As almost any entrepreneur or creative will tell you, unexpected problems are to be expected. Below, you’ll hear some incredible stories that highlight and illustrate the kinds of issues and problems entrepreneurs and creatives are dealing with everyday. It’s not easy, but the silver lining is that dealing with unexpected problems is one of the best ways to develop antifragility.

Nick DeRuve

I think my entire career is a collection of unexpected problems and issues. That’s true for the macro and micro parts of my experience. Each film has its own surprises, each job has its own limitations, nothing ever goes perfectly fine, and that’s life. I spend a lot of my time coming up with solutions to problems that don’t exist. I’m constantly thinking about what could go wrong, and how to protect the film from disaster. Read more>>

Don Carr

For 18 months I worked on a non-fiction book proposal. My agent at the time connected me with a whistle-blower from an Indiana biofuel plant. The plant was part of a fraud cartel that fleeced over $1 billion from a federal renewable fuels program. During the proposal process, I interviewed several Environmental Protection Agency special agents, including Doug Parker who ran EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division. Parker called the crimes “”the greatest fraud ever perpetrated on the environment.” Read more>>

Marie Wagner

When I created my Volcanic Sensation hot sauce, I never thought it would be this difficult to get it out there. I mean, I have a wonderful product, from the taste to the quality of it, and those who have tasted it can’t stop talking about it, praising it as “the best” hot sauce they have ever tasted. However, despite the positive feedback, I found myself facing unexpected challenges in my business journey. Read more>>

Russell Sams

One of the challenges I have faced in my business as an actor and acting coach is how to get my work seen. Just because I build it, doesn’t mean they will come. How do more directors and producers learn about the work I have done and can do. How do I get more actors to know what we do at my acting studio, The Actor’s Way In, can benefit their journey and careers. Read more>>

Wendy Llamas

You’re not taught how to be a business owner in grad school. I wish someone had told me that an important component of being a successful business owner, or therapist for that matter, is practicing healthy boundaries. Practicing healthy boundaries requires honesty with one self about what does and does not sit well with you and the assertive communication skills to share that information with others. Read more>>

Lakia Elam

The most unexpected thing that I have run into is how some internal HR staff are fearful of working with an external HR group to help implement change and increase capacity, as well as the lengths that some people will go through to ensure that such a partnership is not successful. There are two projects that really stand out to illustrate this, and thankfully, they both have very different endings. Read more>>

Murilo Mattos da Silva

One of the most unexpected challenges I encountered in my career was the sudden loss of vision in my left eye, a setback that significantly affected both my professional ventures in photography and graphic design. The incident occurred during a late-night photo shoot for a car client. In a rush, I left one of my lenses at home and decided to retrieve it, despite it not being my primary lens. Upon returning, I found myself locked out and attempted to catch the key my partner dropped from our third-floor balcony. Unfortunately, due to a misjudgment in positioning, the key struck my eye, resulting in the loss of vision. Read more>>

Rosalyn Richards

When one works with the printmaking medium unexpected occurrences will often happen, either in how chemicals are used in etching a plate, or during the printing process itself. I have learned to accept these so called accidents as they allow for improvisation and problem solving that could lead to a more interesting result for the final project than one might have originally imagined. In my own work I often used multiple printing plates to layer colors and imagery. Read more>>