Whitney Kay | Brand & Social Media Strategist & Coach
The biggest problem I have ever faced in business was the problem of feeling stuck. I had been in business for a number of years and I was really starting to feel like I wasn’t going anywhere. Every time inspiration struck, it would quickly be followed by the realization that I hadn’t done anything with my ideas in quite some time. Not only did I have no motivation to make any changes, but it also came to my attention that I didn’t actually have the money to do anything even if I wanted to. This stuck feeling was made worse when I realized that the people around me seemed so much further ahead than me in life and business which, of course, left me wondering how they were able to accomplish so much so soon. Read more>>
Tara Arseven | Wedding and portrait photographer
Oh my… I’m not sure if the wedding industry is ready to hear this story – but once, I had to take over an entire wedding because the wedding planner sucked and almost ruined the couples evening. Long story short, I once helped this newbie wedding planner based in DFW – and she was asking for someone to help her with flyers for an open house she was attending THE NEXT DAY. Me being me, I helped her all night, until 1-2 am or so. I delivered her the design and that was it. Not a proper thank you, nothing. Read more>>
Emily McClure | Family & Senior Photographer
Managing expectations is very important in the photography business. When you are working with families, or seniors, you’re photographing the most valuable people in their life. I’ve found that from the start, you manage their emotions and expectations. I do that through clear communication in their automated workflow pieces, a contract agreement outlining what they receive, and what I will do, and how the process will finish for the client. Once a client knows what they need to know, it frees them up to consider what other concerns or questions they might have, and now they have an avenue to ask. Read more>>
Ryan Greenspan | Professional Paintball Athlete
Over the course of the last several years, we have dealt with everything from R&D roadblocks to vendor issues and everything in between. I am a partner in a paintball gun manufacturing business called Field One Paintball. We manufacture high end, electro-pneumatic machines that require a great deal of ingenuity. We pride ourselves on manufacturing in the US and that has become more and more difficult. We own two of our own machines that are run nonstop, but in order to scale up, we have run into a problem; the cost of machine time and anodizing (the process of adding color to raw aluminum) in the US has sky rocketed. Read more>>
Augustine Galindo | Physician Assistant | Entrepreneur
The unexpected twists and turns started at the very beginning of the practice. We were three physician assistants and one physician coming together to battle against a giant. Out of the four of us, none of us have ever been entrepreneurial previously. Ultimately, we didn’t really know what we were getting ourselves into. We worked for a competitor and desperately wanted to change the company’s culture from the inside out. As clinicians, we wanted to be part of a practice focused on the patient/provider relationship. It became evident that we would be unsuccessful at changing that company from within. Read more>>
Drew Hoffos | Chef / Owner
We were approached by a san francisco coffee chain to supply them with pastries for all of their san diego locations. we grew with them for 2 years and were executing 7 locations. we signed a lease to expand our operation to ramp up for the next 4 locations they had in the pipeline. And one day they called and said that to simplify things at a corporate level they were moving all pastry production to los angeles… Overnight we lost a huge stream of revenue and were stuck in a 5 year lease with a personal guarantee. we took a big risk with this company and took their word that they would stick with us, but it backfired. Read more>>
Lizzie Lumley | Owner and Lead Wedding Planner|
When I tell people that I am a wedding planner, the most common questions are had you had any bridezillas (luckily the answers to that is no) and what are some emergencies on the wedding day you have to handle? We have quite a few. We had a beach wedding, and the venue coordinator had promised the couple that the beach chairs, umbrellas, and people between the ceremony site and the water would be moved prior to ceremony start time. However, that was not the case even though I confirmed it with the venue prior. Read more>>
Samuel Joseph | Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Coach & Gym Owner
I own and operate a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gym (it is like judo and wrestling with choke-holds and submissions). It would be difficult to think of a small-business that would be more impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. When it hit America 2 1/2 years ago, it threatened to totally derail all of the momentum my gym had built and there was even the possibility that we would have to close our doors forever. The pandemic did close us for a month and when we were allowed to open, we had to offer 1on1 sessions and smaller group sessions until people felt more comfortable getting back to normal. Read more>>
Pat Blissett | Presiding Officiant
The Courthouse Wedding Chapel was designed to be a modern alternative to getting married in a courtroom or Judge’s office. Everything is kept Simple, Sweet and Short. Until the most unexpected challenge the Chapel has experienced in the seven years the venue has been business came along. Without question, the Pandemic stopped us in our tracks as it did many businesses. At the time the pandemic hit in February/March 2020, we were not sure what to expect. As Quarantines set in, our weddings dropped off to Zero. I was panic stricken. The nature of the business depends largely on County Clerks’ being open, issuing marriage licenses and information. Read more>>
La Trisa Edwards | Owner Hair Stylist & Personal Stylist
The most unexpected problems that I faced has been in the last 23months. It started in March 20 20 when the pandemic reared. I never assume that after being in business for 26 years that I would no longer be working 5 to 6 days a week. The entire world as we know it completely shut down due to this devastation. And I was not ready! This event has taught me to definitely get with the times so digitally was the way to go to keep your business running. In February 20 21 Texas had a freeze that totally took out my business as well as my home. I had both places to flood on the same day. Read more>>
Carolyn Young | Native American Artist | Choctaw Nation
Letting go of the wheel. After more than 20 years as a potter, both my hands developed chronic tendinitis. As it became more difficult and painful to wedge, center, throw, and carve, I had a decision to make. What was I willing to give up and how would I move forward? After some soul searching, I decided to give up the wheel. That meant no more mugs that had become so popular and no more lidded jars with intricate carvings & tiny sculptures on the lid. I wasn’t willing to give up clay, but I had to develop a body of work to replace my very successful thrown work. Read more>>
Jodi McShan | Florist
As with many businesses, COVID has affected our business in unexpected and surprising ways. From supply chain issues to workforce, it has been a trying couple of years on many levels. No one expected COVID to change the world (and our industry the way it has), but it has been eye-opening and allowed for a new discovery of the beneficial effects of flowers. After Dallas shut down last year, we immediately got busier – when people couldn’t travel or see loved ones, flowers were the perfect way to express love and care. With time more and more people adapted to working from home, and they discovered what science has already taught us – flowers and plants help increase your mental health! Read more>>
Meet Vivian Valenty | Ph.D. Organic Chemist, Inventor & Entrepreneur
I started my business in 1990 inventing marketable products that solve problems. Because of the investment capital needed to bring products into the market, I decided not to sell them under a brand that I own, but to build the business manufacturing them. I incorporated VB Cosmetics in 1993 and sold the products to start-up marketing companies in the beauty industry under their own labels. It took me 14 years to realize that I had to build my own brand to have any chance of retiring with a positive, enduring, lifetime legacy. Read more>>