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.

Guy Jaquier

Covid was obviously a problem and was unexpected. It virtually shut down all live music overnight. Artists who depended on making money from playing live gigs were put out of work for months and years. The financial strain on the industry was tremendous. It is only now recovering. Operation Encore tried to help our artists survive and get through the challenge through some levels of financial support, but also maintaining a strong community of like minded veteran artists. For many, the network was their lifeline. Luckily, resiliency is something that is taught in the military. Read more>>

Isaac Saldana

The most unexpected problem I’ve faced was an engineering problem at SendGrid, but not the type of engineering problem you’d expect. It was not engineering a technological solution but rather engineering a mindset shift for myself. I had to transition from being an introverted engineer to becoming a CEO. At first being a leader felt deeply uncomfortable, because I was making the mistake of thinking a leader was promoting myself and requiring me to grow an ego that I didn’t have. Asserting me, Isaac, was not how I was brought up in a working class Mexican family. Read more>>

Rebecca Hurt

Moving to Los Angeles right before the pandemic created a lot of difficulties in my career. I felt as if I didn’t know what to do to get started and the industry was shut down so there weren’t many opportunities for me anyway. I would submit myself on things like Actor’s Access and Backstage and for months it felt like nothing was happening, but when I finally booked something I was heartbroken when the production I started working with took advantage of me due to the circumstances. Read more>>

Oliver John-Rodgers (OJR)

When I was growing up — before Instagram, TikTok, and Spotify — and still in the early stages of learning my craft as a musician, I had always heard that if you devote ‘10,000 hours’ to practice and development, you can achieve anything for yourself. Having studied music since I was still in elementary school, and now 31 years old, I’ve spent a lot more than 10,000 hours working at my craft (to give an idea: I spend, on average, around 10 hours every day working on my music in some capacity — either as a producer, songwriter, or mixing engineer. I’ve now been doing this for over a decade. You do the math!) Read more>>

Ian Ketterer

I was born with no ear on my right side and no thumb on my right hand. I had to teach myself a different way of playing piano. But my most unexpected issue I ran into was when I was mixing my band Among Authors’ first full length record. I was 30 years old at the time, and it was the first time in my life that I felt legitimately handicapped. I thought to myself “wow, ya know what, no matter what I do, I will never be able to hear in stereo.” My life has always been in mono, but up to this point, I never really noticed, it was just as it was. When you’re born with certain things, you adapt as a child, without even realizing you’re adapting. Before you know it, you’re achieving goals just like any of the other kids. However, when I started mixing the first album, I learned really quickly that I had no idea how to overcome this massive handicap. Read more>>

Deidi Sanchez

Entering the world of education via technological delivery and access post-pandemic has certainly been a challenge for all of us at United We Lead Foundation (UWLF). After some of the most difficult years ever (2020-2022), there was a point where the team and I had a mix of emotions – fatigue from having to make so many organizational changes because of the COVID-19 pandemic; and at the same time satisfaction that we could together recreate our business model and learn tons of new stuff so we could continue to fulfill our mission of offering high-quality educational programs to underserved communities now in a virtual modality. Read more>>

Gretchen Johnson

The world was grappling with the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic when I launched my Real Estate career. It was a daunting time, but my passion for helping clients find their dream homes and my belief that ‘home is where the heart is’ fueled my determination to succeed. As I took my first steps into the real estate industry, I encountered a unique set of challenges. The pandemic had shifted the way we connected with one another, and connecting with clients in a meaningful way was not easy. Face-to-face meetings and open houses had given way to virtual tours and Zoom calls. Read more>>

