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.

Rachael Youngman

Learning the ropes of podcasting has been a rewarding challenge. I knew there would be a big learning curve but I underestimated the complexity. However, at this time in my life, as an empty nester and with being well into my long term career in software sales, I knew I wanted a new challenge. But most of all, I was driven by the desire to preserve our Native American stories, history, culture and traditions and I didn’t care what it would take to make that happen. Here were some things I had to teach myself and mistakes I made along the way: What technologies to use and not use. Read more>>

Keturah Whetzel

My business is based on sourcing locally grown flowers from local farms. I knew before day 1 that was a cornerstone of my brand. What I did NOT understand was the fleeting and unpredictable nature of Mother Nature. She’s fickle. I can look at last year’s availability for the same week and yet completely different flowers are available this year. The last & first frost dates of the year can vary by a month, skewing the growing season a month in either direction. It makes planning a bit more difficult, because I can hope for a certain flower, but yet, before each wedding, about 2 weeks out, I’m texting and emailing my farms and waiting to see what’s available. Depending on their answer, it could mean rebuilding my design ‘recipes’ from the ground up. Read more>>

Barbara Wallen

In life you have ups and downs and strive to handle them the best you can…. In Event Planning, it is no different. You will always have things that come up now and then and even issues dealing with clients, but I have learned through years of experience always show kindness, grace, and handle problems/issues with integrity. Communication, honesty is a must for a positive outcome and trying to remain calm in all situations. Read more>>

Lesly Allen

When we started Mural Fest, we really didn’t know much, we just thought it would be a good idea….and how hard can it be to paint a few walls?? Little did I know how much work it was going to be. And while it has been incredibly rewarding and so damn much fun, each year we learn several new things that we can do better next year. But the one challenge that was a huge surprise to me was how difficult it has been to find walls. I assumed that everyone would want a mural on their building. But that is not the case. And if they do, there is so much that goes into matching the property owner with the right artist. The hardest part of my job all year is finding walls for Mural Fest. And now that our city is going through some big changes with development in our downtown, while not always possible, we try not to paint murals on walls that are going to be torn down in a year or two. Read more>>

Krystle Richardson

July 8, 2022, I (Krystle) walked away from a career of seventeen years to pursue my dream of running my very own art-based business. I am a RAW Natural Born Independent Artist specializing in various forms of art and knew that ol’ desk job was not going to cut it for the rest of my life. My soul was hungry for creativity and demanding to be fed. I ripped off the band-aid and dove in head first without a parachute. Four days later, our business license had been filed and The Omnipotent Workshop came to life. Over the next couple months, Harrison and I worked avidly to build our website, produce our first round of inventory, and make future plans for continued success. October 1, 2022 was launch day for Phase I. Read more>>

Julianna Hynes

Even the best-laid plans are imperfect, and we cannot anticipate all the unknowns. While I had a vision, goals, and strategy for achieving them, I entered my business knowing there would be twists and turns as a business owner. For example, while I can project monthly income, I can only know how much I’ll bring in until the end of the month. And if I don’t get paid promptly, as a solopreneur, I must figure out how to keep my business going. Also, not having the money to do things I wanted to expand my business was challenging when I started. Read more>>

Michaela Fentress

My idea salon I’d love is a store front. In the past I’ve dealt with many people and salon owners. Some were good experiences and some weren’t so good. I’ve had issues on my end and issues on their end. I’ve moved into one suite located in the Northern Area before and it was very lavish. I had my own space, keys, access anytime. It was a stretch but I looked at it as being worth it. After awhile I started noticing the owners saying things about not being able to pay. I disregarded it and continued to work. After so long, the lights were cut off and I was lied to constantly about the lights. I eventually moved out in the dark at 12am. I bought maybe $100 worth of flash lights and moved. I was emotionally exhausted, crying, sad, depressed and did know what was next. This was one of the most unexpected experiences of my career. Read more>>

Victoria Meade

Farming is NOTHING BUT the unexpected. Whether that be uncooperative weather, a broken tool, malfunctioning machinery, or pests that destroy your crops and kill your animals. We have experienced all of these in our very short farming journey of nearly two years. We began our farm in August of 2021, nearly on a whim, after we met a someone (now a friend) who also grows hops about an hour away from us. We visited his hop yard and fell in love. We were looking for a way to break into farming, and hops seemed like the perfect avenue for us. The hops industry in Ohio is new, and we would be able to use the funds from our hops to grow the rest of our farm. Read more>>

