As the founders of many of the companies on this week’s list of fastest growing private companies can attest, the true strength of the Los Angeles economy rests in the hands of entrepreneurs. Most businesses were, at one time, nothing more than a good idea. So the Business Journal asks:

Have you ever thought about starting your own business?


Edmond Classen Associate Perkowitz + Ruth Architects

Well, of course. I actually did have my own business before I started this. When I graduated from Cal, I was doing arts and crafts as part of my architecture program. When I got out of school, nobody could get a job in architecture so I started a business making ceramics. For six or seven years I did that. I stopped because of financial hard times and pursued architecture full time. When I was working smaller architecture firms I thought about starting my own. But now that I’m in a larger office the idea doesn’t appeal to me. It’s a completely different view of the world working with a team of 180 people.

Carolyn Newman Partner Fusion PR

Absolutely. I worked at a large PR firm six months ago and I left with my partner and it’s the greatest thing I’ve ever done. I work two or three times harder than I ever have in the past but I love what I do and I’m only working for myself. Before I started my business I was going to go to school and get an MBA. Now I feel like this is a much better thing. It’s like skipping that entire step.

Mia Gonzales Associate Burson-Marsteller

I haven’t thought about it, no. But right now almost seems like the best time to do it. It seems like the best ideas come when things are down. Maybe it’s because you’re more focused. With the Internet it was harder to see who had the good ideas because there was so much clutter.

Jen Gomez Freelance Writer

Yes I have. I have a background in journalism and I’d like to continue writing. My dream was to create my own publication. It would be a magazine that targets the gay Latinas. I think most gay magazines have a lot of fluff, mostly fashion and entertainment. My passion is in hard news, so I’d like to cover more real issues, such as health care and hate crimes. I think there’s a big need for that, particularly in this area. It’s something that I’ve been talking about with a friend of mine and we’ve worked it into a plan. We just have to keep going with it.

Michael Smooke Partner Fulbright & Jaworksi

Yes, I’ve thought about it a lot. I think it would be very rewarding and interesting to start my own business. I’m a real estate attorney, so I always look at what my clients are doing. Becoming a developer, building projects that have some lasting value would be very rewarding. Maybe it’s also dealing with concrete things instead of dealing with ideas. I’ve had some preliminary explorations but for some reason or another I’ve always come back to practicing law. I’m also very interested in art, so I’ve thought about opening an art gallery some day.