We love grabbing drinks with our entrepreneur friends because they always have the craziest stories. Sometimes it’s a big, unexpected win. Other times it’s a problem that came out of nowhere and couldn’t possibly have been foreseen. There is so much to learn from these stories and so we asked some of the brightest entrepreneurs and creatives in the community to share some of those stories below.
Roger Ma | Entrepreneur & Business Owner
The pandemic hit us about two years back and when March 2020 came around, when we went on official lockdown statewide, nearly all of our teammates were in fear and felt paranoid about coming into work. At the same time, everyone was fearful and started bunkering up at home so we had a crazy first couple weeks of virtually no people shopping and nearly all of our distributors/vendors thought it would be a doomsday type of year. Fortunately, with people stuck at home looking for hobbies to get into, our online sales started picking up and despite seeing a massive drop in walk-in business (we did curbside for almost two months to protect our team from exposure to the public), we saw a tremendous amount of traffic hitting our online sales channel + phone calls started rolling in. Read more>>
Ruby Balaram | Founder & COO of Real Dog Box
We had a customer reach out to us, through our online customer service, where they requested to cancel their boxes due to an issue they had with one of our products. We received the message in November of 2020 and started the process to cancel their order. While talking with the customer about why they wanted to cancel, they notified us that they had fed both of their dogs one of our chews, and one dog had a bit of a problem digesting, while the other was doing just fine. We apologized for the one that was having an issue and began trying to figure out what could have happened. Upon talking with the customer, we discovered that they had fed both dogs the full chew, which is recommended to be fed in ¼ sections, as stated on our product cards. Read more>>
Francine Kades | Balloon Stylist
We were hired by a company to create balloon drops to fill the ballroom, but each balloon in each balloon drop had to have cash in it! We had $100,000 that we had to stuff into the 5,000 balloons in the balloon drops. We ended up with 12 balloon drop bags and had to do this over 2 evenings without being seen as they were using the front of the ballroom for events. we had a security guard watching over us to make sure we did not run off with the $100,000 (a safety deposit box arrived with bills from $1 to $100 and we had to get a pile of money, use it and get another. He had to be there when we were not there in case anybody made off with the balloons! Each night, we had one team stuffing money into uninflated balloons and another team inflating balloons and filling drop bags. Read more>>
Gary Wintering | Company President
Back in 2021, we were contacted by The Colorado School of Mines (CSM) regarding a project they were working on to test more effective fire suppression options than what was commonly used. Large volumes of water tended to cause as much damage to an area as the fire itself and the use of bromine based compounds had been recently banned due to reported damage to the earth’s ozone layer. The project included participants from academia, business, and the US government (NASA). They contacted us because they were looking for commercial business partners that had some experience using mist systems for fire suppression. As opposed to large volumes of water that are used to ‘drown’ the fire, the idea was to utilize water but in a different capacity. Read more>>
Jasmin Tafreshi | Photographer
Being a self made photographer in San Diego where many have already established their territory, its easy to feel small. The biggest challenge of being a photographer is to establish a recognizable style. Where no matter the subject, one can look at the photo and through the unique nuance, style, and direction taken one can be like “oh obviously this is ____ work”. This is something many artists can attempt their whole careers trying to achieve. When I first started and for years and years after that, the thought of never reaching my own style terrified me. How was I supposed to prove to be different from the thousands of other photographers in the area? I spent a good amount of time trying to find my own recognizable style. Read more>>
Mary Anne Mitchell | Fine art portrait photography
This is going back 20 years but one of my regular clients told me we were going to be doing a shoot at a building that was under construction downtown. I I had worked for them before and knew this usually meant just at the bottom of the building but when we got to this particular building he said we’re going to be going up on top and photograph the guys working on the building. We had to take the construction elevator (which is on the outside of the building) up to around the 50th floor. Next we had to climb up probably 6 to 8 floors worth of ladders that were just inside where they would be stairways later on. We finally made it to the top and it was unfortunately not a beautiful day and kind of windy and so when we got off the ladder at the top the ladder actually fell over from the wind! I looked down over the edge of the building and saw a helicopter flying around below us so we were very high up! Read more>>
Michael Hamanaka | Owner, The Movement Warehouse
Here’s a story for you. It’s a familiar story for gym owners but probably not for the average entrepreneur. For almost half the time I’ve owned my business I considered myself homeless. When I opened The Movement Warehouse in Pacific Beach I was living in Crown Point. It was a 5 minute drive to work and life was easy. At the time I lived with a couple and as their relationship grew they wanted more space and more privacy. I had only opened the gym a few months prior and was definitely not in a place to pay double rent. I had a friend that lived in Chula Vista and he and his family had an extra room because his new born daughter was still sleeping in the crib in their room. I jumped at the opportunity to live with them for free. It was 25 minutes away, but you couldn’t beat the price. Read more>>
