By Marisa S. White, owner and founder of White Sparks Photography

What skills guarantee entrepreneurial success? I’m sure many CEOs or analysts have identified the “secret sauce.” I could draw a Venn diagram with circles of business prodigies, and within the intersections, words like “optimism,” “grit” and “focus” would certainly serve as a foundation of survival in an ever- changing economy. As someone who has operated three unique business models, my most lucrative skill has become adaptability. Considering my line of work, it’s not hard to understand why.

I am an artist who chose to pursue individual conceptual work after having owned both a payroll-service bureau and a portrait photography business. How did that happen? Suddenly, then slowly. These two specialties might not seem related in terms of the skills necessary to be financially successful, but in my entrepreneurial career they were logical stepping stones, each serving as an opportunity to build my portfolio and prepare me for the transition I’m currently electing to explore.