Downtown LA 9.11.2017

Jorge Bicer

I was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina and when I was 15 years-old, my family and I moved to Southern California. Being so close to Hollywood, I fell in love with the movie industry to the point that I knew early on, what I wanted to do in life, which was to become a Film Director. Read more>>

Samira Nosrati

I grew up in Iran in an artistic family. I am a third generation high-end catering business with high quality, home-made food. When I migrated to the US in 2005, I had to follow my passion and continue the family tradition. Read more>>

Jessica Claire Militello

I’m originally from a suburb of Detroit, Michigan. I’ve been an avid photographer since I was a toddler. I really got into photography when I started shooting other local agency models portfolios. Eventually, I polished my skills with a formal education. Read more>>

Justine Grover

I started dancing flamenco when I was very young. I remember performing at my school talent show in the 3rd grade and no one – not even the teachers – knew what flamenco was. I continued to study flamenco throughout high school and college and eventually made my way to study in Spain. Read more>>

Paul Prado

Our story started in the 90’s while a close relative of mine was getting married. We all can relate to the wedding budget. While trying to maximize their dollar, a videographer just wasn’t in the budget, or was it even on the radar in the 90’s? Photographers were the primary vendor documenting weddings. Read more>>

Christina Tran

I started out like any other bride-to-be. “What exactly does a wedding coordinator DO? Do I really need one?” I started asking around all my married friends and the answer was unanimous. YOU NEED A WEDDING COORDINATOR. A few months later, my sister introduced me to Catherine (Cat, for short) and we totally clicked. Read more>>

Andy Vu and Donna Vo

Andy has always been into video and film since he was a young child. Growing up his interests were (and still are) in cinema. Through the years, he would do his friend’s wedding as a side hustle while pursuing projects he was really passionate about. He’s worked on countless sets from movies, to tv shows, commercials, music videos, and everything in between. Read more>>

Oscar Dominguez and Monique Pucciarelli

Our team includes Monique (who is also an artist and exhibits regularly) in sales and marketing, our awesome filmmaker/ editor Luis, Jose who is an amazing photographer, and Oscar the lead photographer and founder. Oscar’s love for cinema and movie making goes back to when he was studying Philosophy at the university in Mexico City. Read more>>

Weston White

I always say I grew up in Texas, but I was awakened in Los Angeles. After crossing the country to start fresh in a new environment, I was faced with the challenges of understanding who I am in this world, and developing what I want to contribute. Read more>>

Vanessa Franco

My path to helping people heal themselves began long ago. Yes, you read that correctly; I said people heal themselves! Whether you believe it or not, it’s true, and I’m the energetic facilitator blessed with the opportunity to connect you with your body’s healing resources. Read more>>

Fariba Zandpour

I had special interest in natural remedies and herbs since very young age. Years later when I discovered Ayurveda through yoga, I knew that it is what I always wanted. I decided to go to school again and study this science. I never stopped learning and practicing it, since it came to my life. Ayurveda is vast and a body, mind and soul knowledge. Read more>>

Summer Gilbert

I started with Toes on the Nose 10 years ago as a Buyer, Merchandiser and Retail Manager. I also am a Singer/Songwriter and Toes on the Nose sponsored me as one of their ambassadors. They Funded my first two albums which you can find on iTunes or www.summergracewatson.com. Read more>>

Catherine Kooiman

I’ve had over a two decade love affair in my passion for the skin care industry. At age 17 I became an aspiring make up artist, by age 21 I became a licensed Esthetician, by age 31 (in 2006) I set out on my own as a budding Entrepreneur and created Skin So Sweet (Get Sugared!), by age 33 (in 2008) I had opened two Orange County locations. Read more>>

Chelsea Rush and Talia Prairie

Talia & I were both teaching at the same fitness studio that unfortunately closed down. We found ourselves with a great amount of clients and nowhere to teach them. They trusted us and allowed us to create our own method centered around cardio, done by bouncing on a miniature trampoline. Read more>>

Nancy Nguyen

Back in high school I got an amazing opportunity to learn how to do eyelash extensions by my boyfriend’s (at the time) mom, Jenny. She mentored me on how the business works, the ins and outs of eyelash extensions, and she pushed me into getting my Esthetician license. After working for Jenny as well as several different salons, I learned the pro and cons of running a good business. Read more>>

Arleth Gutierrez

I became a wedding photographer on a dream and a whim. After planning my own wedding in 2007 I became so enamored with the wedding industry that I decided to buy a camera and teach myself wedding photography. With the support of my amazing husband who also became a wedding photographer along with me, we’ve built an incredible business of nearly 10 years that we are very proud of serving many wonderful couples along the way on one of the most important days of their lives. Read more>>

Brian Foster

I’ve been Tattooing professional for 19 years. After my time spent in the United States Marine Corps I chose to follow my artistic talents. I’ve been around tattooing since I was in my teens back in the 90s working as a shop helper at an old biker tattoo shop, answering phones and cleaning up cocaine in the bathroom, those were different times. Read more>>