Ron Pivaro | Business Owner
Posh Privy provides services to the government. We are currently under agreement to provide services for NASA and their capsule recovery team. The NASA team practices retrieving astronauts from the capsule and requires Posh Privy units on the pier and at the warehouse where the capsule is stored. We find it amazing that Posh Privy receives notices from Mission Control in Cape Canaveral regarding changes in the Rocket Launch Schedule. Read more>>
Brian Gaddis | Co-Owner, DFW Metroplex Bubble Ball
The first private event we had we thought we had it all planned out. We were ready to go! However, our mode of transportation was not. As we tried our hardest to accelerate on the freeway, our 2002 Ford E-350 Van wasn’t having it. We finally had to throw in the towel and figure out next steps. We were tired, frustrated, and hoped this didn’t set the tone for our business. Through some help from our AWESOME friends, we made it there in time to provide a quality event. However, we did refund a portion to the customer. This taught us some valuable lessons in not only humility, but perseverance. 4 years later, and still going strong! Read more>>
Sophia Ludyjan | Yoga & Meditation Teacher/ Studio Owner
The name of the studio is Shanti Kitti. Shanti is the Sanskrit word for peace so it is referring to the Zenlike or peaceful nature of the cat as well as emphasizing the benefits of yoga adding peace to your every day life. Shortly after our opening on Mission Avenue, a large black cat showed up at the studio and being a cat lover, I started feeding him so of course, he kept coming back. Turned out he mostly lived in the sewer and hung out at the building next door. Eventually, he became brave enough to venture into the studio and naturally, the students fell in love with him as well. He was quite cautious for the first couple of years but he soon felt comfortable enough to come inside and sometimes joined me on the mat when I was teaching. Read more>>
Elvis Martin | Tattoo Artist/Owner
Being a veteran-owned tattoo shop we were approached by a show creator/writer about the possibility of filming a new tattoo show, Marked: Military, out of our shop. This show is focused on Vets and their stories expressed in tattoo designs created by two artists competing for the win. We filmed 4 awesome episodes to be sold and distributed soon, which opened the doors to film another show, Marked: San Diego. We are now in agreement to film a new season with more episodes featuring San Diego locals and their tattoo stories. We are very excited and can’t wait to start filming again soon and see where this adventure takes us in the future. Read more>>
Andi Lipton | Event Consultant
I had a wedding at the Perez Art Museum on a Saturday night and noticed on Wednesday of that week morning that there was going to be an intense storm in Miami the night of the event – 90% chance! Typically, there would be no issue moving indoors, but the guest count was quite large and the Miami Dade County COVID rules at the time restricted that many people from being indoors in one place. I needed to find a solution ASAP. Once I received approval from the mother of the bride and the bride, I decided to try and move the entire wedding to Friday night. It was a destination wedding so I knew all of the guests would be available Friday since we had an event planned for them that night anyway. Read more>>
Stabitha Sidel | Body Piercer, Fine Body Jewelry Specialist
When I first started my apprenticeship with body piercings, I was just starting out as a Massage Therapist in a spa down the street the tattoo studio. I really enjoy the salon atmosphere, it is very different from the tattoo atmosphere. I am very bubbly and kinda loud..lol, so the idea of bringing Body Piercing into the Salon/Spa world has been there since the beginning. Over the years, this idea has evolved from Salons, Renting a room, and now owning a Suite in a Salon Spa Building with other Services Professionals. With Body Piercings rising popularity and acceptance all around has brought in lots of parents with their kiddos getting ears, and nostril piercings. It has been such a great privilege to be apart of these kiddos experience at finding their grit! Getting a piercing can be scary, and they still go through with some StabbyTabbyTime! Read more>>
NIVEN MORGAN | Principal of Niven Morgan products
As a new company, one of my most exciting stories would be when Britney Spears had her team reach out to me to do custom candles for her wedding to Kevin. I cannot begin to share the excitement I felt. My big break! Her darling assistant reached out to me and we discussed the details and it was quite simple. We would do the initials of Britney and Kevin on each candle. We were given a date for delivery and I began the process of getting the candles made. Some time went by and we were on track to deliver. Then we get the call that the date had changed and I had about five days to complete the order and deliver. I rushed the printing of the glass and had it done within a matter of days. The glass shows up and the initials are upside down. Read more>>
Amanda Plante Zovargo Founder | Zovargo’s Mission: To foster human-animal connections through unique encounters and interactive programs that inspire conservation stewardship
