Starting a business can be terrifying. Weighing the pros and cons, the risks, and other considerations can be so overwhelming that often promising entrepreneurs stop before they even start. We asked some phenomenal entrepreneurs about their thought process behind starting their own businesses. Our hope is that by making the thought-process less intimidating we can help more folks think through whether they should take an entrepreneurial leap.

Alyssa Barber | Online Environmental Educator and Activist

The start of NewLifestyleABB was a slow burn. I started creating content for myself as a junior in college for a course I was taking. It was quite literally my homework to post on TikTok just about every day for a semester. I ended that school year in 2020 with 50,000 members in my community on TikTok. I proceeded to do freelance marketing work until October of 2021 when I decided to take the leap to do online climate communication full-time. Now I educate an audience of over 360,000+ people across TikTok and Instagram. Read more>>

Veronica Holbrook | Host of Strub Community Garden

Well, it’s a community garden, not a business. But the thought process of beginning the garden was really brought about by a person I met who had the same desire for creating a sustainable community of sharing resources. She saw my backyard when she came to pick oranges and asked what I had planned to do with the space. Since I had just bought the place, I had no plans because I was out of money at the time. She suggested turning it into a farm. Read more>>

Camille Sowinski | Managing Partner of BCK Programs

BCK Programs, LLC developed organically. As a parent with an environmental law degree, I felt uniquely qualified to help the school and school district my children attended with developing more sustainable business practices while at the same time creating enrichment lessons that could lead to real and meaningful changes for the community. Read more>>

Jessica De La Cruz | Realtor

I was in the Botech/Pharma industry for many years. Although I’m so grateful for all of those years, I did spend a lot of time commuting and away from my family. After some time and from some encouragement from a friend, I finally made the decision to start my own real estate business and be independent as opposed to waiting for the next layoff to happen or to continue commuting for countless hours. My though process behind starting by business was # 1 – helping people make their dreams of hem ownership come true and #2 have the freedom of time to be more present for my family. Read more>>

Spencer Backman | Photographer & Creative Director

My journey to running my own business started with a desire to experiment with my own ideas and just generally follow my interests. Over time, I realized that being good at a craft, in my case, photography, was only the first step in making money with that skill. The second part of that equation was developing systems for the business. Read more>>

Brandon DeSorbo | Hauntrepreneurs

My family loves Halloween and we enjoy giving back to our community. Thousands enjoy our creation each year and that warms our hearts. We truly enjoy the creative expression of everyone who contributes artistically to the haunt. Set up takes months, but it is well worth the wait. Read more>>

Peter Hengst | CEO of BBQUSION

After living in Imperial Beach, CA for a few years, I was in search of a place near me to get some good BBQ. I realized that this type of place I was searching for does not exist. Considering the fact that BBQ is my personal favorite type of food, I knew that I would have to become a master in order to supply myself. I began experimenting with smoked meats and homemade BBQ sauce. Read more>>