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.

Night Fury

I think the craziest experience was when we were doing a festival in Maine. We were asked to perform a set at The Cavern in Portland, Maine, and the venue’s kitchen caught on fire! Then, the lead singer of the headlining band, Vices Inc, grabbed an extinguisher and saved the day. It was bizarre, and we smelled like something was burning for a while. Read more>>

Natalia Lewis

Believe it or not my journey into modeling wasn’t as simple as everyone else’s! When I was younger I was bullied a lot and once I learned that I could fight back it definitely got out of control. I thought I’d never allow someone to take advantage of me or anyone that I love. I ended up getting in trouble where I ended up being on house arrest from an exaggerated story. Thank God, the judge realized it was baloney so everything was dropped. I thank God for that experience because if it wasn’t for that I would’ve one locked in with God and I wouldn’t learned how you can literally change the trajectory of your life with one thoughtless decision. Read more>>

Kenya Simpkins

One month after opening our second location, Keith Lee, one of the most influential food critics, visited us. At the time, I had no idea who he was. His family came in to dine, and they also ordered some food to-go. After finishing their meal, he joined his family at the table. When they were done eating, Mr. Lee asked if I wanted my review now or later. Still unaware of his identity, I happily said yes. To my surprise, he rated our food a 9.5! That night, our restaurant was all over social media, and my phone started blowing up uncontrollably. Ever since, the dining experience has been different, and things haven’t quite been the same. Read more>>

Terry And Julie Casey

Our business was hit by a tornado in July 2022. Our entire town was taken by surprise as it ripped through on a Wednesday afternoon. Luckily our building was intact, however we had structural damage, and it was obvious we wouldn’t be reopening anytime soon. The building next to us was half leveled, the bank on the other side of us sustained damage as well along with our fire department, schools and a lot of houses. Terry, my husband, worked quickly to get back to our building after just having left when his shift ended and instantly started unloading the refrigerators and freezer and was passing out iced coffee, paleo donuts, anything we had, to the emergency crews that rolled in across the street from Goshen Grind to start with recovery efforts. Read more>>

Chyanne Smith

When I started this business, I didn’t think much about needing a truck to transport my products to events. Luckily, my dad was more than willing to help me out—he’d bring his truck to carry everything from my products to my tent for outdoor markets. This worked just fine for a while, and I never thought I’d run into any issues of not having my own vehicle at events. That all changed in September of 2024. Read more>>

Mingyuan Gao

The film industry is inherently unpredictable, and as a Digital Imaging Technician (DIT), my responsibility is to maintain order amidst the chaos, ensuring that every frame of footage is safely preserved. However, an experience at the 2021 FIRST Film Festival in China taught me firsthand how the pressure of this industry can push one to the brink. Read more>>

Kaytee Long Becker

Clean nutrition was the beginning of my personal healing journey. Discovering how incredible life can feel when I learned how eating a whole food, non processed diet — changed everything for me. My mood, skin, energy levels. Truly everything.

A few years ago, I attended a wellness/food supplier conference at the beginning of my journey with Nutrigazm, I was looking for a supplier for one of our ingredients, coconut water powder. My team and I were having a challenging time finding pure coconut water powder. Most suppliers added maltodextrin or other fillers we did not want present in our products. Read more>>