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.

Tahjá Cox

Getting into entrepreneur ship you learn that when the money comes is great and you need to save that. There was a moment in my real estate career where I decided to go full-time after being in real estate for about six months having my license. And I had deals come in for about three months I had four or five deals last year. Read more>>

Necro

Being a white rapper in the NYC Hiphop scene and rapping extreme hardcore lyrics with hardcore music, was very difficult I had to create my own lane, and do everything independently because all the doors were shut constantly. Read more>>

Allison Robles

August of 2019, at the age of 21, I opened up my own dance studio along with my partner Maria (my future mother-in-law). Little did we know as first year business owners we would experience something out of the ordinary. After only 6 months of being open in March of 2020, the entire world shut down. I could have never imagined, that due to a global pandemic I would need to shut the doors off my business. Read more>>

Aida Stenholm

I had just designed my first run of shoes. I was in Peru directing the manufacturing process and then I tried to pack a couple of suitcases with my new shoes that I love so much. We’re talking about six months of work to get this first tiny run done. Read more>>

Amanda Carver

I thrift for a living. It’s the best! And buying previously owned items comes with all kids of quirks. Some items are stained, some have holes. Other items still have their original tags from the store. And some items have interesting items in their pockets. Tissues, notes, money, condoms…just to name a few. But one day one day I struck gold. Read more>>

Franck Pedretti

Being a wedding videographer in San Diego brought me so much stories that I could share… There is one that I will never forget, Thomas the Groom who was about to mary his best friend Tiffany since they first met in 4th grade! On the wedding day, after shooting all the details with the Bride, I asked her where was Thomas… She said: “Oh he is next door waiting for you” Read more>>