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.

Mary Baum

In 2022 I moved out of my studio in a vibrant art community and relocated to a new state. At the same time, my son was diagnosed with a rare and profound disability and I became a full time caregiver to him. My day to day quickly shifted from teaching and talking about art on a daily basis with students and other artists, to immersing myself in therapies for my child and attempting to evolve myself into a new person capable of being the mother/therapist/advocate that I knew he needed. I went from being very involved in the artworld to being so far outside of it that many days I hardly felt like an artist at all. My work needed to be more pertinent to my everyday experiences with child care and child development, I needed to be able to do it from my home, to pick it up and put it down at a moment’s notice, and it needed to be safe for my child to be around. Read more>>

Brandy Herren

Over the past two decades I have honed my skills, added to my portfolio in multiple ways depending on where we were posted as a foreign service family, and increased confidence in my craft to the point that I finally was comfortable calling myself a professional photographer. I had success selling prints of Belgian sights to our colleagues and peers in Brussels. I started taking portrait clients and eventually became more comfortable doing those sessions. During a posting in northern Virginia, I took a job as a preschool photographer and continued doing portrait sessions with high school and college seniors referred to me by friends. My husband took a two year assignment in Iraq, and I was looking forward to going home and starting my photography business in earnest in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Read more>>

Icebreaker

One of the most unexpected problems we faced when filming season 2 was casting. Because the concept is so new, not many people really know what ICEBREAKER is and they were reluctant to be a part of it.

It’s not a short film, so it wasn’t as easy as finding two or three actors, we needed TEN actors for season two. Which we accomplished… sort of.

It was the Thursday before our Saturday shoot when one of our 10 contestants let us know they wouldn’t be able to make it. Read more>>

Jessica Lily

For years, I had a quiet, unserved desire to paint a fantasy portrait of my daughter. She was young and had been telling us at every holiday that the only gift she wanted was an inhabitable, life sized, up-to-the-moon, baby-doll unicorn palace. Read more>>

Derriel Dixie

One of the most unexpected challenges I’ve faced in my role as Director of Communications for the Healthy 22nd Street Community Garden has been finding effective ways to engage our local community and explain the importance of food sovereignty and education. Many of the residents in our area face systemic barriers, including limited access to fresh, affordable food, and addressing these challenges requires not only providing resources but fostering a shared understanding of their importance. Read more>>

Douglas Goldfein

One of the most unexpected challenges I’ve faced is trusting staff to carry out my vision and execute the curriculum that I know works so well. As a business owner who’s deeply involved in every aspect of the program, it was tough to delegate and ensure that coaches could match my level of passion and attention to detail. To address this, I developed a comprehensive training program inspired by my experience as a coach trainer with Skyhawks. This helped set clear expectations and gave my staff the tools and confidence to deliver our unique curriculum. Read more>>

Abril López Ruiz

Moving to New York, of course, brought a lot of challenges forward, however, it was my dream ever since I was a literal child so I was truly excited to take on these challenges. I was always a very outgoing kid. Trying new things, putting myself out of my comfort zone brought such a rush that I couldn’t get enough of it and I wouldn’t say moving to New York itself was a challenge however, it is something that I didn’t realize until now after living here for two years, is how much I drifted away from my identity. How much I started adopting new American ways, and a new point of view, and I am deeply appreciative and thankful for having the opportunity to be able to experience those things. Yet losing your ground, losing your culture losing the things that made a part of you that you didn’t even realize made a part of you because you were so used to, it’s weird to look at when looking back, like looking at a ghost. Read more>>