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.
Gigi Daskalova Flores
One of the most unforeseen challenges I encountered in my business—shared by many others—was the COVID-19 pandemic. Having just become owner of the company in late 2019, I was met with the global shutdown in early 2020. The sudden pause in client bookings, travel restrictions, and the fast shift towards vaccination requirements completely changed our industry overnight. Read more>>
Kellie Peach
Re-launching my agency has been challenging to say the least for a number of reasons, but mostly I believe it’s because we are in a recession. It’s an election year, inflation is wild and people are clutching their pearls right now. It’s challenging to keep going when you get a lot of rejected proposals or when people don’t even take the time to acknowledge your emails, phone calls or visits… I have to continually remind myself that everyone has their own challenges and overwhelms… And also so many of the best, most nourishing relationships are made in person. Read more>>
Stephanie Worley
Understanding the lift and time commitment to marketing yourself and your business on online platforms. I am much better in person at building relationships and networking and have cultivated a great group of contacts locally. What I didn’t realize at the beginning was the impact of marketing yourself online and establishing/growing that network. Read more>>
Bertha Bay-sa Pan
FACE, the first feature film i wrote and directed, despite its privileged Sundance world premiere and the slew of accolades and awards received, the following 17 years had been blow after blow till i just closed my eyes in order to get by. But what i was forced to face during Covid lockdown when for the first time there was no more busyness to escape to — was the fact that the original culprit was neither the bullies nor the battering, but my own passivity in being bulldozed from one sh*tty occurrence to the next. Read more>>
Myan Mcqueen
The most consistent problem I have is minor but ruthless, and that’s having blue cyanotype splotches everywhere, and I mean everywhere! On clothes I’m wearing when doing my projects, the floor, the counters, streaking down the walls, the tub from rinsing items out and sometimes even my toes. The cyanotype solution doesn’t start out blue, it starts out this very light yellow/green color and is hard to see where it’s landed to get ahead of it and clean it. Then once it’s exposed to light it’s all over and you’ve got blue everything. Read more>>