitely never imagined I would create a company myself. I tried jobs in multiple different fields throughout my 20s and early 30s, but always held on to a deeper desire to do something with purpose someday, hoping to find a job that would use my unique gifts and give back to the world. Read more>>

Sari Kuperstein | private behavior specialist in autism

Family enrichment and through this passion I’ve developed a variety of skills and learned how to apply them while remaining fluid to the needs of the family and that of my client. I’d like to shed some light on a corner of autism that’s barely recognized, as services are overflowing with newly diagnosed cases. How I do this, beyond home sessions, which are my favorite part, is to demystify possible causes of behaviors with data analysis of all autism services including school, add in random observations and with this information parents become more informed about why, when and length of time interventions are applied by the service providers such as headphones (ear defenders), a chew ring, helmet, gloves, breaks or free play and what led up to this throughout school and autism service sessions. Read more>>

Renata Terra Lutz | Entrepreneur / Photographer

Starting my own photography business was a mix of curiosity, passion, and family influence. Photography became this incredible creative outlet for me, especially after coming from a career in science. It was such a shift, but I loved how photography let me capture meaningful moments and tell stories—it brought out a different side of me that I hadn’t fully explored before. Read more>>

Laura Cardona | Buena Vida Life Coach

Starting BuenaVida.Life was all about creating something that I needed myself—a space where Latinas like me can feel seen, celebrated, and empowered. It was deeply rooted in my own experiences as a Latina navigating the unique challenges of life, bi-cultural expectations, marginalizations, personal growth, and so much more. After nearly two decades in entertainment, I knew firsthand the toll that high-pressure environments can take on our well-being. When I transitioned into coaching, I realized how important it was to create a space specifically for Latinas and the Latina/e/x community.  Read more>>

Katrina Niesen | Sourdough Artist & Educator

I have been an instructional designer for Scholastic for 3 years now, but engaged in teaching sourdough as a ‘side gig’ for most of that time. I enjoy teaching others and found it gives me purpose and feels so good! Lately, my sourdough education business has grown with more and more people asking for classes and resources. It’s come to a point where something’s gotta give, and I am not willing to give up sourdough, so I’d like to try and make it my full time work and source of income. Read more>>

Emily Haley | Canine and Feline Behavior Specialist

My whole life has been animals. From the get-go, I was always driven and passionate about working with animals. When I decided to run my own business as a behavior specialist with dogs primarily, but cats as well, it stemmed from dissatisfaction with the typical authoritative structure of normal jobs. My skills were in a special niche that no one around me had, and I felt like I moved at a quicker rate of speed. I was confident that I had the skills and the ability to do it on my own, and so those three factors blended into the decision to start my own business from scratch. Read more>>

Sergio Ramirez Jr.

There were a lot of instances in my life that guided me to the path of entrepreneurship… I actually started my entrepreneur journey in middle school selling candy out of my back pack. My mom also ran her own “business” cleaning houses for a living. When I was studying Electrical Engineering in college I realized that I didn’t want to work at an office or be stuck to a computer all day. Read more>>

Tim Stevenson

We’ve both really liked the idea of wholly owning our own business and running it on our own merits. And the vending machines were a perfect combination of our skills that we’ve been building up through various side hustles, hobbies, projects, and other things that have caught our interest throughout the years. We went into it knowing it was going to be a lot of work, but having each other’s support at each step of the way, solving the next problem we didn’t know would come up or solutioning for something we didn’t know we’d need has been just as fun as it’s been challenging. Read more>>

Heather Jewell

Photography has been a lifelong passion, ignited the moment I first used my mother’s film camera in a high school photography class. I bought my first professional DSLR with my first bonus from a full-time job many many years ago and dedicated myself to capturing landscapes and travel moments. Recently, with the purchase of a mirrorless camera, I decided to take the leap and officially turn my passion into a business—and I’ve loved every minute of the journey since. Read more>>

Ashley Kozinski

I’ve always been passionate about social media and marketing. In July 2022, as I was preparing for my wedding, I discovered the concept of content creation specifically for weddings. The idea of having someone capture our special day and edit everything within 24 hours so we could share it with friends, family, and on social media really resonated with me. Inspired by this and drawing from my background in marketing, I realized that starting my own content creation business aligned perfectly with my skills and passions. Not long after, San Diego Content Creator was born. In just one year, we’ve booked over 150 weddings and grown into a team of six talented content creators! We work closely with couples to ensure their vision is brought to life, creating highlight reels that showcases their love story in a personalized way. Read more>>

Isabel Rosales

I have always wanted to open a restaurant and cook for my community. Moving to San Diego, I saw so many opportunities for me to bring my flavor and passion with the hopes of giving my community an experience they’ll never forget. Read more>>

Diamond Wallace-Brandon

I come from a long line of hardworking entrepreneurs who taught me the value of legacy, service, and community. S&S Friendly Ranch has been in our family since 1980. My Paw Paw, Sim Wallace, and Great Aunt Sarah Buncom purchased the land together, and it has served as a beautiful space for our family to work hard, learn, build, and rest. Read more>>

Zuzu

My business has evolved organically over the last two decades, but in truth, it was born long before it became a formal entity. As a teenager, I was captivated with graffiti, street art, and skateboard culture, immersing myself in that creative energy. Later, during college, I studied Creative Advertising and began exploring digital art, painting, event production, and began building my brand. This was when I decided that I would dedicate myself to mastering the two loves of my life: Art and Business. Read more>>

Chelsea Ruitenberg

I wanted to take a leap into something I am deeply passionate about and that brings me so much joy. I was also inspired by friends who had started their own ventures and watching them succeed in what they love. My dad also had a huge influence. He built his design and build firm from the ground up, starting as a small window display business run by my grandfather and expanding it into commercial design across the U.S. His journey showed me firsthand what’s possible with hard work and a vision, and that really fueled my own desire to follow my path. Read more>>