It’s wild out there and the struggle is real. Entrepreneurship is no joke, everyday is a new challenge, a new up, a new down, it never stops. The action, the drama, the energy is addictive and it’s why so many never want to retire from entrepreneurship. We’ve asked some very talented entrepreneurs to share some of those crazy stories with us.

Tonya Blessing

Prior to serving as a lead pastor in Columbus, Montana, my husband and I lived in Limpopo, South Africa. I was teaching a ladies’ Bible study in a rural area. Some of the women were being harassed by local witche doctors. One of the ladies even found a dead chicken with its head cut off in her yard. The chicken was a sign that a sangoma was placing a curse on her. I felt led by the Lord to teach about Luke 10. ” Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” Read more>>

 Jennifer Butler

he last few years of entrepreneurship has had its highs and lows of a rollercoaster. At the end of 2019 I was starting to transition my education from a wedding emphasis to learning and investing into maternity photography, and mama safety during shooting. We all know what happened in 2020 + add a non planned baby (and finding out at 20 weeks pregnant!!!) in May of 2020. Business was just starting to become normalized in 2022 for my family and back to the pre-covid struggles many businesses went through when I woke up Thanksgiving morning to the devastating phone call that the building that housed my studio had been on fire (all morning) 3 alarm, and took 3 hours just to tame it…. come to find out the fire started in the unit below my studio so we took the brunt of the smoke, flame, and water damage – loosing nearly everything. Restoration companies wouldn’t even touch my gowns, fabrics or other items for repairs. We had just nearly reached our goals for the year and it all came to a stuttering halt. Read more>>

Edith Coleman Chears

My crazy story is very positive. It involves a scenario that was my springboard from being a sole-proprietor (training contractor – a pretty darn good one, if I say so myself) to nationally networked pool of professional training experts. With 22+ years as a learning and development professional, I worked with some of the best financial and systems contractors in the business. I came to know their skills, style, professionalism — and their all-around presentation. I began to expand my reach a bit with medium sized organizations that required trainers with a certain expertise (mostly financially-related). The contracts were not that big but I might have 5 people out on contracts that required travel, dependability, and great work ethics. My pool of talent was large, but even the 5 people, or so, that worked on contract for MOMI – were top notch. After creating a fairly good reputation of excellence in client interaction, customer service, managing complex schedules, and overall quality performance — my I began to supply trainers to larger professional contracting organizations — who could not provide the quality and diversity of trainers that I could. MOMI trainers began to work for nationally known financial entities. Having been a national trainer myself, with a BA and MA in HRD, I understood the terrain and the needs of trainers who were ‘road warriors.’ Read more>>

Shay Shipman

I think the craziest story that has ever happened to me in photography is actually the reason I even started photography. Back in 2019 and at the time I had just moved back to Oklahoma from California and I was just kind of in that summer slump. I didn’t really know what I was wanting to do with my life or even that year and so I started to try and find happiness in the small moments of my life. So when I would go on walks or when I was at the plant nursery I worked at I would just use my phone and take photos of small things I saw that made me happy. At the time pretty much the main thing that was bringing me joy was plants so I surrounded myself with them at every turn. Read more>>

Rae Holloway-Collins

During the pandemic, I was hungry for work! Booking gigs at the time was really hard. A client came along and she wanted me to help with her passion project. This particular client had a small budget, I was ok with it because I believed in what she was doing. I was tasked with photographing headshots and lifestyle photos of 20 other artist that helped contribute to the project. This project spanned over a year, it was only supposed to last for a few months. On the first day of the shoot red flags went up. The client became very difficult to work with. Though out the span of the project, we had multiple reshoots, communication issues and unrealistic expectations. I cried, vented and cried some more! I felt stretched thin and taken advantage of. I always try to look at the silver lining, I couldn’t find it anywhere in this situation. Read more>>

Emily Carpey

Spring weddings in Colorado often come with unpredictable weather. Most of the time, it’s just a 20 minute afternoon shower, we wipe chairs down and move on with the day. One wedding was a bit different. It was an April wedding in the mountains, which also adds a component of altitude and high winds. The day started normally and setup was going off without a hitch. We had just hung these stunning glass light fixtures over the head table and stage, when out of nowhere the winds picked up to over 50mph, the sky went dark and began hailing incessantly. Linens and lounge spaces were soaked through and we lost several of the glassware and light fixtures. Meanwhile, guests were expected to arrive in a matter of hours. Read more>>

Iryna Bublyk

I opened my first beauty studio in Kyiv, Ukraine in 2019. When I returned from vacation, I found that the building was seized, and for about a month, I was not even allowed to pick up my things. Almost immediately, I opened a second studio, but after 5 months, a war broke out in Ukraine, and I had to flee the country. So, I ended up in the United States, where from scratch in a new culture and with a new language, Im trying to continue to do my mission and make the world more beautiful. Read more>>

Taylor Radashaw

This whole journey as a photographer has been crazy. When my husband and I were searching for a photographer to capture our special day, I had came to the realization that I could do this. I had been behind the lens for a few years as a hobby, and felt I had the necessary skills to truly conquer this idea. I started advertising services as a way to make some side money to help pay for my wedding. I wasn’t expecting to build a whole business from this! To top it all off, not even 6 months after I started advertising and booking services one of the coolest things happened to me! I was recognized and had one of my images featured on Jared the Galleria of Jewelry’s Instagram page! I have also been published in 5 magazines now! Read more>>