Chastity Vaughn
I got my start growing up as a child back in Tupelo, Mississippi. I remember my mother who is also a hair stylist doing hair. I would watch her and learn certain techniques and by that I ultimately found myself infatuated with hair as well. Once old enough to do so, I registered and attended (Foster’s Cosmetology in Ripley, MS 1998), this is where I would learn everything I needed to know about hair and the hair industry. Read More>>
Alyssa Turner
I started my Photography business 14 years ago in Hawaii. As you can imagine there was never a shortage of beautiful backdrops. I shot both destination wedding and families who were on vacation. I got my start after my first child was born and I got my first DSLR camera. I was self-taught for the most part, other than a few workshops to master my trade. Read More>>
John Kang
I am a descendant of North Korea. My family fled to South Korea, where my parents met and lived for several years. By the time my oldest siblings were school age, my parents migrated to the United States on my mother’s work Visa as a Nurse. Shortly after living in the U.S., I was born in Chicago, IL. Read More>>
Amanda Ryan
The idea of Lucky Life Boot Camp started in 2016 when I was looking to add something more to my life. I have always wanted to own my own business and I have always had a passion for fitness. I wanted to become a personal trainer and a group fitness instructor for some time now, so that’s exactly what I did! I became certified with the National Federation of Personal Trainers (NFPT) as a PT. Read More>>
Eric Rivera
Growing up as a child in Dallas Texas, I’ve always been a very active individual. I played sports basically all my life at the amateur level and also overseas. My path to becoming a Personal Trainer was definitely not something I would have imagine especially due to my pervious employment position. Read More>>
Brian Martin
Brian bought Invisibra from the previous owner in 2014. After obtaining his degree in Entrepreneurship from the University of North Texas he began searching for the right business to either start or buy. After a few false starts he finally found Invisibra. Once he reviewed the business history and customer reviews he knew this was the business for him. Read More>>
Mary Rink
So one day I was at a crossroads in my Aviation career, having been a Flight Attendant and Airline Dispatcher for a span of 15 years, and decided I wanted to use the ‘right side’ of my brain for a change! To boost my confidence at the thought of such a bold career change, my sister sent me a fax of a floor layout I created for her new apartment when I was just 16 years old. It was very detailed and included drawings of the window treatments, furniture placement, such as her large stereo speakers (such decorative elements!), area rugs and a rubber tree plant! Read More>>
Sandi Arensman
I have a cosmetology license, as well as a 2-year associate degree in fashion merchandising. I’ve apprenticed with an international platform artist, launched a salon and day spa from the ground up, worked for several major hair care manufacturers educating other hairdressers, and lab-tested thousands of products for the largest beauty supplier in the world. My hairstyles and beauty advice have been published in magazines and on various social media platforms, and the media still rely on me as a beauty expert and influencer. Read More>>
Laurie Sprouse
Our story begins in the Fall of 1987 when Laurie Sprouse and Val Lenington met as college students aboard Semester at Sea, a global study abroad program. For 101 days, Val and Laurie took university courses as they traveled around the world aboard a converted container ship. It was a trip of a lifetime that literally changed the course of their lives. Little did they know how this extraordinary experience would shape their views on travel, change their perceptions of the world, and be the inspiration for their future company. Read More>>
Audrey Menarik
I purchased Moto Liberty in 1999 for $10 from the previous owner. Moved to a small store on Royal and I-35. Gradually expanded and moved to the current 9000 square foot store 5 years ago. It’s rare for a woman to be the sole owner of a motorcycle store, but it’s also very unusual to find a store the specializing in motorcycle gear and apparel. Read More>>
Pierre Craig
Been a Dallas area tennis coach for 20 years and coached many players from all age groups and all skill levels. Not always smooth… have had to make changes of work placed due to administrative changes, foreclosures etc…We help people who have an interest in furthering their skill sets for the game of tennis. Read More>>
Dano Parr
I grew up close to the Texas/Louisiana border, and I moved to Denton to go to the University of North Texas. After I graduated, I decided to stay in the area, and I’ve called DFW home ever since. Music was a wonderful hobby that just became more and more important to me, and over time it went from being a hobby to being a business. I wrote my first song in college and really loved the whole process. Songwriting is like putting a puzzle together. Read More>>
Sarah Kelly
Growing up, I saw a lot of old photographs taken by my dad and became very interested as I saw places and people in his pictures. I got my own camera in high school and quickly grew obsessed with it. While I pursued my business degree at Rochester Institute of Technology in New York, I found out about our incredible photography program and decided to pursue a second bachelor’s degree in Advertising Photography. Read More>>
