Starting a business is a commitment and requires dedication, resources and sacrifice. We asked some of the rising stars in our community how they thought through the idea of starting their own businesses.

Aris Anagnos | Exp Realty

I always wanted to have my own business and be the one calling the shots. I learned out of college that I worked well on my own so it just became the natural thing for me to do. Read more>>

Jacob Cross | Digital Content Creator

My wife and I decided to start our own business so that we’d have the flexibility to set our own schedule and be able to work on the things that interested us. Running our own business also challenges us to learn new things constantly, which is something we both enjoy. No two days are the same, and things are constantly evolving. Read more>>

Anna Fine | Real Estate Agent and Investor

Prior to getting into real estate , I was a nurse for almost 18 years. I love people and I care about them , about their well being, either physical or financial. I truly want everyone to be happy , healthy and wealthy. But I believe people have to chose to do it and take personal responsibility. That is what I did and still doing every day and I want to help other . I was always passionate about home ownership and real estate investment and even while working as a nurse I was always encouraging nurses and doctors at work to buy real estate. Read more>>

Sherry Price | Certified life coach, pharmacist, and creator of the Drink Less Lifestyle podcast and program

I would have a glass of wine at the end of my day as a way to transition from work life to home life. What started out as a simple way to relax and unwind after a stressful day turned into a nightly habit and a few more glasses. I knew this habit wasn’t healthy and I wanted to cut back and drink less. Read more>>

Jennie Lynn | Love Empowerment Coach

When I reflect on the thought process behind my business, I realize that my business was born less on thoughts and more from an intuitive, heart-led process and then my mind followed. The first thought I truly had was “I don’t know what this will look like, how I will get there, I only know that I’m meant for it”. I didn’t have the experience, resources or plan– only the knowing it was right. But what brought me to this powerful thought? Read more>>

Tori Jensen | Registered Dietitian, Registered Nurse

Owning your own business is ultimate freedom. It’s all on you to make it or break it, which can be scary but liberating. Stepping out in faith to start a business was easy in the sense that I feel so called to teach people about nutrition and can’t imagine doing anything else with this passion. On the hard days, that’s what sustains me. I go back to my original purpose and vision which allows me to move forward even when I have no clue where I’m going. Read more>>

Sage Beltran | Clothing Designer

To do to what I love. My clothing line allows me to create art, which is my passion. Not only this, but to have people physically represent what I create is something that is extremely special. Read more>>

Kelly Anne Ferraro | CEO & Content Creator

I wanted to have control of not only my career but my life. The hours I put in for work needed to mean something to me. I wanted everything I was working towards to be something I was building with a vision for a future. Read more>>

Corey Atkins | Co-Founder and President of Super Bloom Ultimate

…Ultimate frisbee—or simply “ultimate”—is one of the fastest growing sports in the world. Now more than ever, there are a variety of ways in which players can get involved with the sport, whether it’s playing recreationally, competitively, or professionally. The Western Ultimate League, founded in 2020, allows women and non-binary players on the West Coast to represent their own cities in an annual 3-month season, highlighting some of the very best athletes in our sport. Read more>>

Guillermo Serrano | Bob Proctor’s PGI Global Consultant – ELITE MINDSET COACHING

I wanted total freedom, that’s why I decided to resigned my job and start my own business. For me, being able to do whatever I want, whenever I want, its priceless. Read more>>

Chloe Johnson | Entrepreneur

The most recent business I have started is a wedding gown company called L’Amour and Lace that sells high quality wedding dresses for under $1,000. Whenever I decide to jump into a new endeavor I try to make sure it is solving a niche problem. With the wedding dresses, I found that the industry was charging around a 1,200% markup on these gowns and forcing brides to make financial sacrifices in order to have their dream dress. I wanted to restore a little justice to the industry and make gorgeous gowns accessible to everyone. There is something highly motivating about growing a business that solves a problem for people. Read more>>

Tye Marie Reeder | Homeschooling stay-at-home mom, owner of Seek Chocolate Shop

people on cacoa farms and ensure cacao farmers earn adequate wages and reduce the risks of slavery and human trafficking in the cacao realm. As I researched Fairtrade, I started to realize that Fairtrade certified chocolate isn’t always fair. For quite some time, I felt that eating Fairtrade chocolate was good and would empower people on Cacao farms. Read more>>

Shana Schoone | Author + Life Coach

Honestly, I never saw myself having my own business. In 2018, I had a near death expereince (pulmonary embolism after my double jaw surgery) which dramatically changed the way I look at the world. In 2019, I started writing poetry and I knew one day I would turn it into a book. Then in May of 2020, this fantasy world I was living in where I would see this certain man again whom I thought I was supposed to be with got engaged. I also was out of work for two months with the pandemic. It was then I was forced to sit with my pain which was very necessary. In October of 2020, Read more>>

Emma Anderson | CEO and president of Ariginal One

I’ve been working for other people very hard for over 20 years. My thought process behind starting my own business where is knowing who I was finally and what I could bring to the table. Working for someone else you only continue to make them wealthier and for them to build the lifestyle I wish I could have. No complaining that is the system that set up. I decided to make the choice to build my dream and create generational wealth for my family Read more>>

Tony Sabeih | Casablanca & Vybz Owner

I was working as a chef for many. I had my own Italian restaurant in Poway many years ago and when the opportunity arrived for a hookah lounge with restaurant in downtown I took it. Read more>>

Shakia Urquhart | Registered Nurse. Saladtician. Parfista.

