FOLLOWING THEIR PASSION
By Christopher Reardon
There are 31 million entrepreneurs in the U.S., or about 16% of the adult workforce, according to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor. In addition, more than half of all Americans have started a business at some point in their lives while a quarter have started two or more.
Yet success does not always follow. Approximately 20% of new businesses fail during the first two years of being open, 45% during the first five years and 65% during the first 10 years, with only 25% of new businesses lasting 15 years or more, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Opening a business takes passion, determination and courage. Yet the rewards are huge. Four members of the Morris County Chamber of Commerce have shown that passion and courage and are enjoying those rewards.
Amanda Veinott spent more than 10 years working in human resources consulting. In 2016, her focus narrowed to assisting veterans and companies looking to hire them. She started her own company, Miligistix, then sold it and pivoted. Now a mother, Veinott opened Momique, a maternity store in Morris County that also focused on the wellbeing of mothers.
Then came COVID. Momique closed and Veinott changed career paths yet again, taking a position as exterior designer and sales consultant for a construction company. Never did she think of returning to her original career path.
“I didn’t want to go back into the corporate rat race. It’s not something my heart is in,” she said. “I always loved construction. I always joked I would love to become Joanna Gaines.”
Yet the entrepreneur in Veinott called. In March of this year, she opened Maven Roofing and Exteriors, LLC and her first job was May 8.
“I realized how you sell construction projects is very similar to how you sell an HR project,” she said.
While there have been challenges – getting licensed and insured for construction in New Jersey is difficult – work is coming in and Veinott has high expectations for Maven.
“We are prepared to scale very quickly,” she said. “Our goal is to reach $1 million in revenue this year.”
Alissa Randall always loved photography.
“My mom studied photography when I was a little girl and I would go with her when she was taking classes or on assignment,” she said.
Yet after graduating college with a degree in marketing communications, Randall took the traditional route and went corporate, first on the agency side then to a nonprofit where she eventually became chief marketing officer.
Still, photography was in her blood and she kept dabbling at it. When her position was eliminated in May 2022, Randall went full force into her fist love and launched All About Head Shots, a photography studio focusing on portraits.
“I can make anyone feel comfortable in front of a camera but you’re very much in your client’s space when you’re photographing them, and I’m lucky that I can make them feel at ease,” she said.
Randall’s first paying customer came in June 2022 and by August, she was featured in The Wall Street Journal.
“I’ve had women crying in my studio when they see how beautiful they are for the first time,” she said. “I’ve been told I’m living my life’s purpose helping people see themselves for the first time…I love what I’m doing. I never want to go back to corporate. It’s incredible I’m able to help people so much.”
O’George Chima came to the United States from eastern Nigeria with a bachelor’s degree in technology and applied economics. He worked as a financial advisor and in technology, most recently as a cloud development/operations engineer.
“Then I felt it was time to do something different,” he said. “It was time to see what (my wife and I) could give back to society and create a different direction. We’ve always wanted to own our own business and the idea of being an entrepreneur was very attractive to me.”
Chima and his wife, Sarah, wanted to do something that would benefit the community. She is a surgeon and O’George Chima has always been interested in medicine, even attending medical school after coming to the United States. On March 27, the couple opened AFC Urgent Care of Roxbury.
“We were looking at something that was a new concept, that would help people and save them money,” Chima said. “We chose urgent care because it could meet the patient’s needs right away so they wouldn’t have to go to the emergency room.”
As CEO in charge of business development and finance, Chima is using his background in business, finance and technology. (A medical director oversees the medical operation.) The couple plans to open two additional centers in the next two-and-a-half years and then one more every year for five-to-six years.
Similar to Randall and photography, Christina Ioannides has loved martial arts since her childhood in South Africa.
“From the minute I stepped on the mat, I knew I had found my passion,” she said.
Yet after moving to the United States and graduating college with a degree in economics and accounting, Ioannides entered the corporate world, today working in wealth management.
“I thought that was what you do,” she said. “But my passion always led back to martial arts.”
In 2015, a friend suggested Ioannides teach self-defense for Habitat for Humanity volunteers, which led to teaching self-defense as a side gig. During COVID Ioannides also taught karate over Zoom and held nonprofit fundraisers via social media based on fitness goals, including through her bout with – and win over – breast cancer
“I thought maybe there was something I could do with this and follow my passion,” she said.
Fast forward to July 2022 and the launch of Fabulous and FearLESS, an empowerment lifestyle brand-based business offering self-defense, karate and corporate wellness services. Ioannides also offers motivational talks about her trial with cancer and lessons she had learned through her karate journey.
“I want every woman to be able to defend herself,” Ioannides said. “I want to share my story about overcoming a challenge. I learned the key is to prepare for every challenge. That will put you ahead of the game.”
