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.

Anntreece Jones

Wow… where do I begin? The journey has not been easy. Especially trying to build from nothing to something. I truly believe that because I had nothing and to have what I worked so hard for taken from me twice, it opened my eyes to how easily you can be taken advantage of in the tv/film industry. Read more>>

Brian Revels

The problems I’ve been grappling as an artist stem from the same ones that everyone has had in recent years—Covid and capitalism. Like many musicians, I was in the service industry for years, everything from Cracker Barrel to Eddie’s Attic. And while I always enjoyed it, I struggled to make ends meet for years and years. Read more>>

Sarah Levy.

I am an over-thinker in the most intense way. Before I make a decision, I’ll have done an insane amount of research and talked to a bunch of different people and weighed all of the options. Read more>>

Shahzeen Rehman

Seat Check is a social app. It allows people to meet up in restaurants and different places. COVID-19 changed things for us. All of a sudden, people were not going out and restaurants were closed. This affected our growth. Read more>>

Carolyn Moss

When I started my Pampered Chef business back in the fall of 2003, there was no Facebook and there certainly was no such thing as “virtual parties.” We were an in-home party-plan business model. Read more>>

Adrianna Zizzo

COVID-19 threw the biggest curveball of all time. It felt almost instantaneous. Farmer’s Markets had shut down and Farmer’s Market delivery companies had started up. I was scrambling trying to get product, driving around town to find garlic and basil. Read more>>

Rita Joubran

Unforeseen challenges occur with any and every business and sometimes they come out of nowhere and/or when you least expect it. We are always learning and growing; nonetheless, 2021 may have been the most challenging year yet for us at Old Country Olive Oil. Read more>>

John Ruzicka

So many of us have been impacted by Covid over the past couple of years. We had several public gigs and private events lined up for early 2020 when the world shut down. San Diego is an ideal destination for many companies to hold their annual events, so we (as a city) were hit particularly hard. Read more>>

Kim Marie Branch-Pettid

I faced some challenges with being taken seriously in my role at the beginning. When I first started as a National Training Director with LeTip International Inc., a professional business networking organization, I gave every field employee a set of goals and nine months to meet them. Read more>> 

Janet Howard

I feel like the life of a photographer is dealing with unexpected problems. I approach every wedding or portrait session with a plan for what I’m going to shoot, how I’ll approach it, how I’ll light it, and I end up having to abandon at least some of that plan almost every time. Read more>>