Takyria Jenkins

Unexpected problems/issue’s are so common with anything in life, but when it’s happening in your business it could make or break you. Over the years I have had unexpected problems occur but never like what I recently went through. Moving forward I know better now to have an assistant to make everything easier on me. My life took a turn and I had problems with my health for the first time in my life, I had to heal myself while reach out to client after client. I had to talk with clients with my mouth wired shut because it’s always just been me running my business , I’ve never had an assistant to handle these problems for me. Read more>>

Sofía Perez Teuffer

As an artist, I firmly believe that our kind possesses a unique perspective. We perceive and interpret the world with greater depth, which fuels our passion and excellence in our craft. I believe that the most profound art emerges from personal struggles and experiences. In my own journey, every risk, every challenge, and every tear shed has propelled me towards new creations and a clearer vision for my career and life as a whole. This interview marks the first time I openly discuss the significance of mental health, self-love, and self-discipline in shaping one’s life. Throughout my life, I’ve battled with depression and anxiety, although people often only see the success without knowing the story that preceded it. Growth, in my case, has emerged from pain, sleepless nights filled with self-doubt, and the solitude of continuing forward despite being abandoned by many along the way. Yet, I never lost sight of my identity and the person I aspire to be. Read more>>

Xavier Wooding

An unexpected issue I’ve faced with being a creative is the issue of time. As common and reoccurring as it sounds, most creatives stumble across the issue of time management when it comes to balancing their daily lives. This issue arose within my life as well which I’d assume wouldn’t happen since I’m great with managing my time outside creating. I’m still undergoing the process of doing so, however, the inconvenience of not controlling my time has taught me patience which as caused my works to develop faster than previous years. Read more>>

Richard Villasana

I’ve had many careers, but I am most focused on my career in foster care. Three decades ago, I started locating people, first for my international marketing company and then for individuals, families and ultimately for foster care agencies. My area of expertise is locating people living in Latin America. I began doing this in Mexico which is where I conducted the bulk of my marketing although I have dealt with every Spanish speaking country in Latin America except Cuba. I located several important officials who helped my company with sales in Mexico. Once word got out that I had a knack for finding people, a few business associates asked me to find relatives, such as a brother or aunt, with whom they had lost contact. Read more>>

Cajita Clarida

January 1, 2022 was a day that changed not only my life, but my business. I suffered a stroke, a blood clot was found on the right side of my brain which caused temporary paralysis, nerve damage and neuropathy issues on the left side of my body. I was hospitalized in the stroke unit for 21 days, then transferred to rehabilitation hospital for another 33 days and finally home to continue outpatient rehab therapy for another four months. I had to learn to walk again using assistive devices such as a rolling walker that I called “Loretta”. I made it clear to Loretta and everyone I came in contact with during this process that how they saw me was only temporary and I’d be walking on my own soon. Read more>>

Freya Fitzpatrick

I think of myself as an accidental entrepreneur. At heart and by education, I am a teacher. For a variety of reasons I went from teaching public school to private school to homeschool co-ops. The demand for my classes at co-ops exceeded the hours available at the co-ops and parents asked me to teach additional classes at my home. Thus, I ended up stumbling into running my own business. I had no business training. I had never participated in administration in any place I taught before, so I had no practical experience. I was just making it up on the fly … with a lot of coaching and insight from my husband who works in business. There was a steep learning curve with plenty of hurdles popping up. I’ll talk about only 2 of them, though, because from talking to other entrepreneurs, these are not uncommon issues. Read more>>

Crystal Brinson

We were preparing to reopen our just started plant shop in a new higher foot traffic location at the Kilburn Mill located in New Bedford, Ma. in 2021. I was super excited as I was able to have the space custom fitted with paint color, lighting, custom made display pieces, including vintage finds. We opened on the 18th of September and on the 26th. of September I closed shop and got ready for my regular Sunday night roller skate session. This being my favorite way to let go of the weeks pressures and just roll I was overly confident and decided I can totally go in reverse direction backwards skate,I was coming around the corner, I looked the gentleman next to me in the eye and was like ‘I’m a little scared’ he smiled and nodded, then a few moments later I was on the floor. Read more>>