Stephanie Acosta

Growing up, I knew that I always wanted to create something beautiful but never understood what my calling was. My mom always says that at a young age she would find me running around the house with my fingers in a shape of a rectangle over my eyes and saying “pish” as if it was the sound of a shutter. Little did my mom know, this was going to be the start of what I call my heart and soul. Read more>>

Mindy Nguyen

I started working in the furniture industry in the 90’s. As a warehouse worker, I would use my earnings to purchase scratch and dent furniture and bring it to the flea markets for a profit. Over time I was able to earn enough to begin establishing a relationship within the industry that allowed me to manufacture my own brand. Read more>>

Kathy Huynh

I started Kathy Huynh Artistry in 2013 as a side job while working full time as a personal banker. I became a freelance makeup artist with the intention of getting more in touch with my creative and artistic side that I had been missing for years. Growing up I was very fond of art and spent most of my free time drawing and painting. Read more>>

Hillary McCrumb

This is actually a fairly new journey for me… I have only been in business for two and a half years now. Up until then I was a commercial interior designer. I had always been super active and was always encouraged to become a personal trainer and help others and then, one day after I was fed up with sitting behind a computer everyday, I decided to give it a go! Read more>>

Michael Triolo

I got into fitness while I was growing up in New Jersey. The harsh winters that we have back there make it ideal for hanging out in the gym. Being as how I was always one of the smallest guys on any of the teams I’d play for, I took it upon myself to start weight training at the age of 15. Read more>>

Ming Tsao

We never thought Alamode Fashion Jewelry was going to become the company it is today. 30 years ago, our family started a small swap meet business to make ends meet. At the time, we sold a variety of products, including jewelry that we imported from Taiwan. Read more>>

Tuyen Tran

I used to do architecture. While working in architecture, I went to Paul Mitchell for my cosmetology training. After receiving my license, I worked in architecture a couple more years before making the shift to hairdressing. I started in the salon and worked on Photoshoots as often as possible to build my portfolio. Read more>>

Peri Arenas

I have always loved fashion. When I was younger I modeled and was always asked what I was wearing. I had children very young and devoted my youth to raising children but always knew I would get back into fashion! I was thinking about opening a store in NYC when my brother asked if I wanted to open a store inside the Parker Palm Springs Hotel. Read more>>

Maryanne Rodgers

After 20 years of being led by Spirit as a Christian, and being trained on the daily in a normal life of relative obscurity and having left my well paid, stressful corporate job without knowing exactly what was next. I received a spiritual calling, to do special work- but without any specific information, to which I cautiously said “yeeesss?” Read more>>

James, Kevin, and Steve Broussard

A landmark of excellence, Doctor J Automotive has served Huntington Beach since 1987. The family owned and operated business is dedicated to providing the best in technical expertise for both domestic and import vehicles. The founder, James Broussard, started his pursuit of automotive excellence in 1971 while working exclusively on Datsun and specializing in the ‘Z cars. Read more>>

Roger Harvey

I starting shooting competitively in the military in the late ’60’s as a member of the United States Military Pentathlon team. I had played water polo and rugby in college so, as a young lieutenant in Germany, my command thought I was a logical choice to represent our unit in a competition involving running and swimming. Read more>>

John Calicchio

BIT BY THE MOTORCYCLE BUG! Raised in southern California. One day in 1965 while walking to high school, I saw some guy come flying down Fairview road doing a wheelie on a Triumph 650 Bonneville. There is nothing more stunning than watching a guy wheeling a motorcycle at a 45-degree angle with even throttle. Read more>>

Clementina Eley and Diane Parent

Orange Clementine blossomed from a strong desire to build a California brand of foodie gifts that sings with amazing citrus notes – but also made from scratch with California citrus, that are delicious, and represent California’s citrus history. Read more>>

Justine Keyes

While I was in college studying music, I decided to start teaching private voice lessons and piano lessons. I only had a few students at first, but just through word of mouth, it grew and grew until I had over 20 students! A few years later, I got married and then had a baby and I realized that as much as I loved teaching, I wanted to be able to teach less myself so that I could be with my baby more. Read more>>

Lisa Mercier

I am a Psychic Medium and Reiki Master. I have a BS in Psychology and a Minor in Sociology. I have a diverse background of helping others, including non-profit work, crisis response, victim advocacy, and law enforcement. Growing up, I always knew I had a connection to Spirit. Read more>>

Bob Chitrathorn

It all started from when I was a young skinny lad. As many youngsters, we all heard our parents arguing about various things. Money typically is a common argument that most couples and families go through, mine was no different. Read more>>

Kate Neligan

I started my journey with horses when I was 10 and my mom took me for weekly riding lessons and later summer camp with horses. I fell in love with them and rode for years all the way through competing in college. It wasn’t until one day just a few years ago when a friend shared with me about how her horses showed up in an equine therapy session and I was blown away. Read more>>

