We were fortunate to catch up with some brilliant artists, creatives and entrepreneurs from throughout the Houston area and they share the wisdom with us below.

Samuel Obara | Sr. Partner at Honsha.ORG

It is a long story, but at 17, I began an internship with Toyota, where I spent the next 13 years being trained in their production system. During this time, I worked in various departments, including the prototype division, R&D, training, production engineering, and planning. For three of those years, I was with the Overseas Production Engineering Division in Toyota City, Japan, and later I was sent to Venezuela to help start a new Toyota plant. Read more>>

Deepti Saini | Systems Strategist and Dubsado Expert

When Covid hit, we were all stuck at home with extra time on our hands, so I gave freelancing as a Social Media Manager a shot. To my surprise, my side hustle took off! Suddenly, I was buried under a mountain of freelance work while trying to juggle a corporate job, toddler duties, and home responsibilities. I’d wake up at 4 a.m. for client meetings, squeeze in work during the evenings, and it was getting insanely hectic. Read more>>

Lorraine Glessner | Artist, Educator, Mentor

Live in the mindset of never giving up, no matter what. There is always another path to take, always another decision to make other than giving up. You simply have to make up your mind that giving up is not an option and when other options present themselves, you will be open to them. Read more>>

Jon Marro | Artist. Filmmaker. Vision Sower.

I believe people come to me for my unique set of creative gifts. 1.) More than an “artist” or “creative director” I refer to myself as a “Vision Sower.” I plant seeds of imagination in the minds, hearts, eyes and ears of the collective conscious. I have an ability to see – in my mind’s eye – images when I hear my clients talk about their brands, visions or ideas. Their words crystalize into symbols – a visual metaphoric language inside my imagination and 2.) I have the skillset to to bring those ethereal images into form through paint and or pixel. I also find that my work speaks for itself – almost all of my clients come to me through referral by seeing my work somewhere else. It’s as if the artifacts I leave resonate and speak to the souls who are meant to find me. My work itself has always been the best and most effective marketing. Read more>>

Desmond Agyeman-duah | Photographer

My work is my joy, capturing life’s precious moments and revealing new perspectives. There’s no greater satisfaction than seeing someone’s face light up when they discover a side of themselves they never knew existed. Through my lens, I aim to unlock confidence, reveal hidden beauty, and preserve memories that will be cherished for a lifetime. The smile, the tear, the gasp of amazement – these are the reactions that make my heart skip a beat and remind me why I do what I love. Read more>>

Jeff & Destiny Elkin | Scientist & Foodie made in matrimony

My wife and I consider ourselves foodies. We are always looking for the next restaurant to try out, or the next dish we have to make, or the newest flavor mashup thats trending. It’s a slight obsession, but one that never gets old. Read more>>

Susan Rangel Linares | Founder, Mother & Wife

College never was a dream for me, but owning a business was. The thought of one day creating something for myself was always the plan since I can remember. I knew I wanted to work in something I loved.

All I knew it would be something girly, in the fashion industry-a fashion boutique or start a brand from scratch. Read more>>

Yaritza Rojas | Small business owner

The most important lesson my business has taught me has to be balance, I believe there’s times , were you will be able to do it all , but there will also be times you won’t be able to get to every single item on the list. There will be days you will come out short because you have to do business things one day and then another day you gotta do mom duties. You always have to have time to have self care even if it’s a walk and or something love doing I believe that’s something my small business has taught me. Read more>>