Are you thinking about starting a business? If so, we think you’ll enjoy reading about how these seasoned entrepreneurs thought about the question when they were in your shoes.

Jenna Gumto | Children’s Shop Owner

I decided to start my own business in 2020. I have been a part of the retail world for 30+ years and people always said they could see me doing my own thing. I never felt ready, until the small business I worked for closed and I was trying to figure out my next venture. There was a lot of time for reflection and self care during the year. I did a lot of soul searching and one day it hit me…I’m going to start an online shop and do pop ups around town. I knew I wanted to sell kid’s things, being that my previous job of 6 years was at a children’s boutique in South Park, called So Childish. I learned a lot there and once it closed, I saw the need for more kid’s retail in San Diego. Read more>>

Christa Sisson | Speech-Language Pathologist & Owner of TideSpeak Language & Speech Therapy Inc.

I’m still at the phase where I look around and think, “Business owner? Who? Where?”. That being said, starting my own business was less of a thought process and more of a passion move. I had just come off maternity leave (during COVID, I might add), and suddenly my whole outlook on life was changed. I have seen the gaps in care for years and knew that families needed the home connection piece of communication to be successful in therapy. I never dreamed of owning my own private practice (except maybe around retirement age), but I finally reached a point where I realized that the only way to help families and advocate the way I knew best was to get my ideas out in the world. Read more>>

Frank Minano | Co- Founder/Producing Artistic Director of Inand Valley Repertory Theatre (IVRT)

Back in the late 80s in the Inland Empire there weren’t many local regional theatres. After graduating from South Coast Repertory Theatres Professional Acting Conservatory and from UC Irvine, I was determined to bring quality regional theatre to the Inland Empire. My wife and I saw that Rancho Cucamonga was building a cultural center with a theatre space and we knew this was the sign to get things going. Read more>>