At Zovargo, we are a mobile zoo that brings animals to all sorts of private events and celebrations. We provide educational animal programming for many local schools, for scout programs, children enrichment centers, and nature centers. One day we were booked for a party and were under the impression it would be immediate family all celebrating a one year old birthday. When we arrived, we heard what appeared to be a DJ and games taking place in the back yard. Our team all looked at each other with a bit of fright and surprise. Normally our events are quiet (the animals can get stressed out if there’s too much craziness) and we may only hear the screams of children playing. This time was going to be different! Read more>>
Carissa Laitinen-Kniss Khristen Pahler | Owners | Instructors Twisted Bodies
Each year we seem to get a handful of adventures thrown our way. We knew owning a business was never going to be easy and that it would always be an off road path of choices, detours, and laughter. And, that is really the key, being able to sit back and laugh at all the crazy that comes our way. With over 10 years of business behind us we would like to say we have seen it all, from unexpected water features in the studio, spontaneous crocheting in the middle of a yoga class, to imposters ordering expensive artwork in our name and dealing with see through yoga pants. With each moment of crazy we have always found a way to pivot and continue providing quality service and intelligent training to our clients; even when the sky started literally falling. Read more>>
Ayesha Lakes | Child Portrait Photographer
A few years ago, I met this beautiful, pregnant woman at a networking event. I noticed her from across the room and knew I wanted to photograph her. I wanted to add more maternity portraits to my portfolio at the time and I thought she would be perfect. So, I asked her if she would allow me to photograph her. She agreed. Over the next couple of weeks, we came up with a date, time and location. The session included herself, her husband and her adorable son. I arrived at the location but they were running late. I called to make sure all was okay and that they were still coming. Eventually they arrived. Since I had scoped out the area while I was waiting, we started the session right away. Read more>>
Joseph Morrone | Painting contractor Real estate investor & Private club owner
As a painting contractor the wildest client was a women in her late 50’s. she has 4 unit building on a large lot in the sofi neighborhood on 1st Washington. She on a trust fund and little bit loopy. She called and wanted to paint the entire building Mattalic gold, I told her the city would have issues, but we did it gor her, the city fined her so we kept the gold trim and painting the rest white. This lady lived by herself in a 4 unit building she has full grand piano a full harp that she likes to play in the middle of the night, everyone knows her in the neighborhood as the crazy lady. Read more>>
MICHAEL BEAR | Community Science Director
Around 2009, the local diving community began hearing anecdotal stories from divers about encounters with a large species of shark, called the Sevengill shark, because it had 2 more gills than most shark species: 7 instead of 5, off the coast of La Jolla. We filed them away for reference and continued diving as usual. One day, while boat diving off the Pt La Jolla, we headed to our favorite kelp bed to see what we might see. Kelp forests are extremely majestic ‘forests’ of giant kelp, which can grow up to a foot a day in cold water and serve as a rich ecosystem for many species of fish and marine life and which can have an almost ‘cathedral’ like appearance when the sunlight streams in at the right angle, dancing and sparkling with beams of light. Read more>>
Felicia Guimont | Chef
In the food industry so many think it is hard for women to have same advantages as males. Having a small business has it’s challenges but I had to cheer for me daily! I remember a client submitting my company for a bid with the NAACP in Ft Worth. They wanted to change a 36 year trend to allow a Black owned business to cater their next banquet for more than 1000 people. I had the opportunity of preparing food for a committee meeting with at least 5 members. It seemed to be a successful experience for the ladies but the day of the their tasting, those who presented would not find out until days later. Well the day came where the phone rang and it was the NAACP President for 2017 letting me know I was chosen! Read more>>
Jorge Alvarez | Chef/Caterer
I started the business with a food truck. One day I was prepping for a party and I receive a call from someone saying he was Gordon Ramsay. I thought a friend was pranking me so I hung up! Shortly after I received another call saying she was Ramsay’s producer and that I had hung up on him! Chef Ramsay was filming food trucks in major cities for a new show. He chose me to highlight in Miami. He challenged me to a cook-off in the truck and I won! That helped the business take off. I then sold the truck and started a traditional catering business. Read more>>
Gabriela Chavez | Eyelash Extension Artist & Instructor
There have been many times that I questioned myself on being an entrepreneur. With that being said, I would choose the struggles and lessons of being an entrepreneur any day over anything else. One of the lessons that always sticks with me is the time I had a student that signed up for the eyelash extension course. The student that signed up had experience with applying lash extensions. She advised me that she was working in a salon and they were asking for her license, which was the real reason she signed up for the course. In the state of Texas, a license is required in order to apply lash extensions. The student did not want to learn the basics of the course because she felt that there was nothing she could learn since she had already been applying lash extensions for over a year. Read more>>