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.
Sacha Kishlar
In the world of exotic car dealing you will always have crazy encounters or missions to accomplish to get the deal done. However, none of us think that a car deal can go deadly wrong. I was in New York buying some cars for clients over the weekend as I usually would do back then, mind you this was well before Uber was around. I finally get to the first car after being stuck in terrible Manhattan traffic and this is where the red flags are sounding off. First, the vin was not matching to what was described, lots of undercarriage issues, etc… Read more>>
Kiersten Davison
When I first started my business I wasn’t exactly sure what I wanted to do. I am self taught so I wasn’t sure I was good enough. But, I was living in the Chicago area and I needed some extra cash. My business went through three name changes until I thought I found the perfect one. I took this process VERY seriously. I would spend weeks moving around certain words just until the right one fit. Then, I would spend even more time saying it a million times to hear it. See how it sounded, how I liked it, etc. When I finally thought I found the perfect name, I was ecstatic. Read more>>
DreTavius Parham
As an aspiring entrepreneur, I have focused on getting professional footage of speaking to a group of students; I have been calling and researching different programs where I could volunteer my services. It was exciting that I finally found a summer program that would allow me to volunteer my service. During this time, I invested in a videography to get the footage. The director reached out to me. She canceled on me the first time. I reached out to reschedule with an exciting feeling. Although, I had a feeling that I would get canceled on again. Read more>>
Ashlyn Edith
The wildest thing that has ever happened to me as a business owner is COVID because I lost my main source of income which was my JOB , I’ve tried working from home and my job was garnishing at that time they paused garnishing so I was out of a job . So I was always in a family group chat and my siblings would send me Tiktoks I’d always go to the web version to look at the links and I was very tired of doing that long story short I downloaded the app . Immediately HOOKED ! So it was dope and I saw how many people were using this app to promote their business very creative ways and I played around on it came up with unique techniques and I did that for at least 2-3 months got maybe 100k followers within that time frame so I still don’t have a job lmfao I solely just based my life on cracking the code to becoming either a full time entrepreneur or just jobless . Read more>>
Jessica Nardi
Last year I was a part of the La Mesa Farmers Market community. One summer day, a woman named Sarah visited our booth. She was wheelchair bound and could barley speak. We waved hello to each other and her son informed me she was seeking out natural body care products that contain Frankincense. I handed her a sample of our Glow Cuticle Oil; which contains a synergy blend of organic, certified pure therapeutic grade oils, including Frankincense and Rose essential oils. Once she applied the oil to her cuticles, she quickly raised her hands under her nose and took a big, deep breath in. Read more>>
Ashley N.
Title: A Million by May In early 2021, things were extremely unpredictable for small businesses. Inflation was on the rise and staple products were no longer on the shelves. This made a lot of businesses absorb the cost or close their doors all together. As an online cookie company, I missed out on some of my highest selling months due to panic buying, a lack of ingredients, and expensive packaging supplies for my cookies. In April, when products started to trickle back unto the shelves, I kicked up my marketing tactics with revenge. I was determined to make up for lost time and kick my cookie sales into high gear. Read more>>