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.

Jess Le

One of the biggest problems I’ve faced was recognizing and accepting that I was often the one standing in my own way. I’d feel stuck and discouraged about not being where I wanted to be creatively, but when I actually stopped to ask myself why, usually the answer was that I was scared to try. Being your own block is a layered issue, and involves a lot of self-reflection and honestly, bravery to break out of it. To work past it, I dug into the limiting beliefs I developed over the years, challenged myself to take risks, consistently pushed myself out of my comfort zone (in little ways at first, then built on that), and put myself out there creatively. It’s anxiety-inducing and feels unstable, but the more you do it, the more you realize…nothing is actually the end of the world. You’ll be better for it and you’ll always learn something about yourself. Plus meet really cool people in the process! Read more>>

Michelle Angelic

I’m still an entrepreneur in the making. My vision is to get my supplements and the products I formulate to the public. The products I make focus on not dropping the immune system while delivering nutritional benefits to the body. The hardest part of any business is not knowing what to expect and having to find solutions you didn’t know existed. My greatest struggle was becoming homeless while chasing my vision. I was sleeping on the concrete while working 40 hours a week at a supplement distribution wearhouse. I took on a whole new field of work to help me get closer to my  Problem was I took this new job in the state of Pennsylvania where I’m not from. Read more>>

Meghan Gottschalk

When I started working with wigs I had no idea that is was going to turn into a career or a business for me. I originally attended DePaul University in Chicago as a Costume design major just knowing that I had a passion for creating wearable art. At the time there were very few hair and makeup programs out there and even less that were financially viable for me, and while DePaul didn’t have their hair and makeup program established until the year I graduated they had a beautiful wig and makeup room and many classes on the subject. From my first makeup class at that school I knew that I wanted to work in the shop and I was hired on in my second year. Read more>>

Shemekia Lawrence

The most unexpected challenge I’ve encountered is finding great talent. In the window treatment industry, there is an aspect of the job that is sales but it’s mostly design. Creating or enhancing a space using window treatments should be fun. There are also aspects that required meticulous calculation and knowledge. Finding design consultants that have all or most of what this requires has been difficult. Read more>>

Lauren Reed

I think a lot of times the hardest part of being an artist is the aspect of staying motivated and not burning out. Artist block can be a very frustrating experience that most artists go through it at one point or another. I recently had gone through this myself. I had got into a solid routine of going into my studio and creating something all day, everyday. I completed many pieces in that time and felt very confident in my craft and what I was doing with my art. Then one day I just physically and mentally couldn’t get myself to create anything, it was like I ran out of all creative energy I had left. It felt demoralizing to go through that experience. Especially due to the fact of how often I was producing work and then releasing it. Read more>>

Karly Hidalgo

One of the most unexpected and challenging problems I’ve faced in my business has been focusing on prioritizing profitability. Marketing companies has been what has drained us the most this past year, a true lesson learned that affected the companies bottom line severely. We tried company after company and it was tons of wasted money and far too many tears cried. Let’s talk Ads, what all marketing companies focus most on. Despite the ads showing a 2x return.** On the surface, you might think that doubling your ad spend means the marketing is working—but that’s where many business owners, myself included, can be misled if we don’t focus on the bottom line. For example, at one point we were spending around $20,000 on ads and generating a little over $40,000 in sales from this ad money—a 2x return, which sounds great at first glance. Read more>>

Latrashonna Brown

When I started my platform (Quinese Of Peace) one of the most unexpected issues I had was with my health. I started having heart issues like heart palpitations & shortness of breath. It’s funny because I’m only 24 years old, very healthy, I workout & overall I am Fit. When I started my platform although there was no fruit coming from it yet I still felt complete like I was doing what I was put here to do. I have never had health issues before & we couldn’t find what was causing it either. I believe that once you find your purpose & get serious about it life will throw you every curve ball possible, & since there are not many things that get me scared or off of my square, my health being a problem was one of the biggest hardships I have experienced on this journey. Read more>>

Juan Lewis Aka Fired Up Chief

One of the most unexpected and challenging obstacles I faced in my professional career was dealing with the long-term impact of COVID-19. In April 2020, I was hospitalized in the Netherlands after contracting the virus. What started as a typical hospital stay turned into a long, grueling recovery process, including rehab once I returned to San Antonio, TX. While I survived the virus, I was left with long COVID symptoms that completely changed my day-to-day life. Before this, I lived an extremely active lifestyle, both physically and professionally. But after COVID, I had to face debilitating fatigue, balance issues, memory challenges, and speech difficulties. These symptoms not only affected my health but also my ability to perform at the same level in my professional role. It was a major blow to my identity, especially since I’ve always been driven, self-reliant, and someone who enjoys pushing boundaries. Read more>>

Chrystal Peavy

Two things have been difficult about this journey – maintaining functioning hands, and pricing finished products. Crochet is my go-to hobby and has been for a long time. I crochet while watching tv. I crochet while traveling, I crochet when I’m waiting for an appointment. I thought I would easily be crocheting for the rest of my life. But after 34 years of repetitive motion, I developed Trigger Thumb. It is painful! My thumbs would snap out of place and remain locked there – feeling awful and looking funny. I would shake my hands, pull my thumbs, and shout obscenities. Sometimes I needed to soak my hands in hot water until I could get my thumbs to relax and go back into place. Then I would apply ice on them in 20-minute cycles over the next several days to bring down the swelling. (Meanwhile, not getting to do my favorite hobby.)  Read more>>

Audrey Phillips

We all go through difficult times in our lives, and it’s how we choose to cope with them that defines us. For me, my mother’s murder was a tragedy that shook me to my core. I was at a loss for how to cope with my grief and the overwhelming emotions that came with it. That was until I turned to art. As a child, my mother recognized my talent before I did, and her support fueled my creativity. It was only after her passing that I realized the true power of art. Creating art allowed me to express my emotions in a way that words never could. It was my safe haven and my sanctuary. Read more>>

Lance Clair

When I first started producing music the narrative was simple; produce good music, get it signed to labels, releases get you fans, you play shows and festivals. An unexpected problem I had was realizing that that’s not at all how it worked at the time, and it’s not at all how it works now. When you release music with a label, that label shows your music to its fanbase and markets it towards their audience but the retention isn’t always fantastic. This means that you could release on ______ Records (not naming anybody in specific) and be shown to their 250,000 total followers, but that doesn’t do much for you if you only make 1,000 new fans from it. Read more>>

Kaique Candido

I often say that every place I’ve worked has been going through some challenges, and I’ve had to push my creativity to the limit. I got into marketing and studied theater, so creating became a part of my daily life. During one of these jobs, something unusual happened. A Brazilian influencer with thousands of followers living in the U.S. came to New York to shoot a segment for her YouTube channel at a restaurant. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the chef didn’t show up to greet her. To avoid wasting her trip, she asked if I could film the segment with her. Read more>>

Sara Goldstein

I feel like the path of entrepreneurship is honestly just a lot of problem solving. I have found that there’s always a lesson to be learned and that defeat is never an option. I opened my figurative doors last September, the day after getting laid off from my corporate desk job. Since then I have gone through divorce, a severely broken back, surgery, zero steady income, and an inability to even walk around the block without my leg giving out. I was told last February that I might lose said leg if we didn’t operate on my back asap; we scheduled the surgery for April, and voila, I lost my insurance a couple days before due to my divorce being finalized. I won’t bore you with the details of my surgery saga, I am just thrilled to say that my operation went off perfectly last month and that my new insurance covered all of the $600,000 bill except $31. Read more>>