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.

Amber Sasseen

My crazy story is: I started my business right smack in the middle of a world wide pandemic. When Coronavirus made headway into the news- spas of any sort and any industries alike were the first to close. The news stories were nerve wrecking, social media had the world divided, and nobody in my industry quite knew when we would be able to go back to work. Read more>>

Courtney Reckord

I got an incredible email from a woman who wanted to share her story with me. She and her partner ended up both getting wedding rings made by me in different parts of the country. Here it is: Hi Courtney, I wanted to share our story! My husband Aaron and I are both originally from Vermont. Read more>>

Chris Schwenk

When I was about a year into sales, I was extremely frustrated with my lack of results. I pulled the top two sales reps in my office aside and asked them “if you were me, what would you do tomorrow?”. Their advice would completely change the trajectory of my career. Essentially, the answers they gave were totally pointless and meandering. Read more>>

Lise Bonin

One day I received a rather strong email accusing me of stealing someone else’s business name. The email went on to state that I must terminate my business immediately due to this overreach. When I first established my business in 2011, I registered as an LLC with the state as was recommended for a variety of reasons. Read more>>

Heather J Keller

Most of my business is from the relationships I have built with Attorneys. In 2016, a newer Attorney decided to refer me a Short Sale. Up front she told me it was complicated. Without asking any questions, I said “No problem, complicated is my middle name.” Husband was not around and the wife had Power of Attorney. Read more>>

Frumi Barr

I speak often on the topic of having an entrepreneurial mindset. The universe must have decided to test me to see if I really am unstoppable! After taking months to build and launch the Barr Business School. I received a huge curveball! Read more>>

Bryan Thompson

When I returned from my deployment in Iraq I had an idea for a movie that I just couldn’t get out of my head. I had done some commercial modeling and acting, but had never created my own project. I met an independent filmmaker who had produced a short that I enjoyed and asked him to become my production partner. Read more>>