Many books on startups and business talk about how there are right and wrong reasons for starting a business. So, we asked a handful of successful founders about their reasons and the thought-process behind starting their business.

Craig Wann | Web Developer and Owner of CodeZone (codezone.io)

It’s been a long-time dream of mine to run an agency. I wanted to use my skills and experience to create a business that not only provided valuable services to clients, but also made a positive impact. The idea of being able to make a difference in the world while doing something I am passionate about, was the push that motivated me to start CodeZone. Read more>>

Hannah Monroe | Professional Boudoir Photographer

I got married very young to a military man and we started our family right away. I had worked in the music industry prior to getting married and loved the face paced creativity. When my husband went on deployment and I was left on a military base with 2 children under two, I felt like a shell of a human. Read more>>

Gabriela Kabande | Founder & CEO

Gabriela Kabande Collection started many years ago as a dream and transformed into my life project. I was always fascinated by the fashion industry and mostly in handbags. I would see them as a marvelous accessory that gave you a touch of femininity and pulls any outfit together. Read more>>

Johnny Schaefer | Singer-Songwriter

My music career is a natural result of pursuing a calling that I’ve felt since I was four years old. My first album cover is a photo my grandmother took of me at that age holding a toy guitar. I had already written my first song and sung my first solo in church by then. Read more>>

Christina Avalos | Maternity | Newborn | Children | Family Photographer

At the time, I was a mother of two, I was in college full-time and working full-time as a manager for Jamba Juice. I was driving from Palmdale to Carson where I attended California State University of Dominguez Hills. If you are from SoCal, then you know that traffic was a nightmare! Read more>>

Olivia Rymkiewicz | Photographer & Creative

I think my business started as a result of my desire to capture people, places and moments that were significant to me through photography. When I travelled with my family as a kid, I started to take pictures on a disposable film camera of things that stood out to me. I loved the way being limited to 24 exposures in a roll, forced attention to detail and value into every shot. Read more>>

Jenna Miller | Yoga Teacher + Nutritionist

Becoming a business owner was a side effect more than a goal I held in mind. I knew I had skills and important information that could help people. I wasn’t able to find another avenue to get that information into the world, so I made my own way. Building my career as a yoga teacher was an important part of my growth, teaching me how to nurture connections and promote myself. Read more>>

Scott thompson | filmmaker & designer

I have always been an artist. The concept of “the rat race” has always been unattractive to me. Since a kid I was always an entrepreneur at heart and have always wanted to be in control of my time and creative decisions. So when I turned 24 I launched my first business and have never looked back. Read more>>

Kelsey Rinaldi | Wedding and Lifestyle Photographer

Like most Entrepreneurs I started my business by taking a big leap of faith. I knew that I wanted to be my own boss and pursue my passion of photography, but I was scared (but who isn’t scared when they start something new). I was afraid of failure, and I let that hold me back from starting my business years sooner. Kelsey Rinaldi Photography officially launched in October of 2021. Read more>>

Jessica Demitro | Astrologer and Tarot Reader

I had just completed college and was working in my field as an intake coordinator and the thought came to me that I need to create my own upward mobility. That I could not see myself dedicating my life to working for someone else. I love working in nonprofits and helping to build community but I don’t want that to be my legacy, I feel like everything I was learning was going to help me develop the tools for success in my own business. Read more>>

Sarah Watkins | Always a Mom first, Founder of AUsome Sauce – creating a Mix of Safety & Connection

Starting a Non Profit is never easy but the initial motivation to create change is always worth it. My son was diagnosed with Autism at an early age and with that comes the grieving process, you have to work through the stages and make moves accordingly. As I got more confident in my journey and learning how to advocate it became clear that I was missing a community. Read more>>

Dr. Erin Hallahan | Chiropractor & Business Owner

Slight backstory, I am Canadian and in order for me to get the work visa I wanted, I needed to start a business! BUT, besides the immigration logistics, I ultimately left the corporate world to pursue a career and job where I had control over my schedule. I always imagined a life where I got to choose how much time off I had, my hours, my schedule, how much or how little I wanted to work. Read more>>

jahlin mcmillan | Creative hustler

Honestly, my thought process behind starting my entire business has a lot to do with the passing of my sister in 2020 as well as I got sick of working for other people I truly felt like I could do something real with my life and it was time to make a huge change Read more>>

Erin Tindall | Professional Photographer

I had been passionate about photography throughout my childhood, but it wasn’t until after high school that I realized that it could be much more than just a hobby. I knew I could succeed more in working for myself than someone else. It’s essential for me to have complete creative control but also be in charge of the administrative side of the business. Read more>>