Ricki Kline

After moving from my home in Brooklyn to San Francisco in the early 1970s, I settled in as a union carpenter, working mostly on big commercial and public jobs, including the Bay Area Rapid Transit system. Eventually I headed to LA where I began making original hand-crafted furniture. Read more>>

Mariam Collenbaugh

When my son was born, I was one sleep deprived mama. I thought it’s probably because he’s a newborn and as long as I hang in there a little longer he’ll be an amazing sleeper in no time. Boy was I wrong! Months went by and he was still waking up multiple times a night and taking short naps during the day. Read more>>

James Gaor and Emilie Scott

We took the leap and decided to create Halcyon Health Direct Primary Care after our experiences practicing in a traditional insurance based health care system. 10-15 minute patient visits, centered around billing and coding for insurance reimbursement does not lend itself to physician or patient satisfaction. Read more>>

Nathan Schlaffer

I’m a half-Filipino, half-Jewish American who loves embracing new cultures and learning what motivates people and how people think. Every individual, entrepreneur and business has a unique story to tell about themselves. Read more>>

Tracy and Tom Hazzard

We are a husband and wife design team, Hazz Design Consulting, who have worked together on and off for over 25 years as product designers for major brands and retailers as well as million-dollar Amazon sellers. We operate as ghost designers, behind the scenes for brands like Martha Stewart Living and retailers like Costco. Read more>>

Kimberley Ingram-Spurbeck

I am a new small business owner. I created Coastal Promotional Products because it allowed me to tap into my creative teaching side, while pursuing my dream of working for myself. My goal was/is to be able to spend as much time as possible with my son & family. The road has been relatively smooth. Read more>>

Michael and April Dmytrow

Surf City Graphics is a family owned graphic design, printing and wrap business managed and operated by Michael and April Dmytrow. Michael and April were born and raised in Southern California. Their passion for art and design motivated them into the graphic design and printing industry. Read more>>

Todd Creager

I had what seemed like the perfect life but in college, I got injured and in the ER, the nurse seemed to panic because my blood pressure was so high. The injury that I healed from became less important to me but I became very anxious about death and also felt like there was something wrong with me because someone so young “shouldn’t” have this problem. Read more>>

Krista Umgelter

I was working for a small international marketing agency in the South of France and living only a stone’s throw away from the Mediterranean shoreline. My lifestyle was very comfortable… a small boat, a beautiful garden apartment, a charming cat, friendly work environment, great colleagues, an incredibly interesting job and an active lifestyle which included scuba diving, boating, canyoning (rock climbing in mountain waterways), skiing and kiteboarding. Read more>>

Sue Koch

When I was still working in the corporate world, I took a personal growth course. That’s where I first learned about coaching. Throughout the three-month course, we had weekly coaching calls. Their purpose was to keep us accountable, and to help us break through barriers we put in our way. Read more>>

Ed Postal

In 1991 a friend who was unhappy working for a travel agency asked me to start one so she could work for me. Not knowing much about the travel industry, I did research and set up an agency in Irvine with a manager and 5 agents. In 1993, I sold the agency and decided that it would be a much better idea to work by myself using a host agency. Read more>>

Janna Colaco

When I was little, my mother began a life-long battle with severe depression. What’s cool about little kids is they think the world is all about them, and they can fix anybody or anything! So, I decided at the age of six to fix my mom. Read more>>

Adam Eyerman

I quickly realized after graduating from college that a typical 9-5 lifestyle was not for me. I began training one client 3 times a week and driving Uber to cover my expenses and have built myself up to a steady client base, multiple group classes and a meal prep service for my clients exclusively. Read more>>

Frances Harvey

I have been managing and setting up offices/businesses for over 30 years. Prior to starting My Solution Services, Inc. (MSS) I was the Director for a large mental health agency for 8 years. This is where I learned about the world of mental health, therapists, how to run a center/practice and more. Read more>>

Beshoy and Rania Louies

I’m a Creative art director who has been painting professionally for over 12 years. Creating custom artworks & murals is my passion. I started my career back home in Egypt after studying fine arts for 5 years. I was able to achieve so much in a short period of time & was able to take on large projects such as churches, private homes, and businesses. Read more>>

Randi Goodman and George Ricciardi

George and Randi are dedicated to sharing their love and passion for the great outdoors. Upon moving to Monte Nido they instantaneously realized the magic of the area and endless opportunity at their fingertips. They had no choice but to figure out a way to share the wonders of the Santa Monica Mountains in a meaningful way. Read more>>

Dupé Aleru

For the past decade, I have combined my passions for education and self-improvement towards a life dedicated to being an education entrepreneur, author, content creator, and motivational speaker. I started my career back in 2006 as a classroom teacher, with only an unshakable suspicion that life had more for me in store. Read more>>

Chris and Nancy Hargreave

I was born in England but moved to Australia in my teens where I met my wife, Nancy, who was born and raised in New Jersey. After getting married and having children we decided to move to America to be closer to our families. We settled in Southern California as we wanted a sunny and warm climate. Read more>>