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.
Lauren Duplissey
A couple years ago, I was commissioned by my client, Nylah, to paint her father, Edward. She planned to surprise her father with a painting with something special and personal from God. She decided I could be the one to paint her father in this way, since all of my paintings have been about my personal spiritual experiences. I had many ideas for her painting, many of which I truly thought were from God. But upon bringing them to Nylah, she felt that they were not the image that God wanted for her father. She insisted on waiting and felt sure that the right one would come. After consistently praying and receiving nothing, I was discouraged. But then, God told me, “Stop asking for a vision, pray instead for her father.” So I did and I began to see him through new eyes. Initially, he felt intimidating, but as I prayed God connected my heart to his and I began to see him through God’s eyes. I was amazed how God was changing my heart toward Edward, but disappointed that still no vision came. Read more>>
Mish Roodman
Once upon a time, when COVID hit and everything came to a standstill, I found myself in a bind. A week into the pandemic, I’d lost my job and had no idea what was coming next. With only R1000 left in my bank account, I knew I had to act quickly or sink fast. So, I took a leap and came up with an idea—why not sell something essential but with a twist? That’s when it hit me: PPE, but not just any PPE—anime and fandom-themed! I reached out to a company I’d known since I was five, pitched my idea, and to my surprise, they were on board. We quickly got to work designing masks featuring characters that anime and fandom lovers would go nuts for. The masks were SABS-approved with a 75% inhalation rating, so they were safe and effective, and they had personality! People loved them. Read more>>
Nick Nilsson
When I first started my online business back in 2000, it took me 8 months before I made my first sale. I didn’t have any background in marketing, sales or web design and there weren’t many resources available online back then. So I had a lot to learn Well, one day I decided to offer paid ads in my fitness newsletter to see if anybody would be interested. And lo and behold, a few days later I got an order for a $7 ad in my newsletter! I happy very happy…until I looked at the content of the requested ad and saw that it was for a garbage product that I would never want to promote to my audience. So I refunded the first $7 I made in my business. And I never looked back! Because even though it was the first money I made online, I wasn’t going to compromise my principles like that…especially right out of the gate! What it DID do is make me realize that I COULD actually make money online… this was just the beginning. Read more>>