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.

Sheila McVeigh

I purchased Weems Gallery and Framing November 1, 2019. Weems had a great reputation for 40 years. I had been working in corporate america for most of my career and was ready for a change. I thought of all the businesses I could start or buy, which one would give me a better quality of life and more enjoyment. As a previous HR director, I dealt with a lot of employee issues on a daily basis no matter what company I worked for. It took a toll on my health and mental state. When I found Weems Gallery and Framing was for sale, it was an uh ha moment. Where else could I find a large collection of art in a local gallery where staff and customers were happy everyday? Read more>>

Nilsa

In May of 2012, while living in Chicago, I had the shock of my life. I was a healthy and young woman, and still had a stroke! I was tested and scanned for any possible disease or condition that would explain right arm numbness and weakness due to the occlusion of my left internal carotid artery. Tests were inconclusive and the plan of care was a “wait and see” approach for the foreseeable future. I was to stay healthy, not get pregnant, and have a yearly MRI/MRA. Read more>>

Tonita And Iralynn T&I Music Media Singers /Song Writers

Our unexpected problems include being prepared to face disappointment head-on and accomplishing the assignment alone. In July of 2024, we released our latest album entitled “Ready”. As we planned our release, we came upon a couple of unexpected issues. As the release date dawn near, our musician was unresponsive and we were forced to decide to perform without background vocalists. It was less than two weeks away from our big performance, and still no musician. Creating this project. Read more>>

Celeste Contreras Skierski

It was 2020. It was my second semester of graduate school to earn an MFA (master of fine arts), focused on print and book arts, and after a lockdown and being in Covid 19 era, we were finally allowed back into our libraries, our studios, the classrooms, and I sat down with facsimiles from 16th century codices from Mexico, where are my maternal side of my family is from and I witnessed pages and pages rows and rows of accordion style books, full of drawings, full of ink, full of paint, full of codes, full of images, full of logographs, and I wept, and I cried over those pages. Read more>>

Bones Mohr

Living in a Time Where Creation Is Profit-Motivated vs. When Creation Was About Making the Best Thing You Could. I’m nearly halfway through my life now, and I realize I was born at the perfect time—right in the middle of a shift. I got to experience the birth of new technologies when most things still felt pure, before corporations learned how to optimize and profit from every single facet of art. Read more>>

Regina Galiyeva

One of the biggest challenges I’ve faced was having to relocate out of state twice due to family needs. Neither move was my choice, but I had to put family first. Meanwhile, my business remained in Las Vegas—which, in the wedding planning industry, made things incredibly difficult. This is a personal, hands-on profession where being local matters. Read more>>

Ze Wang

I would say is the decision of your career. I am graduating this summer so I’m thinking about starting my own business or working for a brand. among my classmates, some of them have already started their own brand. Peer pressure is not bothering me that much, I just want to make a more suitable decision. starting a business needs money or investment. fashion is that industry that looks fancy and glowing, but behind, sweat and tears. meanwhile, an internship in London is usually unpaid, and it takes time to work from an intern to a formal designer. Read more>>

Heaven Parkinson

The most unexpected problem we ran into was from our biggest project – the Enchanted Mushroom Tarot Deck. When you’re an artist trying to make it all work, you always think the bulk of your efforts is going to be in the creation process. But producing products, especially ones with very specific parts, is such a challenge! After over a year of drawing, designing, and researching, the biggest hurdle was production. Read more>>

Snow Princess

There was a moment early in my journey that shook me. I had just finished a brunch performance—choreographed down to every beat, wink, and move—when the organizer pulled me aside, and bluntly said: “You just stuck to one spot, You should’ve worked the crowd. Read more>>