Prachi Patel

During my journey as the owner of Prachi Henna Art, LLC. I have learned many things and continue to today. I am realizing going the debt-free route with my business is going to be a long road but worth it in the end. I am a recent Mercer University Graduate so I have some student debt and my business is my full-time income. I was in my 3rd year when I started my business with henna, nose cuffs, & my original jewelry wrap at a local farmers market. I have been vending since October of 2021 and growing my social media since May of that same year. Having finally graduated with a degree in Chemical Commerce with a focus in Business Management I have time I would not have as a full-time student. I was a 3rd-year pre-med Neuroscience major when I decided to fully switch to entrepreneur life. It was a major shift in the game plan, to say the least. Read more>>

Nadine Kostine

When I decided to go study and pursue acting professionally in the US, I faced many unexpected issues and challenges on my path that I had to overcome. Looking back at it now, I realize that each challenge I encountered on my way, was only meant to make me stronger. Read more>>

Rodney & Veronica

We have definitely not had a smooth road, but neither have we struggled to the point of considering giving up. One of our struggles in the beginning was trying to buy some of the equipment in the beginning because we started off with a small amount of members and we did not have enough money to buy more equipment. Our members definitely believed in us and did not give up on us and continue to come and support us. Our second struggle was making sure that the pandemic in 2020 would not shut us down. We were a bit nervous at first because the pandemic happened in the beginning of 2020 and we had just received the keys to our new gym location in January 2020. We were afraid we were not going to make it out just like other small businesses. Thanks to our loyal members, we made it and are now stronger! Read more>>

Ashley Love

The most unexpected problem I faced in my business was when a person contacted me to create a book cover, but did not want to sign her contract nor pay the invoice. This was my first potential client in Dallas. I can’t remember if she found me on social media or if she googled fashion illustrators and found my page. Either way, she contacted me to tell me she was writing a book and wanted a fashion illustration. When she saw my artwork, she wanted to hire me. She even told me her story of how she got the idea to write a book. Read more>>

Debo Ray

Imposter Syndrome has been an unexpected problem; it felt as though no matter how much I’ve learned and cultivated my craft, there was still so much to learn. Even when opportunites in leadership would come up, it was easy to consider myself “not good/smart/capable enough” and get caught up in confusion and low self-confidence, and it showed in my singing. My solution was and is to consistently affirm what I do know, and to allow CURIOSITY to guide my steps forward. When one sees things through the eyes of a child, everything becomes new and fresh, and awe is at the forefront of your experience. I remember singing a set of tunes that I loved since I was young, and finally feeling the same joy as the first time I sang them by myself in my bedroom. So much peace came from that, and my audience was super into it! I felt like a superhero! Read more>>

Samantha van der Sluis

In 2021, when the pandemic was still quite new, I decided to take a risk on myself. The previous five years before 2021 I was at a low point in my life and constantly questioning my worth, my value, my craft, and myself. Actually, I’m quite a positive, optimistic person yet these thoughts couldn’t stop circulating around my head. I didn’t anticipate these feelings as I entered the industry. I was aspiring to be a media composer and had focused a lot of that attention within film and linear media. I was feeling the toxic effects of a competitive industry and feeling down that there was a lack of kindness and recognition towards people working in audio. These feelings manifested and eventually I reached a point where writing music was an activity I avoided. Read more>>

Tiara Dogan

Creating edible art, I completely have to work with my hands. About a year ago, I was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disorder that causes extreme weakness in all of the muscles of my body. Prior to an official diagnosis, I was extremely weak and got to the point where I couldn’t even hold an icing spatula. I could not hold materials for long so I painfully had to stop baking. This was so hard to do and put a pretty considerable dent in my finances. I am a full-time teacher but my baking is a greatly enjoyable supplemental income. Read more>>

Kelly Light

Without going into too much detail, I went through a catastrophic divorce and a series of tragic losses that hit at the peak of my professional success and productivity. I was on national book tour one day and plunged in family court.. for the next five years. Everything that I had built professionally for twenty years in animation, cartoon licensing and children’s publishing came to a screeching halt. How does one create when there are emotional, financial and legal wildfires burning all around you? I am a Mom. All things come after my kid and my kid really needed me. Read more>>