If you have been watching any HGTV recently you have probably heard of Chip and Joanna Gaines. The new hit show “Fixer Upper” focuses on the couple and their lives as they started Magnolia Homes, which is a business flipping houses in Waco, Texas.

The couple started out simply learning the construction industry and as partners flipping houses in their small town. They had a dream of making their small town of Waco beautiful. Chip was focused on the construction of the homes, while Joanna focused on the interior design. This time of their lives was difficult as they could barely afford to pay their bills. Their lives changed in 2013 when an HGTV producer caught Joanna’s blog and loved her story, and the personality behind their business. He offered them a contract and soon their lives took center stage in the homes of families all around the country as people tuned in to watch the new show “Fixer Upper.”

What sets this couple apart from others in their industry is how down to earth and relatable they are with the average American. When interviewed about the show the couple says that it really isn’t any different from what they were doing before. They do the same work and act the same way with one another, but now the cameras are rolling. I believe in our society today that has become overwhelmed with reality television that is so fake, it is a breath of fresh air to watch a couple that we can say are just like us. Something to learn from Chip and Joanna as entrepreneurs is to not let success change who you are and to stay true to yourself. They have also taken a firm stand in their Christian beliefs and principles and have been outspoken about them in interviews and on the show. Chip and Joanna are an example of what it means to pursue your your business and not become consumed by success or let it change the core of who your are or your business.

If you walk down the street today singing “Do you want to build a snowman?” every child could tell you that’s the song from the new Disney movie, Frozen. Children grow up watching Disney movies, loving the characters, singing the songs and collecting the toys. But the success of this company that has now become a global business influencing millions of people around the world.

Walt Disney came from a difficult background and created his company from the ground up. Walt Disney was born on December 5, 1901 in Hermosa, Illinois. As a child he loved to draw and would escape from the struggles of his life by escaping into the magical world he created. Disney started drawing for a career after returning from France in 1919 as a newspaper artist and working for the Kansas city Film Ad Company. After this he decided to open his own animation business with Fred Harman as his first employee. He later partnered with his brother Roy and moved to Hollywood to begin the Disney Brother’s Studio.

One of Disney’s biggest breakthroughs was in the creation of Mickey Mouse. The project of creating this character was in response to Charles Mintz stealing the rights to Disney’s animators. Steamboat Willie was a sensation and the cartoon that we know and love was born.

Walt continued with the first full-length animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937 and then Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo and Bambi.

During his life Disney won 22 Academy awards and was the founder of Disneyland and Walt Disney World. After his death in 1966 at the age of 65 his legacy continues today with love of these characters by children young and old around the world.

Walt Disney is an entrepreneurial success, creating a company that is now valued at $45.429 Billion. According to Jeannette Dozier in her article “7 Lessons Every Young Entrepreneur Can Learn from Walt Disney” she identifies the core qualities that led to Disney’s success. These include:

1. You must be a salesman “I’d say it’s been my biggest problem all my life… it’s money. It takes a lot of money to make these dreams come true.” -Walt Disney
2. Leadership is inspiration, innovation and focus. “You can design and create, and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it takes people to make the dream a reality.” -Walt Disney
3. Always be constantly improving. “Whenever I go on a rid, I’m always thinking of what’s wrong with the thing and how it can be improved.” -Walt Disney
4. Develop a high tolerance for risk. “We keep moving forward, opening new doors and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” -Walt Disney
5. Change your attitude towards failure. “All the adversity I’ve had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me.. You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.” -Walt Disney
6. Believe in yourself, even when everyone say’s you’re crazy. “When you believe in a thing, believe in it all the way. Implicitly and unquestionable.” -Walt Disney
7. Resiliency is an entrepreneur’s best friend. “The difference in winning and losing is most often not quitting.” -Walt Disney.

Victoria Vanbuskirk is a young entrepreneur and cofounder of the business “Flora.” After graduating from Grove City College with a passion for women’s economic empowerment she started a business with her sister to support women is Kosovo. Flora Stationery is a nonprofit organization that sells stationary featuring artwork from women in Kosovo to help financially support their education.

Her advice to young entrepreneurs after her experience is “just do it.”

“We can plan and plan and strategize and plan. But there’s a point in your life where you need to just do it and stop talking about doing it. Fear of failure paralyzes us. Because it paralyzes us, it stops us from acting. Getting over that fear. When you start doing it, and you do fail, and you will fail, and we’ve failed a lot with flora. Being willing and having perseverance to restart and keep going. Failure will occur. Be honest and transparent about failures.”

The company has succeeded because this philosophy has been applied to many small steps they have taken along their journey. They started with the VentureLab program at Grove City with only $200. Since then they have supported 70 semester scholarships and 25 women. They have started a coding academy teaching women computer skills to use in the workforce. And they have won a grant for $1000 with the Keds shoeline and did a feature video with the company.

Victoria says that her main goal as a Christian is to help people live out God’s call for their life. She’s making a huge impact for women around the word by combining her passions with a need to help others.

I wonder how many more people could be helped if everyone was to “just do it!”

