Keep Going: Small Business Motivation

“You are not really making a difference with the children that you are working with. Your job is easily replaceable, and you’re always going to be a seat-filler.” These words pierced through Sierra like a knife. She had finally fulfilled her dream of becoming a teacher specially trained to work with blind and visually impaired individuals and she was excelling at it. Yet this conversation with her school’s principal made her doubt all of that. But that’s when she had an idea. What if she work...

COVID was what pushed Kendrah to start her own business. Or rather, it was fighting for time to recover from COVID that was the last straw. For years, Kendrah had dreamed of starting her own marketing agency. As a former fashion blogger, brand ambassador, and social media influencer, Kendrah had seen the many facets of growing a business. And she particularly loved helping small businesses grow as a marketing freelancer while working at a large marketing agency. So when push came to shove and...

Naomi was in the car with her young cousins, excited to finally have a break from college and enjoy a day at the park. But Naomi became concerned when her cousin, who was also excited to spend time at the park, wouldn’t leave the car. After some gentle coaxing, Naomi’s young cousin revealed she didn’t want to leave the car because it was a sunny day and she was worried her skin would become darker. From that moment on, Naomi determined she would help BIPOC children around the world unle...

Ana and Belouka are no strangers to fashion. In fact, Belouka moved from her home in Haiti to New York to begin a modeling career at 19, and Ana sewed clothing pieces for fashion week after also moving from Haiti to the U.S. So when Belouka had an idea for a swimsuit design, she reached out to her friend, Ana. What followed was the beginning of a business that celebrates Haitian culture through colorful and comfortable swimwear. Listen as Ana and Belouka share how they began Imamou. Sig...

Joresa had a question: If she could order a cup of coffee on an app and have it delivered in 30 minutes, why couldn’t she have a dress from a store delivered in the same amount of time? This question is what led Joresa to begin GoFlyy, a company that helps other businesses grow by providing package delivery and tracking services. But starting a logistics company of this scale hasn’t always been easy. Listen as Joresa shares how she overcomes challenges from funding to technology in order to k...

Whenever Marissa—a barista and coffee educator—would ask about coffee beans from Asia, she was always told the same thing: there was only one coffee from Asia and it was bad. This did not sit well with her. And as she researched further into the matter, Marissa found a plethora of Asian coffees, each with their own unique flavors ranging from notes of chocolate to floral and herbaceous flavors. With this knowledge, Marissa decided to show others how, just like how no countries in Asia were th...

Amanda never saw herself working as an occupational therapist assistant, let alone as a martial arts instructor. Yet Amanda was a natural caregiver, having grown up assisting her sister with spinal bifida. And she found herself enjoying the health benefits of mixed martial arts in her adult years. So when an opportunity came for Amanda to teach martial arts to a class of special needs children, she found it to be a perfect combination of her two passions that she could do for the rest of her ...

When Jamila graduated from college with a degree in civil engineering, she suddenly noticed something. Out of more than a hundred students in her graduating class, only 10 were women. Knowing that this low representation of female engineers extended beyond her graduating class, Jamila wanted to do something about it. So she did something a little unorthodox for a civil engineer; she began a media publishing company. Listen as Jamila shares how her business J.H. Lindo helps encourage girls to ...

Felicia glanced at the backseat where he son was sitting in his car seat to see every parent’s worst nightmare. He wasn’t breathing. Felicia and her husband pulled over the car and dashed to save their son. But when Felicia finally held her son in her arms, she didn’t remember her CPR training. Fortunately, her husband was able to revive their son. But that moment stayed with Felicia and she wondered if there was something she could do to help others in similar situations. That’s when CPRWrap...

Mo had been a new mom for only a couple of months when her mother suffered a debilitating stroke. Sandwiched between the monumental task of caring for her infant son and her elderly mother, Mo discovered something. While many companies offered home-delivery services for caregiving supplies, there wasn’t very many delivery services that helped ease the emotional toll of caregiving. So in honor of her mother, Mo decided to start a business that could help with that. Listen as Mo shares how she ...