Brad Bevill
In 1985 while riding his bike around an Irving, TX neighborhood a 9-year-old boy found a box of spaniel puppies, brought home his first dog, and the rest, as they say, is history. Every dog that entered the Bevill home from that day forward was led through the backdoor by Brad. Loving dogs is one thing – and Brad does have a deep love for all dogs – but communicating with and leading dogs is another story. Read More>>
Chris & Trevor Schmidth
Fitness has been a part of our lives in some form or another since we were children. Recently, however, we were both personal training at various locations around town and one day we, honestly, just thought it would be amazing to work for ourselves, to be our own boss, and so we just went for it. We opened up Get FHIIT a few weeks later after we found a location we liked with the hope of spreading our love for fitness to others looking to get fit. Read More>>
Aaron Tate
The glassshop I work out of is called Marrs Art. It is a glass studio built and owned by father and son architects. A love of glass prompted them to build the extensive equipment it takes to make a glass shop. They tend to blow glass on Saturdays since forever, working during the week at their architectural firm. Read More>>
Pat Kochan
My interest and education in art began at the University of Colorado and continued with many well-known watercolor artists. In the 1980s, I was looking for studio space and found Artisan’s Studio-Gallery located at the time in the Kramer School in North Dallas. I joined them when the studio was opening at Preston Royal in a business office building. Read More>>
Chris Coker
I earned a Bachelor’s degree at Texas A&M – Commerce while playing NCAA golf, and heading up the University’s NCAA Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. During that time, I learned the basics of Olympic Weightlifting and started self-educating myself in the world of exercise science and strength and conditioning. Later, in 2009 I began working with CrossFit athletes and coaching more weightlifters at New Braunfels CrossFit. Read More>>
Kaufman Nicholas
I was raised in Dallas, Texas with my parents and 3 brothers; an older, twin and younger brother. Wine has always been a huge part of my life, as my mother was an avid wine drinker, and a connoisseur. Whether it was sharing stories about wine in new places, and enjoying it with family and friends, or talking about the different regions of wine; the Kaufman family has always been involved with wine. Read More>>
Benny Black
16 years ago, I told my wife I want to figure out a way we can drive nice cars and not have to pay for them. My first client was a professional athlete. That’s what allowed me to penetrate that fraternity. But at the time, I did not have any cars, so I borrowed cars from dealers who had lease returns coming in. Read More>>
John Thompson
In 2000, I took the position as chief instructor of Aikido of Denton, a Japanese martial arts school. Through that practice and community, I met another teacher named Skip Chapman who also ran a CrossFit gym in New Jersey. I started training CrossFit in 2012, and was happy with the results in athleticism and the cross over it had in my martial arts training. Around that time, I had moved my dojo to a larger facility, and had space to start a CrossFit gym. Read More>>
Bee Khuu
After the Vietnam War, the communist took over Laos in 1975. It was not until 1978 when my family and I traveled about 20 days through the jungle of Laos to Thailand for our safety. During our journey through the jungle of Laos my families faced many obstacles. Read More>>
Sheryl Baird
Silver Pyramid began in 1984 as a small start-up business at a co-op market in Vikon Village. The original owner, Steve Collins, started as a custom jeweler, working in sterling silver and gemstones. As the business expanded, other product lines were added and Silver Pyramid moved into our current retail location in 2002. Read More>>
Spencer Smartt
Over the years Spencer Smartt has built his reputation on honesty, ethical business practices and the virtues of just being fair and open about how he conducts himself. Starting as a Framing Carpenter, then becoming a Custom Home Builder, to an accomplished Kitchen and Bath Designer he has been instrumental in the design and remodeling of kitchens and baths throughout the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. Read More>>
Daniel Spaeth
After working in the mortgage industry for 6 years, ending on a job managing a call center in the Philippines of around 200 employees, I ventured into the world of entrepreneurship. Started a T-Shirt blanket company first with a colleague who stayed at the mortgage company when I quit…it was not super successful, so I began doing website design and small business startup consulting. Read More>>
Katia Varela
Well, a little about myself and where my dream of working with dogs came from is simply from my love for dogs! Ever since I was a little girl, for as long as I can remember I have always been obsessed with dogs! Stray dogs, friend’s dogs, my family’s dogs, the one thing I remember my family telling me growing up was ‘stay away from that dog!’ “don’t touch that dog!” “leave those dogs alone!” with a look of terror in their face! Read More>>