Sultry Salads was birthed throughout the course of my nursing school journey. I initially started creating aesthetic salads as a way to decompress, practice mindfulness, and most importantly maintain a balanced, healthy relationship with food. Heart disease has cursed my family for many generations. My maternal grandmother passed away of Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) when I was 11 years old, followed by my mother being diagnosed with Post-partum Cardiomyopathy at age 32 after delivering my younger sister. Read more>>

Tashianna Polanco | Event Planner & Wedding Planner

I helped my brother-in-law and his wife with their backyard wedding in 2016 and fell in love with the process. Did I mention that the day of the Wedding it was 98 degrees outside?! In the San Fernando Valley! That is when I knew that despite the hard work and stress of it all, seeing everything come together and the reaction on people’s faces when it was all done…I had found my calling. Read more>>

Camille Williams | Camille Chef Cee” Williams | Private Chef

As a kid growing up, we were always told to go to college, get a degree, so that you could get a good paying job and live a successful life. But no one ever told us to become an entrepreneur, build your own business and become your own boss. I wanted to create something of my own that was authentic. Something that I could nurture and allow to flourish. Since a kid, cooking has always been my passion and satisfaction. Read more>>

Allison Estrada | Resident Physician, Family Medicine & Co-Founder of Comunidad de Apoyo San Diego

As a resident physician in family medicine in South San Diego, it became clear to me early-on in my training that immigrant patients in our community do not receive the same level of care as non-immigrant patients. Growing up in San Diego, I knew that many immigrants in our community are excluded from non-emergent medical insurance based on immigration status, but it wasn’t until I became a resident physician did I truly see the impact that this had on patient’s lives. Soon, I found myself caring for many individuals who had been impacted by a lack of specialty care; Read more>>

Ashley Nicole | Author/Poet/Publisher

My thought process followed the path of my passion to write. Writing was something that came easy to me and something that my parents encouraged. I was gifted glitter pens, gel pens, pens with my name on them, journals, diaries with locks, and colorful notepads with the likes of Betty Boop, Lucille Ball, and Bugs Bunny. I was inspired and addicted to movies like “Harriet the Spy” and “Matilda”, and shows like “Moesha” and “Clarissa Explains it all”. Read more>>

Cody Hopkins | Owner

It wasn’t a real thought out process. It just kind of happened naturally by sticking with what I enjoyed doing. I had plenty of other jobs and nothing compares to working in a ski shop. Kind of ruins you in a good way haha! Read more>>

Jade Thompson | Swim Instructor/Swim Instructor Manager & Lifeguard

In July of 2020, I turned 18 which was super exciting! It meant I was an adult now, but with that came the responsibilities of course! I began paying my rent and other important bills and decided it was time to start applying my skills outside of the work place. I was and currently am a lifeguard and swim instructor at a Boys and Girls Club branch and love my job at this facility. The skills I learned as a lifeguard and swim instructor were skills I could take to other pools and locations to spread the importance of water safety. Read more>>

Tyler Ruehl | Music Producer and Record Label Owner

I have been doing music since I was about 12 years old ( I am 28 now). Writing and recording yourself was not a huge thing back in the day and I needed a way to get out ideas without breaking the bank. I started out with a $30 interface and a cheap computer and just went to town taking in as much knowledge as I could learn online at first. After I got my foundation down with creating my own demos, I ended up with helping out other bands and artists around me and it eventually turned into paid work. Read more>>

Ruby Yeh | Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner (FNTP) & Culinary Nutrition Expert

I am a Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner (FNTP) and my business is to empower and inspire busy moms to raise healthy families in a life full of zest. I started my career working in a corporate setting and starting my own business never crossed my mind. After my son was born in 2014, I made the decision to leave my corporate career and stayed home to take care of my baby. It was a difficult transition going from a career woman to a stay at home mom, the learning curve on how to keep my baby healthy while taking care of myself was very deep. I decided to study holistic nutrition and committed to applying what I learned and still learning in my everyday life. Read more>>

Kristin Swanson | Reseller, eBay, Poshmark, Mercari and more…..

I started out just selling items around my house that I no longer needed and quickly started seeing how much money I could make, this was back in 2010. I eventually ran out of my own things to sell so I would frequent thrift stores, garage sales and estate sales to find items to resell. The thrill of finding the items is what keeps me going to this day. I eventually quit my 9-5 job and went full time as a reseller. I love the flexibility this line of work provides. Read more>>