Readers often email us asking us for advice about new businesses they are thinking about starting and we often find that many of them don’t have a framework for thinking about a more fundamental question: why should or shouldn’t you start a business?

Below, you’ll find how successful entrepreneurs from across the city thought about this very question when they were considering whether to start their businesses.

Nic & Hannah Malone | Creative Directors at Lap Cat Studio

Nic here! Back in college, long before we got married, Hannah and I discovered that we worked really well together. We envisioned co-owning a design studio where we could own our careers, collaborate with dream clients, and produce work we could truly be excited about. After working on larger teams, we learned how valuable a small, nimble studio could be to clients who needed fast timelines and the ability to be part of the design process – and have carried that over into how Lap Cat Studio does business today. Read more>>

Allison Hill-Merriweather | Small Business Coach and Business Owner

My thought process is always to start with the end in mind, if that makes sense. Like “whats the ultimate goal I want to achieve from this business?” Then I say okay what’s the plan of action to get there. Read more>>

Breon Ross | Owner of Beyoutiful Luxe Boutique

For as long as I can remember, I have always had a passion for fashion. Creating a business and brand that I love, never feels like work because it’s something that I enjoy so deeply. I developed my business, Beyoutiful Luxe Boutique out of passion, love, and a need to bring more inclusivity to the fashion community and to expand my efforts in my hometown of Memphis, TN. The name Beyoutiful was selected because I wanted all women to know that “YOU” are beautiful no matter your size, gender, skin color, etc. Read more>>

Treva Murry | Charcuterie Creator and business owner

After I created my first charcuterie board I fell in love with the process of limitless possibilities with the creation of charcuterie. Friends and FB associates wanted to place orders so I knew I needed to legitimize my business. So Charming Boxes was born and has been my little baby since 2022. Read more>>

Rachel Jeanette Music | Musician

When I was a young child, my love for music was obvious to my family and they. immediately put me in voice and piano lessons. People used to ask me “What do you want to be when you grow up?” and my answer would always be, “Well I am a singer.” When I started recording professionally in the studio at the early age of ten, people started paying attention to my drive and love for practice. I used to thrive in church musicals but never imagined myself as an actress, but as I started doing more music, film doors started opening and I fell in love with film. Read more>>