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.

Dasan Ahanu

I take a moment to go through emails, look at files, and order things I am amazed. Now, I can only speak to my focuses, but I have no idea how the hell I kept any of this straight for this many years. Higher Ed, consulting, community work, art… all require various email accounts, documents, contacts, calendars, meetings, etc. That is during the work. Soliciting, negotiating, or researching new work comes with it’s own set of things. Not to mention the “ideas” that never came to fruition and the time dedicated to those (especially online communication and meetings). You got multiple websites. Commissioned projects, grand funded projects, collaborations, personal projects… Geesh. Read more>>

Darnell McKenzie

Most people that know me know I am a go big or go home type of person. I take a lot of big risk, which at times I pull off or a major lesson is learned. Last year during my companies revamp period we were basically laying down the foundation and building up our portfolio. Even though we didn’t hit the profit we set out, it was a very successful year helping other. Read more>>

Miss Primrose

I’ve been taught from the early age that family would always be by your side no matter what. It wasn’t until i came into the music industry that i would truly understand the full weight of that lesson. I grew up in a household where my Jamaican parents struggled to make every dollar that they earned. To provide for their three children meant that sacrifices were made daily. The gave my siblings and I a lifestyle where we didn’t have to worry much. We always had a home, a bed, food, clothes on our backs and a vehicle to get from point A to point B. Read more>>

Katie Miller

I guess an unexpected issue that has recently came up is that we moved out of my mom’s house where my equipment is at. Leading up to Christmas, I stayed busy filling custom requests, making random Christmas inspired items. After Christmas, I always take at least a month break before I start back up again. I was also working 80+ hours a week traveling for work up to 2 hours away from home. I was exhausted. On top of not having my equipment, I didn’t have the energy to go over and get to work. I wanted to have my weekends to relax before starting the long week ahead of me. Read more>>

Jenny Reynolds

My wife was also a singer-songwriter, and a piano teacher. We had a healthy lifestyle, but that doesn’t prevent terminal illness. After courageously battling a rare neurological disease for almost 10 years, Kerry passed in 2017. This issue couldn’t be resolved. It was unstoppable, and had to move at its own pace. I had to change everything in our lives almost entirely to care for her, and didn’t release any new music for 12 years. I was still playing at home had some gigs (nearly all local). I practiced guitar and wrote a lot. It was important to have music in my life as I watched Kerry’s disease progress. Read more>>

Henry McGannon

When I was first getting RealGolfers going, I was new to the business of sourcing products from overseas. I was so excited about my wonderful idea to make high end golf shirts affordable, that I forgot about one critical detail. I found a great manufacturer and chatted with them about the shirts for a couple days. I made sure the fabric was perfect – fabric is probably the most important part of a quality golf shirt. I made sure the stitching was top notch. Our main goal is to make sure our shirts are as nice as any other golf shirts on the market, despite being half the price. Little details like the stitching are crucial to achieving that goal. Read more>>

Lori Bean

I never expected the complexities of the fruit crops grown in Georgia. Native to Georgia, I grew up with the basic knowledge of fruit as an ingredient, but not an agricultural crop—which are two very different things. A few years into my jam business, I witnessed fruit crops bitten by a late spring freeze. Late freezes are one of the biggest stressors for fruit farmers, as well as pests and diseases, all of which affect the amount of fruit available for my jams. Weather in Georgia has a huge impact on fruit crops. I’ve become a bit of a meteorologist: Read more>>

Nika Watts

The most unexpected problems We’ve encountered in this industry is manufacturing.. One moment we think we’ve found a manufacturer that can mass produce everything we need then the next minute they either can’t deliver on time, raise the prices unexpectedly or just don’t make good quality products on a consistent basis.. Nothing is more frustrating than having to repeatedly change/employ different manufacturers.. Read more>>

D’varia Hurst

Being a creative is not for the weary. I think that one of the biggest hurdles that I have had to overcome is self-doubt. At times social media, and so many other realms of the world, can bombard you with images of art produced by artist that you feel are more talented than you. I sometimes see the work of others and wonder why what I produce doesn’t look more realistic? why can’t I incorporate realistic depictions of flowers?… I realized that I have remedied this in two ways. Like now, I have decided to take a sabbatical. I have enough art stowed away to be able to take a step back and mentally think about how and what I want to paint. Read more>>

Erica Workmon

As an small business owner and not fully knowing everything that is intel to run a business. So you take leap of faith and invest into creating a safe space and opened my online boutique. When the pandemic happened with covid and my job shut down temporarily. It gave me full time opportunity to start . We first started off with a lip gloss, lip scrub, candle, accessories business and over time incorporated clothing , which turn out to be a great success. Read more>>

Courtney Dixon

I am a new mom. I put off having children for a long time because I worried about how I would balance this industry and having a baby. As a documentarian, travel is a huge part of the process. I would always say after this next job, which turned into many jobs. When I was pregnant, I hid it for as long as possible, scared that agencies would not hire me to be on set. That couldn’t have been further from the truth. Agencies and production companies embraced me and I was hired up until the very end of my term. I had jobs offered before my maternity leave was over. Read more>>