The chapters in our stories are often marked by wins and losses. Getting a new job, getting fired. Getting a life-threatening medical diagnosis, beating it and getting a clean bill of health. Too often, due to a societal expectation of modesty and humility we are discouraged from talking about the risks we’ve taken that led to those ups and downs – because often those risks draw attention to how we are responsible for the outcomes – positive or negative. But those risks matter. Those stories matter. We asked some brilliant entrepreneurs, artists, creatives, and leaders to tell us those stories – the stories of the risks they’ve taken, and we’ve shared them with you below.
Becke Sneed
I had been in the industry for almost 30 years and always as an employee. My friend Julie whom I had worked with at 2 salons previously had bought an existing rental salon. She was a driving force for me to venture out on my own and start my own business. I had no idea that when I finally made the leap that 7 weeks later we would be shut down with a pandemic. I was so worried not knowing how this was going to affect me, my family or my finances. As it turned out, the risk I took was the best decision for my family and my career. I have never been happier and excited about my career. It has given me the chance to build something on my own and as a bonus, allowed my husband to quit his 9-5 and pursue his passion in woodworking. My advice to those who have fear about starting something new is take the risk. I’m so glad I don’t have to ever wonder what if. Read more>>
Melanie Shmois
I followed a very traditional path in terms of education. I went to an all girls private high school, then a Jesuit college, got nominated to skip a year of college and start my graduate school training early, then on to an internship, got hired from the hospital that I interned with, then worked for several years before starting my own private practice. My private practice was thriving when on a whim (which later I figured out was an intuitive hit) I decided to fly to California for 8 days to become a life coach. Read more>>
Stephanie Nash
Staying in Agriculture. A huge risk with our industry. Not only staying in an industry, I am passionate about but adding my beliefs into my love for country music. The last two years I have built a following some some do not agree with but I will say it has made me such a proud person. I am not following the narrative or what is popular, I get to be me. Read more>>
Eliane Treadwell
I recently decided to change the structure of my business and how I operate. I knew these changes would impact some of my clients. One of my many changes was to no longer offer manufacturing services. My goal, since I started my company, has been to help small businesses develop and own their own formulas. I knew that manufacturing is one of the biggest challenges that most small businesses face. Many manufacturing companies require large quantities and most small businesses can’t afford the cost of that. I wanted to help my clients not only formulate but launch their products. Read more>>
Neicy Huddleston
Quitting my job to start VA By Neicy is the biggest risk I’ve taken thus far. It was an idea far in the back of mind but when I couldn’t take the BS of my previous job anymore, I knew it was time to step out on faith and do my own thing. I didn’t have a solid plan, just a particular set of skills that I was good at (shoutout to Liam Neeson). I’d been doing VA work since about 2015 just as a side hustle. I never thought that it would bring me to this point. Read more>>
Keymah White
I was 17 years old when I took my first flight. Alone. To Texas. To chase my dreams of becoming a superstar. I was only a junior in high school. Prior to this happening, I Auditioned for a Girl Group by the name of “Karma”, a singing group based in Memphis, Tennessee that comprised of 3 young talented girls, but at the time, was in need of a third member. When I First Auditioned for the group, I was told no. I was taller than the other girls and my style didn’t match the look of the group. I was also told my voice would stick out. Ultimately, I didn’t fit into the image of what was created for the group. I went home discouraged but back to my normal high school life. Read more>>
Eleonore and Verginie Tchakarova
Hello to all the readers of Voyage MIA Magazine. We want to start by thanking Voyage Mia for inviting us for an interview and allowing us to shed more light on behind the scenes of the lives of professional athletes. Our names are Eleonore and Verginie Tchakarova, we are twin sisters, and we are professional tennis players from Bulgaria. When it comes to the life of a professional tennis player, anyone you ask that is currently on tour will have at least one crazy story to tell. Read more>>
Alexis Nicole
One of greatest and best risks I’ve taken if the decision to make my YouTube channel. Looking back 5 years ago I had no idea that creating videos on my iPhone and posting to an audience of 0 would one day completely change my life. I had held off for some time before creating my videos for fear of embarrassment or my channel going nowhere. Eventually I decided enough was enough and I was going to make my videos regardless if anyone watched them or not. I went out on a limb and over the years it has really grown into something beautiful. Read more>>
Sheryl Ness
I’m a nurse by training and have worked at Mayo Clinic for over 30 years. At the mid-point of my career, I felt a longing for something more from life. I had a great career, but my personal life was missing something. My marriage had ended after 10 years, and I felt I had missed out on having my own family. For this reason, my life plan unexpectedly changed. Instead of dwelling on what I was missing, I decided to focus on the positive aspects of my situation. I was free to do things that others at this stage in life did have the opportunity to do. Read more>>
Shaun Jones
The biggest risk I took was back in 2020 when I left me 9-5 job and decided to move my family to Waco Texas without knowing the outcome . Read more>>
Claudia Cárdenas
When I was 26, I got married, and as the time was going by, I started felling not so well in this new life. When I was little, I heard that all you had to do in life was study, get a stable job, then get married, have kids, continue studying to get a master´s degree, build a successful career, buy a house, buy a farm and this would be enough to live a good life. No one told me that I needed to discover myself, my true being. Read more>>
