One of the most under-the-radar benefits of entrepreneurship is its ability to build fortitude and make the entrepreneur a more formidable person. Challenges – particularly the crazy, unexpected ones that take on a life of their own – build character and confidence. And the unexpected surprises to the upside, the crazy good moments offer a high that’s hard to reproduce elsewhere. The charm and the challenge of entrepreneurship is dealing with the crazy things that happen and so we’ve asked some fantastic business owners and leaders to share some of their stories with us below.

Ozgur Sahin

One thing people all tell you when you’re writing a historical novel is how unforgiving readers can be. “You’d better get your research right, because the readers will call you out on everything!” they’d say, as if the project isn’t daunting enough without that worry. Of course I plugged on ahead simply doing my best–I’m a big believer in simply doing your best and accepting that it will be good enough in the end. Perfectionism isn’t my style, as I view it as a fear of failure more than a love of success. Read more>>

Keyara Cooley

Crazy story. This actually happened while working in a well known waxing establishment right before I started my own waxing business. I had a client that had booked a Brazilian wax, you know, the usual. When she came to her appointment, she had brought her newborn baby with her. I greeted her and then asked, “How long ago did you have your baby?”. She said, “Oh I had her 5 weeks ago”. I thought to myself, “Well she’s suppose to wait 6 weeks to start waxing again but what’s one week? She should be fine.” Read more>>

Ambika Mathur.

My business partner is my ex-boyfriend! We had started our business, Super Batter, a line of superfoood pancake & waffle mixes, as a hobby during Covid. At that time, we were in a serious relationship and living together. Earlier this year, we broke up. However, we had recently decided to launch a new line right before breaking up. Our romantic relationship was over, but what did that mean for our business? Read more>>

Takisha Carter.

One of craziest moments that happened most recently as an entrepreneur was testifying as an expert witness in a federal court trial. I was contacted one Saturday afternoon by a defense attorney, who needed a Cannabis Industry professional with a vast knowledge of cultivars (strains) in the legal and legacy market to be on the stand on the following Monday. He was referred to me by a colleague, and had called me directly to see if I was interested in helping out with the case. Read more>>

Jenny Brown

Weather, waves and wind are always a factor in surfing. We have felt the mighty power of micro burst created by thunder storms. Once during camp we had to gather all the kids and parents that may have been at camp with strollers and younger siblings. The wind picked up to 70 knots and boards flew over our surf school tent as myself and a few instructors held the tent from blowing away. Other instructors, kids and strollers ran to seek shelter in a near by home. It felt a little like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. Now I can laugh and wow what a trip it was. These experiences give me courage and raw intuition. Read more>>

Ursula Sabia Sukinik

Customer Success Story: Can you share a customer success story – a time when you helped your client or customer achieve a really great result or solved a difficult problem for them? Birth can be unpredictable. Sarah and Eric worked hard to get pregnant. They knew they needed a strong team to have an empowering low-risk birth. Asking various providers they received a referral for Birth You Desire and interviewed and hired Ursula as their doula. Ursula worked with them to find a hospital and a provider who could provide concierge-style services. Read more>>

Dani Sachs

On a especially busy week I was contacted by the personal assistant of a member of a royal family from over sea’s. Her adorable English accent convinced me to make and deliver a cake the next day. Not only do we not take last minute orders, I was Pregnant and it was winter in Utah. After many hours of back and forth texts we have the details down and I spend all night to get this cake completed by the next morning. Read more>>

Essynce Moore.

I think one of the craziest stories I’ve experienced while being an entrepreneur is how it all started. I was 10 years old, sitting in the car with my mom when she asked me if I wanted to start my own business. At that point I’d been drawing and designing clothes in my sketchbooks for about four years. I loved and continue to love anything and everything that allows me to express myself; fashion, writing, acting, etc. When my mother took notice of that and asked me if I wanted to be an entrepreneur I said yes and it’s funny to think a decision I made when I was only 10 years old would ultimately change my life forever. Read more>>

Sara Autrey

The wildest thing that ever happened to me as a business owner was accidentally getting photographed by a famous photographer and being plastered onto billboards and commercials for Baltimore. It all stemmed from me rushing through my emails, glossing over details being relayed to me in said emails, and agreeing to far too many things. As a business owner, sometimes you feel the need to say yes to every offer extended to you- speaking at a school, doing interviews, photoshoots, lending garments, vending at events, to name a few. Read more>>

Brian McHugh

As a street photographer, you never know what to expect when you go out to shoot. A friend came to town for a visit. Being a fellow photographer, I took him to downtown San Diego, where used to shoot a great deal of photography. We were walking down Broadway, when a huge man started walking along with us. It’s not uncommon for people experiencing homelessness to be interested in what I do, and sometime follow along. Read more>>

Jennifer Lund

With entrepreneurship comes so much uncertainty. You have sales goals, you often don’t reach, social media posts that don’t take off, or ideas you are so sure are going to be a hit, and just aren’t. Entrepreneurship is a constant pivot. You have to try everything, and then try it again. I have never had much viral success on any social media. I was trying my hand at TikTok a little over a year ago, just randomly posting videos, nothing fancy whatsoever because I didn’t (and still don’t) know how. Read more>>

Cory Anderson

Before Baby Deer opened, a friend of mine who is an award-winning producer/director/actor in New York reached out and asked me to help develop six cookie recipes to represent the main characters in a production of Love’s Labour’s Lost. I shipped of sample batches for them to taste and, once we finalized everything, I locked in the recipes and sent them over. About a week before the show, they reached out and asked a favor- was there any way I could bake and ship all the cookies to the theatre because they were swamped? Read more>>