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.

Mackenzie Wilde

One of the most unexpected problems I’ve faced in my business is that people have a tendency to fear change. The equine industry focuses a lot on control. It is extremely common for equestrians to not put the horse’s welfare first, and every day you see people riding horses that are too young, beating a horse into submission, neglecting basic care, and more. The issue is – everyone looks the other direction instead of actually advocating for the horse. Being an equine professional who uses science-based methods and puts the horse before the sport often comes with a lot of backlash. People argue that if we’ve been doing it one way for generations, why change now? I’ve been told I’m “too kind” which is meant to be an insult, but quite honestly I see it as a compliment. It’s disheartening to see that the equine industry thinks treating horses with kindness is the enemy. The other factor I’ve noticed is that the professionals who truly care about the horse rarely have as much success as the ones who don’t. This is because we are willing to take months of blood, sweat, and tears to do right by the horse. We don’t rush things for the sake of finances or fame or a man-made deadline. Some of these big name professionals are known for having miraculous transformations overnight… but people don’t see what happens behind the scenes. They don’t see the horse entering a state of learned helplessness. They don’t notice the stress signals or the neurological damage of pushing a horse beyond their limits. When you make the decision to always do right by the horse, you literally sacrifice everything. Your friends, your coaches, your colleagues, your reputation, and more simply because people struggle to admit they are wrong and that there are better ways of doing things. It’s truly a situation where you either ignore the facts to stand with the crowd or stand alone knowing you are doing right by the animal. Read more>>

Bobby Gunnz

I’m very loyal and I had to understand that my loyalty doesn’t always add up to the Loyalty of other people I hold dear to me. (Just a little back story.) I would oppose anyone who came for us or one of us in a foul manner. When people would come for me in a negative way slandering my name with lies not being honest making up things and things of that nature my friends thought it was okay to laugh and joke and I didn’t think that was cool because I take your brand as serious as I do mine so to see that my friend aka my brother didn’t do the same for me it let me know I have to protect me from in and outside people who don’t wanna see u do anything greater then them. They don’t mind ur progress as long as ur not progressively doing better then they are. Read more>>

Rosetta Westbrook

When I first started working with clients I had no contract in place. When we think of contracts we often think about the big disasters which could arise and easily think, oh that won’t happen to me, but actually it’s the smaller stuff which creeps up on you and why you need a contract. To begin with I woud only charge the client when the work was finished and handed over. I had no timelines in place so that left me wide open. The result was that the project, a rebrand, took almost five months and in that time I didn’t see a penny. But it wasn’t anyone behaving badly, it was that we had no boundaries in place. Now I take a monimum 50% deposit with a clear timeline, scope and expectations. I also ask for the final balance beofre releasing final files and have cancellation clauses in my contracts so if a client has to pull out part way through a project I will be compensated for the work I’d done and the remaining work lost. In order to get a watertight contract I researched legal teams in my local area, called around and eventually found a fantastic female founded law firm who helped many small businesses and startups. It was an investment but unlike many things in business you can train yourself to do, legal matters wasn’t one I was going to shortcut. Read more>>

Cori Wamsley

One of my favorite unexpected issues, because I just love the name of it, is “scope creep.”

Yes, it sounds funny, but it’s not at all when you experience it.

This is when you have a project that starts out as maybe three small parts, and it ends up as five or six or seven big parts. In our case, because we are a publishing house, it usually starts out as a manuscript that just needs some tweaks and tightening, what we call a basic copy edit, and ends up with a lot of ghost writing, rearranging of text, additions of entire chapters, maybe throwing in a foreword, … how about some graphics (can you create those?), maybe you can reach out to your colleagues to review my book, oh and also take my books with you when you do that event. Read more>>

Lyric Kinard

I am a textile artist, dyeing, painting, printing, and stitching both abstracts and portraiture.

One of my primary sources of income is teaching some of the techniques I use in my. For the past 20 years I’ve been hired by quilt guilds and conferences to travel the world, present programs, and spend a few days playing with other creative makers. Read more>>

Reid Clow

When I was younger, people constantly told me not to pursue a life in the music industry. I didn’t listen to them, but, I’ve found myself giving the same advice over the years. Read more>>

Sheena D. Franklin

One of the most unexpected problems we faced was how quickly a market could change, yet stay the same in a highly regulated and complex industry such as healthcare. Read more>>

Joe / Tyler Schwarz / Cosby

As a duo from different backgrounds, we realized quickly that there’s a consistent disconnect throughout our ‘scene’ that is not only uncomfortable, but potentially unsafe for some. It has, and will continue to be our goal to cultivate an approachable environment that encourages love and understanding. Although most OG dubstep and EDM lovers can probably say that their favorite moments were surrounded by other sweaty, tired, and non-judgmental peers at shows or festivals, that’s unfortunately not the case for a new generation. Music has always and will always be for the new generation. The space that we as artists create directly impacts the ‘scene’. Creating a space that is reminiscent of a simpler time, a safer time, and an overall more enjoyable time, is imperative for the future of our local scenes. We work to make sure that it’s no longer a gate kept community. Read more>>

Asatre Team Ethan, Chyna, and Jody

No matter how well you think you are planning. Some times things don’t go as planned. When we first started, we planned to sell hemp and CBD products so Hempland CBD was a great name or so we thought! We had products made, labels made, website domains purchased, and had applied for our official trademark approval. In the trademark approval process, we received a cease and desist order stating that our name was too similar to someone else’s and we could not longer use it. In tears and frustration, we took down our website, removed all our products, and went to work on finding a new name and identity. This is when Asatre was formed! “Asa” meaning hemp in Japanese, and three of us, for the “tre”. So Asatre… it became! Probably the best, worst thing that could have happened to us. At this point, so thankful that it happened to us early! In the end, it was a very good thing for us as we only sell hemp clothing and accessories. Read more>>

Shreya Patel

There have been challenges along the way. First, launching a CPG company while working full-time has been part of the learning process. I had to learn how to balance being a professional, a mom, and a founder while giving each the attention it deserves. My goal is to be able to transition to hyve full-time, sooner rather than later, to more quickly achieve hyve’s goals and my personal goals. Second, launching a CPG company during the covid pandemic presents a new set of challenges. Getting word out about the company has been more difficult, especially a revolutionary product like hyve. There is quite a bit of a learning curve, or “un-learning” if you will. And third, building the right team around me has been a challenge, and I think this is true for all companies, regardless of stage in the growth of the company. Read more>>

Stanton Nelson

Playing injuries are some of the most unexpected problems I’ve faced. I have resolved these by taking frequent breaks in practice sessions, icing my muscles at night, and drinking plenty of water. These injuries occur when I have big performances coming up and I have to invest a lot more hours at the keyboard to be prepared. Read more>>