Like every entrepreneur, a leap of faith is what put Dr. Kristi Mendoza on her business journey. “I had the idea that I could actually do this, so I jumped off the cliff and started my own business,” she says. “I created my own S corporation and learned how to become an entrepreneur.” In 2015, Mendoza opened Optimum Audiology in Apple Valley, treating patients with hearing problems. Today, she operates four locations with 11 employees in Southern California. Two of the clinics are in the Victor Valley.