Having to overcome unexpected problems is a hallmark of entrepreneurship. Almost every business owner, artist, maker, and creative we know has had to deal with countless unexpected problems that arise in the journey and so we asked some brilliant folks from the community to share their stories of the unexpected problems they’ve faced along the way.

Raegen Ransburg

When I first started cutting hair I did it to pay for college because working 3 jobs was too tiring. I started sleeping in my classes. So I went to barber school. A few months into barber school my dad passed away and it took a big toll on me till I realized that cutting was the only thing that made me happy so after missing a month of school 2 months later I almost lost my life I was shot twice and my chances of walking again weren’t promising. With dedication and therapy I was walking in no time. Read more>>

Taylor Corn

Everyone always talks about how hard it is to build yourself up as a creative, but I never knew how taxing it could be mentally. In the modern age of technology, staying true to yourself and your craft can be hard, especially when so many people are trying to tell you how to go about it or how to showcase your material. Maybe I am more susceptible to external influences than others, but I started to change my process and music to try and fit what I thought people wanted to hear from me. This proved to be dangerous and sent me wildly off course. I did not even realize I had been doing it until I stepped back and looked at the big picture. Read more>>

Lorna Greyling

When fifty five rebels descended on Nick and violently pushed him into a car, he knew he might never survive this day. Guns were fired and screams filled the air. The threats of the rebels on Lorna’s cellphone: “Pick a coffin! We’re sending him back to you in a coffin!” Read more>>

Lisa Schuster

When I made the decision to launch an online boutique, I was under the impression that I could establish a business entity, purchase merchandise, build a website, and customers would start buying. Why wouldn’t they? I had no understanding of how customers decided to purchase from an online company. I was a small fish in a large sea of online boutiques for women. Having said that, what I began to do was lean into what I did well. I’m a people person who is typically kind and genuine. Part of my initial success has come from being a genuine person who offers brands and products that women are interested in buying and will continue to buy. For online purchases, I offer personalization with a handwritten note and small token of appreciation. I want to stand out as a caring business owner. Read more>>

Jessica Caro

I think some of the problems that not many people talk about when it comes to growing your business is how difficult it is to find the right people to have in your corner. Anyone who has ever ran a business knows that you need people for the business to run, it’s really a team effort. No solopreneur can sustain a successful business for very long all on their own. What I learned is that it takes a very fine balance between gaining enough momentum while also finding the people that will form a part of your team and make the company better. Read more>>

Dylan Diamond

My creative work has saved me from my disorder more times than I can count. Right after my freshman year of college, I had my first psychotic break that landed me in the hospital, completely estranged from reality. I had incoherent trains of thought and genuinely believed in fictional narratives. I couldn’t sleep and developed feelings self-disgust. I didn’t understand what was happening to me, and during my brief periods of lucidity, I didn’t know if I would ever go back to ‘normal’. I was extremely fortunate to have the incredible support of my friends, family, and doctors. With their help and mindful practices, I was slowly returned to my normal self while on heavy antipsychotic medication. Read more>>

Sarah Hood Salomon

Mistakes lead to possibilities. I have found many times that roadblocks can lead to detours in unexpected directions. For example, I started working on my MFA in Photography just before Covid hit, so the in-person retreat became a week long zoom meeting. My computer was failing, but because of the pandemic, I couldn’t get a replacement for months. The printing paper I used had been discontinued, and all my prints were coming out a strange magenta color. I was trying to get ready for a show, and was up against a looming deadline. I was so frustrated that I literally took a piece of sandpaper, and scratched all the ink off one of the magenta prints! Read more>>

Matt Ackerman

We started MeadKrieger Meadery in 2020 with an idea and a dream. We wanted to make the best mead and bring it to the masses. We started by beginning the daunting task of filling out the necessary paperwork to get licensed and follow through on all the regulatory requirements. It was no small feat. Next came the issue of converting a personal garage into a manufacturing location so we could make our mead commercially. Once we accomplished that, it soon became clear that we would need to expand into a tasting room/sales location to really begin to make our dream a reality.  Read more>>

Sunny Darko

Well it’s more issues rather then unexpected problems. I was on a good path in my early twenties for the most part and at the time was trying to pursue getting signed with Tech Nine and Strange Music. That was the dream. At the time I was recording an album at Brotha Lynch’s studio here in Sacramento. See at this time I had toned down from partying for a while. Before that I was heavy in the rave scene and just parties in general. I had been partaking in drugs such as ecstasy, coke, psychedelics etc; At this time it was mostly still a recreational thing. Read more>>

Guy Kochlani

Guy Kochlani Immigrated to LA from Tel Aviv, Israel at the age of 8, Guy immediately fell in love with the entertainment industry. In high school, Guy began acting in various film and TV projects, but by the time in got to college, it left the acting world, in order to pursue a career in the business end of entertainment. Read more>>

James Junk

I am an independent graphic designer from and in Los Angeles, and I work primarily with commercial and cultural clients who lead with openness, caring, and removing the “im” from “impossible.” Curiosity and a penchant for fun is at the base of my work, and it spans branding and art direction, digital and print, type and illustration, video and motion. Read more>>