Leslie Reichert is a Green Cleaning Coach, author and green living expert. She is a “speaker and home keeping expert who teaches and encourages others in the area of green cleaning.” She is currently working with Martha Stewart Living Radio, eHow.com, Better TV, Women’s Day Magazine, Sears and Kmart and is the host of Clean Green Talk Radio.

She has also appeared on Dr. Oz twice as an expert in green cleaning. The first appearance she taught Dr. Oz how to clean a stainless steal refrigerator with Olive Oil. He was so impressed with her that she was brought on the show a second time. This appearance she was asked to test some of her recipes in front of the Sharks from the show “Shark Tank.” Leslie’s products were up against the top commercial brands like Lysol and Clorox bleach and her homemade recipe called the “Happy Hour Cleaner” cleaned and disinfected better!

But how does someone like Leslie get into the business of Green Cleaning and teaching others about changing the way they clean you may ask? Leslie didn’t set out to be an entrepreneur, or ever think she would be in this business. But from her personal experience she saw a problem and began researching solutions and then looking for ways to apply those solutions and teach others.

Leslie graduated from Grove City College with a degree in Political Science and Chemistry. She then went on to start her own cleaning business, employing other women and cleaning houses. During this time she herself was using some of the top cleaners including Lysol and Bleach as she was working in the houses. She started to have multiple health problems, including skin rashes, difficulty breathing and she even contracted poison ivy in the winter because her immune system was so compromised.

Leslie realized the problem was with these cleaners she was using on a daily basis and set out to research alternatives that would be safer for herself and others. She found multiple homemade recipes that could clean better than the top brands and wrote a book that included all of her recipes. She even opened her own retail store selling some of these alternative products, and helping other people learn how to clean using safe green products.

Since closing her retail store Leslie focuses on her website and providing educational materials to teach others about the harmful affects of their cleaners and show how they can use alternatives that will be safer.

Leslie says, “I believe that once you understand that the chemicals you use in your home can affect your families health you will want to make some changes around your home. And I want to ‘coach’ you through it. Together we can change the world one spray bottle at a time.”

Joel Brown, author of the article “7 Reasons Why Mark Zuckerberg is a Super Successful Billionaire” suggests that the top seven characteristics were that Zuckerberg truly believed in what he was doing, he was prepared to take criticism, he loves to dream big, he is not afraid to take great risks, he learned to be exclusive, he was never put off by competition, and he was clear about his mission and saw it through.

I believe that Zuckerberg’s most influential characteristic is his belief in the product. This is a characteristic that I personally think any entrepreneur needs to be successful in the industry. Entrepreneurship requires dedication and dedication only comes when you truly love what you are doing and believe in the product.

After watching the movie “Social Network” about the development of Facebook, I realized the sacrifice Zuckerberg made for his dream. He gave up nights in college hanging out with friends so that he could go back to his dorm room and work on his company. He even went so far as neglecting relationships because he valued Facebook and wanted it to be successful.

When thinking about the future of a company or a product I think it is important for entrepreneurs to evaluate their personal belief in the product or service they are selling. We can become caught up in the excitement of starting a new business, but it’s important to be realistic and evaluate what you would and would not be willing to give up for the success of your business.

This summer I had the opportunity of traveling to India for an eight week mission project with the organization Harvest Bridge. During my time in India I was able to travel to different locations and meet with some of the pastors and hear about the work they were doing. I was surprised to find that the majority of theses men and women were not only full-time missionaries, but they were also entrepreneurs. Most of the pastors we met had started a small business and were using the funds to support their ministry. One of the most impressive entrepreneurial endeavors I saw this summer was a school located in Jaigaon, India that was started by Pastor John.

I was able to sit down with Pastor John and hear his testimony of God’s calling for him to build a school. He was initially planning to become a full-time pastor, however this changed when he felt God calling him to first start a school and then use the revenue from the school to support his own church and other pastors.

When Pastor John first began he started the school in his home with only 13 students and three teachers, including himself and his wife. But they were producing a good product and the next year they had over 100 applicants for the school.

The school now has over 400 children who attend, they have moved to a new building and have multiple teachers for each grade. The school still holds to the Christian values and principles that it was founded on. The population of the students is a mix of Christian, Muslim and Hindu and each day they are taught Christian songs, devotions, Bible verses and prayers.

The school has also created a community within the town of Jaigoan. Families have relocated themselves to live close to the school in order that their children might be able to attend. The school is the heart of the town and the people have flocked to it.

Pastor John taught me a great deal about what it means to be an entrepreneur. I learned from him the importance of listening to God’s call for you life, because God knows what the world needs better than we do. If pastor John had done what he had wanted he would have become a pastor right after college and started a church. He may have been successful, but he would have faced a great amount of challenges and financial hardships. But instead he listened to God and started this school, in a place where they desperately needed a good source of education for their children. And his success allowed him to start a church connected with the school as well as supporting 12 other indigenous pastors. I believe that as Christians and entrepreneurs, we need to remember to step back from what we want and what we think the world needs to discover what God knows the world needs.