We asked folks to tell us about the most important decisions they’ve made along their journey and have shared some of the highlights below.

Britney Franklin | Licensed Massage Therapist & Reiki Master Practioner

Staying true to myself and believing in my brand. I knew when I started my business that I wanted to become my brand. I wanted to use my passion and my ethics as the baseline for Awaken. It’s hard, sometimes, to not lose yourself in the business/financial side of things but staying in the light was something I decided long ago. Keeping my love for healing as the business model is what I’m most proud of. Read more>>

Julie Neira | Helps Veterans- Charleston, SC REALTOR®- Homes for Heroes Affiliate®

As a woman with unwavering faith, I knew the single most important decision was bringing my solid foundation of faith into my business. This was a pivotal point for me, and my faith is how I choose to live my life, it is not “religion” but is a rooted relationship of which I am proud to be in. When I look to prayer for answers, I know the result is what God wants for both myself and my Clients. It allows me to deal with outcomes much easier as I know His Will is always the end result. Read more>>

Erin Taylor | Online Business Manager

Learning to ask for help is the only reason I’ve been able to succeed. While it may come easily for some, I am the type of person who will try to do it all myself. Whether I’m watching YouTube videos, spending hours on trial and error attempts, or just refusing to acknowledge that I am over capacity. While this trait is great in doses, it limits the scale and speed of growth. At a breaking point, I decided to seek out help from someone who had successfully built a business similar to mine. The foundation and guidance she provided allowed me to restructure my business in a way that was clear to prospective leads. Read more>>

Jessica Harrington MPH | Health Educator ~ Stress Mangement

I love working for myself, but I would say the most important decision I made that contributed to my success was hiring help. As an entrepreneur there are a lot of moving parts, there is always something to do. As a human you quite literally cannot do it all, and you do not have too. When I hired my employees, I was able to free up time and work on bigger projects. I think we get scared we cannot afford employees, we overlook that people want to help. There are people you could hire for per diem work or part time. Find that one thing you need for your business that you do not like doing or honestly not good at. Hire someone for that task. This will help you grow faster than you realize. Read more>>

Maddie & Beth Barnett | Owners of Eat Me Cookies

One of the decisions that contributed too our success was choosing to move from New York City, down to Charleston! We had both been living in Manhattan for 10+ years and had established really nice lives for ourselves in the city; we truly didn’t ever consider relocating! But, when Covid hit Maddie, was let go from a position that she had had for 5+ years, and we knew that maintaining a residence in the city, while unemployed, was unrealistic. Disappointed and confused about where to go next… with life, we decided to make the best of a not so great situation, and used our free time to start our business, Eat Me Cookies, while we were quarantining with our parents in Bluffton, South Carolina. Read more>>

April Curci, CCIM | Commerical Real Estate Expert

There is without a doubt one key choice I have made and continue to make every day that has led to my success: integrity. I have built my business around the overarching goal of being honest and truthful. When I started my business, I wanted to my presence to positively impact the industry. When I speak to colleagues, clients, and even opposing parties, they know that I am as good as my word. Read more>>

Darnell Brock | Owner/Manager @ Winter 97

Taking the chance on myself, has single-handedly been the most important decision. Not allowing what other people think to play a role as well as understanding that lessons are going to have to be learned in the beginning. I have been fortunate to have a lot of successes early on, but I know that, the lessons will come to. No matter what it may look like to the outside people. I have to make sure that I always am moving forward and progressing at a rate that I am happy with over everyone else. I am happy to say that, and the three years we have been operating, we have a team of 10, had put out numerous musical projects as well as a short film now. Read more>>