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.

Christopharo

I never intended on becoming a published author. In spite of my love for writing, the thought of having my work published seems like such an intimidating thing. Read more>>

Emily Holewczynsk

I’ve always wanted to be an author. I wrote and “published” my first story when I was six years old [it was called LITTLE GIRL IN A BIG HOUSE]. After graduating college with an English degree, I was in hot pursuit of a writing career–but found none. Read more>>

Martin King

During the challenging times of the pandemic, our business faced the looming threat of bankruptcy. However, rather than succumbing to despair, we chose resilience and determination. Read more>>

Bailey / Jahna Weickum / Martell

As a hemp/ CBD brand one of the largest ongoing issues that we face is all the regulation around marketing. It really makes it difficult in our niche to reach new customers. Read more>>

Gail Kelley

My art is custom original oil paintings of animals, mostly dogs, mostly pets. Something I never thought about from the view of a store owner is that they want to give space to items that will sell and reduce inventory. Read more>>

Corrie Legge

One of the most unexpected challenges I encountered in my creative journey turned out to be a huge blessing in disguise. It came in the form of a 17lbs rescue pup named Cooper. Read more>>

Suzan Woodruff

The most unexpected and the most difficult problem I’ve had to accept and understand so I could continue my making art was cancer. Read more>>

Karenina Fabrizzi

While unexpected problems and issues are not uncommon in my line of work, I’m fortunate that they occur infrequently in my experience. Read more>>

Jason Nelson

As any creative person will tell you, you’re aware from a very young age of the subjective nature of your output. But with that said, there are some elements within my work, both commercial and fine-art, that are less subjective. Read more>>

Alejandra Gracia

I graduated with an Equestrian Studies Degree and a minor in painting. I was hoping to pursue either one of the industries, but mostly leaning toward the Equestrian Industry. Read more>>

Sway Maldonado

StreetMeet is currently dealing with its most unexpected issue. For years we’ve watched as other like-minded creatives began to host meetups with the same name and following much of what we started in DC. Read more>>