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.

Caleb Baldwin

One of an unexpected issue I’ve had is rather personal. It’s been two years since I lost a relative very close to me , but I still ponder to this day. Close to me that of a sister , unexpectedly , a titular motive had disappeared from my life. It was hard to focus. I had questioned myself , questioned my time for being here but I also felt rooted. Read more>>

Mike Pope

First and foremost, I would like to state that the past 2 and a half years have hit each and every one of us in significant ways, many people have lost loved ones, and have had their lives changed forever in some form or fashion since the onset of Covid-19. Read more>>

Kalyn Hardman

I certainly did not expect my gender identity to change in 2020. And I never could have expected the ways that would not only challenge but elevate my acting career. In the onset of nearly any acting career, a huge factor is your type, essence, and the way you look. Let’s just say my type went from the lipstick wearing best-femme-friend to the self-assured computer hacker rocking a bare face and androgynous button up. Read more>>

Ashley Wilson

One major small business challenge has been finding manufacturing partners who maintain our high qulaity control standards, while meeting deadlines, and who can scale production with a growing business. I have worked for over a year to bring our Creative Learning Table to market. Read more>>

Gadrien Williams

In the words of one of my favorite artist of all time Andre 3000, “you can plan a pretty picnic, but you can’t predict the weather.” Back in November of last year I was halfway finished editing my movie, “You Got It” a lot of hard work, money and sleepless nights went into the making of this movie. Read more>>

Jenna Driscoll

The most unexpected and biggest problem I’ve faced as an artist has been my back injury. In addition to drawing, I was also working two other manual labor jobs for several years. Over time, my back pain was increasing and I eventually found out my spine was abnormal and lacking the support it needed to do the heavy lifting I was doing every day. Read more>>

Friedman Twinkies

One of the most unexpected problems about being in the industry is that most people don’t understand that you have to be flexible! A lot of the films do NOT have a call time until the night before, sometimes they notify you in the middle of the night. Read more>>

Scott Onu?

For me unexpected problems is something that effected everyone, COVID. I remember it was 2019 and I was reaching a creative high I had never felt in my career. That year I won a A3C contest and performed at a showcase. I was recording amazing demos with dope artists from Vermont, Alabama, & even Australia. I was putting in concrete moves for my debut project. I had a whole marketing plan in place that involved people, but that was put to an abrupt halt due to quarantine. Read more>>

Jillian & Jeremy Hinskton

There are three unexpected problems which occurred within our first year of business which have paved the path we are on today. We realize this is a lot to unpack, so feel free to only pick one that best fits your audience. ;-) 1. Becoming travel YouTubers three weeks before the world shut down (COVID) with no advance notice and no backup plan. Read more>>

Jacob Perkins

When I first started to catch-a-fire my business was going to be successful is when feedback September 2021, my business was found on google. I started thinking of how I would manage multiple jobs, should the opportunity come up, I needed to start thinking of who would be my #2 on productions. Read more>>

Alyssa Rome

I was only 27 years old when I started my own interior design business, and some of the obstacles I faced while entering the industry were completely unexpected. As naive as this sounds – I had no idea that it would be so difficult to be taken seriously, especially in the construction world. I had clients frequently ask me how old I was or when I graduated from college, and experienced everything from condescending explanations to getting called “honey” by general contractors and builders. Read more>>

Marquita Gooch-Voyd

The pandemic was definitely an unexpected occurrence. It was definitely an eye opening experience. I had to implement several safety protocols to continue to marry people especially requiring masks and routinely getting COVID tests. The upside of such a tragedy is the fact that it made many couples rethink their wedding plans and choose an elopement over a huge wedding. Read more>>

Anthony Ginsberg

First, here is the backstory. In 2019 I undertook a uniquely structured effort to register homeless citizens to vote in Broward County, Florida. These citizens were both sheltered and unsheltered, though predominantly the latter. The unique aspect was that this was an ongoing effort addressing each element of the voter engagement process–document requirements; registration (consideration of address and past felony issues); ability to update registration; information about the voting process; and access to the polls. Read more>>

George Baines

First things first never quit no matter the predicament or the adversity you’re facing ! Something I’ve learned over the years becoming a musician , is that you’re going to run into them . Wether or not you start off with the proper connections or not its all about your resolve. Read more>>

cristobal Toral

Since I started the business in the US, we faced multiple challenges including clients going under, 2008 financial crisis, 2010 earthquake in Chile, trademark issues with brands, covid pandemic, etc. I would say that out of all of those issues probably the most challenging was the covid pandemic because business increased but we had issues getting dry goods to our facilities in Chile and then getting containers to ship from Chile. Read more>>