Having to overcome unexpected problems is a hallmark of entrepreneurship. Almost every business owner, artist, maker, and creative we know has had to deal with countless unexpected problems that arise in the journey and so we asked some brilliant folks from the community to share their stories of the unexpected problems they’ve faced along the way.
Kat Nagar
One of the problems I’ve faced is lack of oppurtunity. Atlanta doesn’t have a lot of historical building thanks to Sherman. Very rarely has an oppurtunity come up where there a funds in place for historic dancers. Usually, I’m knocking on doors and passing out business cards to get the word out about what I do. A few years ago, I considered closing the company and moving on to other pursuits. I decided to give it one more year. Read more>>
Dyamond Thomas
One unexpected problem was the covid-19 in the year of 2020 that’s when all businesses had to close down because of covid and it was very challenging and hard because I couldn’t go to work and I missed my clients. While I was stuck at home during the pandemic I started developing problems I have (Tourette syndrome) ((A nervous system disorder involving repetitive movements or unwanted sounds)). Read more>>
Rita Pardo
Family emergencies and sickness. You don’t exactly write them in your business plan so when those unexpected events happen you have to figure out how to navigate. In 2017 I had heart surgery, my husband got in a really terrible accident that caused him to lose his leg and suffer other issues and my mom died. I felt like why is so many things happening at one time. I was tired, exhausted, frustrated and on several occasions I felt alone. However I did have a support team and a strong faith in Jehovah God. Read more>>
Roxanne Gould
For many decades I have been a fashion model. Today I have the second longest running career as a model in the industry. That was by no accident. When I first started out as a model and knew I wanted to do it full time, I wrote a letter asking to be represented by this particular agency in New York, I enclosed a photo and waited for a response. Weeks later I received a typed letter telling me “We do not feel you are qualified for a successful career in modeling.” You can imagine how devastated I was as a teenager being told this by New York’s top agency. Read more>>
Brittney Bogues
I think many business owners can attest to when the pandemic initially began we were all a bit uncertain of how to navigate the new normal. Between our business being communication and events, our events side took an immediate hit initially. At the beginning of the pandemic we lost a few clients due to their budgets being cut and the restriction on in person gatherings. However, what I love about my team is how we were able to harness our strengths of creative thinking, strategic planning and effective communication tactics to attract our ideal clients helping us to grow during a time of uncertainty. Read more>>
Heather Nicole Gifford
As a writer you hear about different situations other writers or authors have encountered. You think, ‘oh I can make sure that doesn’t happen to me’. The biggest one for me was formatting the pages for the paperback and e-book. Here’s the thing, pages for a paperback are definitely not the same size/dimensions as an e-book. In fact, depending on the tool you use to distribute your book, the file types are even different. Read more>>
Caroline Baker
I have released 3 songs to date. I began releasing in 2020 and stopped early 2021. Those three releases were such a highlight in my life, and still are. I plan and hope to continue releasing music as it is something that brings me so much joy and connection with people. However, as someone who has written nonstop my whole life, the last thing I expected to struggle with after releasing was writers block. Read more>>
Mimi Knoblock
I had previously spoken about how my husband’s health led me to start my own business. I had to quit my job to be able to take care of him while he recovered from a massive brain bleed. Read more>>