As almost any entrepreneur or creative will tell you, unexpected problems are to be expected. Below, you’ll hear some incredible stories that highlight and illustrate the kinds of issues and problems entrepreneurs and creatives are dealing with everyday. It’s not easy, but the silver lining is that dealing with unexpected problems is one of the best ways to develop antifragility.
Jervon Kyles
Some of the most unexpected problems I’ve faced was learning how to market my music on my own without having to use an outside source. Reason being, I had to teach myself how to create, run, and present specific ads to specific cultural backgrounds, states, age groups, etc. Another difficult problem was learning how to analyze the insights so I could understand individuals’ true personal interests and ones that I have to offer. Read more>>
Nina Tickaradze
When we originally started NADI, we wanted our bottles to have a unique look, size and feel. So we partnered with a bottling company in Ukraine that could accommodate our ideas, but also accommodate our small budget. They created a unique bottle mold for us with a distinctive circle pattern, and for the past several years they have produced all of our bottles. When Russia invaded Ukraine and began bombing many cities, our bottling factory was hit and it completely destroyed thousands of bottles as well as our unique mold. Read more>>
Tracy Greenan
One of my suppliers is based in the Ukraine. His name is Kirill and he and his mother and aunt make my beautiful, black velvet lined chic jewelry boxes. When the war happened, he could not ship to me anymore. We were never really close before the war, in fact I actually was a bit of a pain probably for him because I am quite particular with little things, so if the color is off or if something turned out differently I will usually be the squeaky wheel about it and he would grumble a bit in his emails back! Read more>>
Courtney Scott
Every career field comes with its own challenges, but the challenges faced by Interior Designers are often not talked about or overly minimized. In the day and age of thirty minute design shows, many consumers have fallen into the trap of believing: 1. That they can do everything themselves. 2. An intricately designed space can be achieved in a matter of weeks. 3. That the big box stores are the only option for home furnishings. Read more>>
Terrell Sherman
My daughter Sydney traveled around the world after college and came up with the idea for a business we started together a few years later called Faire which was a marketplace for ethically produced products. She had another small business she was running at the same time which looked very overwhelming so I offered to help her run Admin Boutique but instead, she asked me to help her build Faire! Read more>>
Frankie Croker
Some of the most unexpected problems I faced was learning how to adjust based on my business needs, whether it be with marketing or growth strategies. I had to learn that my business would go through periods of ups and downs and I had to adjust to accommodate the gaps. One adjustment that sticks out most for me is when I begin selling wholesale. I didn’t expect the difficulty that came with processing large volume orders and found myself scrambling with my first wholesale orders. I didn’t have enough inventory and didn’t prepare myself completely with proper packing and shipping scenarios. Read more>>
Chloe’ Loughridge
In the wedding industry and honestly probably any industry there are unexpected problems on a daily basis. My biggest advance is to not let them get to you. The more stressed you seem it wears off on peers and effects you. Stay clam, take a deep breath and fix it. I tell my couples that inevitably there is going to be a “fire” on their day, and my goal is that they never know about it. There is nothing that I or you cant fix. Read more>>
Mone’
As an artist you’re always going to run into problems; whether if you’re signed to a major label or if your’e independent. I’ve dealt with a lot of adversity, especially as a gay female rapper. I don’t want to put to myself in box of being a gay rapper, but we have to call a spade a spade. The way that I dress, talk, and my demeanor says it all. Read more>>
Michele Nichols
Bombchele Hair lab was founded in August 2015 in the state of Alabama. I managed to build a large clientele from ground up servicing many guests over the years. In 2020 during the pandemic salons were forced to close. During this transition I decided to relocate to Georgia. Unfortunately this meant I would leave some of my dearest clients and have to start completely over . Read more>>
Suvojit Mukherjee
Everyone thinks being a model or entrepreneur is easy. But the truth is, this is hard as every other career in the world. Modelling is not so rosy as it seems like. There are different kinds of people in the fashion industry. The fashion industry can take you to the top, and also can drop you down in the blink of an eye. There is a lot of favoritism and racism in the industry. Its sad, but true. Read more>>
Amanda Wirig
One of the most unexpected problems I’ve faced in my creative career has been the lack of outward support from friends and family when I’ve had successes, because those successes are related to my work and not marriage or children. In the last year I’ve reached some really big milestones in my career–I gained gallery representation in Tokyo, I completed my first large-scale mural, and I’m working on an album with the band I joined last year. Read more>>
Summer Tomes
I think one of the biggest shocks coming out of art school and into the art world is the lack of time you once had. For me, I have several jobs. I work as a curator at a gallery in downtown Chattanooga and a preschool teacher at a Montessori school so between all of these other obligations making time for my practice became more and more difficult. It weighed heavily on my confidence as an artist and made me begin to question if I was even able to call myself an artist. Read more>>
Angie Hammond
It’s been about 2 years since I started my pursuit of styling as a business. I am officially set to launch my wardrobe styling business in January 2023. My biggest challenge has been me getting past feeling like I’m not ready. Back in 2016 I started with a Fashion Sewing Blog and a matching IG account. I really loved styling pieces for my blog and doing photoshoots with my husband. Whenever I posted pictures, I would always get comments about how good my styling was. Read more>>
Al Graves
One of the biggest challenges I face as a photographer, oddly enough is conveying the importance of using photographs as a way to preserve your legacy. We all want to provide a financial legacy. We all want our legacies carried on through our name. We don’t always realize how imperative it is to document our legacy with the printed photograph. These special moments, rare occasions, and once in a lifetime events tell our story to future generations. The printed photograph has outlasted countless mediums that have come and gone. Digital media is great. Read more>>
Ashton Wilson
My wife and I run a Home and Lifestyle brand (Alexis Nickelle Co.). When Covid-19 started we had to switch some of our offerings and find different ways to get the supplies we needed for our business. We used to host candle making parties at peoples homes. Covid-19 hit us hard because we couldn’t meet in person. We switched focus and started hosting virtual candle making parties. Read more>>
De’Janay Bryant
Two problems that I faced as a business owner were organization and separation. As someone who is new to owning a business it’s more strenuous when you’re the sole person that hand makes every item that you offer. Organization sometimes gets hectic or just tossed aside all together when there’s a huge order or a big upcoming event. Most times I literally feel as if I’m a chicken running around with my head cutoff. Read more>>
Mariah Johnson
Aspiring to be a Makeup Artist was the start to my creative journey, what I did not realize was what becoming a Makeup Artist consists of. Through social media is where I reach majority of clients, offering my services and promoting my craft. Early on I was only accepting clients on the weekends due to my 9-5 job during the week. Read more>>
Ghost Bags USA
Ghost Bags was formed in 2019 just before Covid. Covid impacted everything. Logistics , costs, manpower. EVERYTHING. Our pricing structure had to be changed drastically before we set sail and while we were still under development. Covid stripped any and basically all profits from manufacturing and shipping. We wanted to bring the world , finally, a strong , thick , fully compostable bag and we had to make sure it came with a compostable drawstring as well. Read more>>