Lisa Jennings
There have been quite a few risks taken with regards to Wildly Different! The first was Jane and I gathering the courage to go out on our own to open the company. It was a risk to see if our fantastic friendship could even survive a partnership – everyone told us partners NEVER work. But we are blessed and have never had a fight in the 19 years we’ve been in business! The biggest risk, however, came when the pandemic hit. Read more>>
Kim Cook
I have taken a huge risk and am betting on myself by quitting my 9 to 5 and working for myself full-time! I felt the urge and calling to let my last job go when I could no longer further someone else’s dream, while mine lay dormant. It just felt like a piece of me was dying on the inside. So, while I enjoyed the field I worked, I couldn’t do it any longer. Took the leap of faith and resigned. This has been one of the scariest things I have ever done. Without a “backup” plan. All bets are on me. Trusting myself to see it through and come out more successful on the otherside!! Read more>>
Tiffany Baskett
Opening my practice and studio is one of the biggest risks I have ever taken. I have always been the scenic route type of person because I may hear what others say but I like to make my own decision or find out for myself. That has also taken me to dark places in life but without them I wouldn’t be who I am today. I was working full time and running around town teaching up to 26 classes per week when the opportunity to become a trainer for Buti Yoga and then to open my studio opened up for me. I left my “9-5” which was actually 60+ hours most weeks to pursue my dreams. At first, the thought of having a space of my own was thrilling and also terrifying! Read more>>
Bria Goeller
At the start of this year, I decided not to list prices on my art … 1 – As part of my little mission to make art accessible to everyone. I work with a lot of low income folks in my design practice and with my arts organizing work, so I’ve seen first-hand how the people who need art most are the ones who can’t afford it. I use my art to help myself – and others – feel less alone, so I’ve always felt that it’s something to be shared. Read more>>
Pam Ferworn
I owe part of my new career – that as an artist – to my youngest nephew Charlie. Charlie is one of the sweetest little boys you’ll meet. He has red hair like his mom, loves hugs and to bake. And Charlie has autism. When the world shut down during the pandemic, and schools closed or went online, Charlie’s education was at risk. So my youngest sister, Kim, and I blended of our skill sets (Speech-Language Pathologist and Public Relations) to develop a series of creative lesson plans for Charlie to keep him on track for his education. Some of which involved me putting my art and photography skills to work to create the materials we needed. Read more>>
Helen Chan
The biggest risk I took was to leave everything behind in Hong Kong the second time after “failing”and come back to Atlanta to start from scratch as a Director. In 2019, after my US working visa expired. I went back to Hong Kong and got a stable job in Film with the portfolio I built as a Producer Designer. However, deep inside I knew very clearly that it was not what I wanted. Read more>>
Jammie Treadwell
The biggest risk I’ve taken was leaving a corporate job and going into the medical marijuana business with my parents in Florida. While my family has been farming in Florida for more than one century, it was a risk to start a business centered around a new and complicated industry. It’s a complicated business because of the regulatory oversight and complicated processes; however, we did it so well we sold the business to an industry giant. But all of that set us up for the second risk we took, launching a hemp CBD company at the start of a global pandemic. Read more>>
Swanda Warren
EARresistible by SwansDesign was birthed in November of 2018 after coming off a fast with a friend. I wasn’t sure how I was going to conceptualize the revealed idea. I was taking a risk while trusting a higher being. I knew I had the gift of creativity, but I wasn’t comfortable with how to create earrings. However, through trial and error, I quickly learned. I get inspiration from EVERYTHING which spills out into my bold and beautiful statement earrings. My designs are from my hEARt to your EAR! Read more>>
Terence Penny
I remember early in my career when i had just graduated from college I was broke and Sally Mae was on my A**. I was stressed out working at a community centre not making any money and struggling to to get a job in the field I went to school for. I had 400 dollars left to my name and I took a risk with it. I spent that last 400 dollars on 200 blank CDs and put my EP entitled”TP the EP” on it. I remember being so nervous and thinking I made a stupid decision, regardless of that I told myself I would sell 200 CDs in a month. 30 days later and I sold all the CDs and my name started to buzz locally as an artist. Read more>>
YungM3tro
The biggest risk I’ve taken as been doing music full time. I always knew I wanted to be an artist, even when I was a little kid, but it wasn’t until recently I started prioritizing it. Just a few years ago I was a college student, and I was going to a school hours away from the city I was living in. I would commute daily back and forth between college and the studio just so I can record and make music everyday. I realized as long as I made music a hobby or a second priority I would never be as successful as I wanted to be. I decided to stop going to school and pursue music full time, and I haven’t looked back since. Read more>>
Taylor Perry
With being an entrepreneur, in the beginning you are bound to have to take risks. I started my hair business in 2019 and had always had a 9-5 job as my main source of income. In november of 2021 I began working for a jewelry company. It was okay at first until I kept running into different obstacles. That was not where I was meant to be. I grew more and more uncomfortable in the work space daily. They wanted me to continue to be a full time worker but my business was growing and I was finding myself not having enough time to aid to my personal business. Read more>>
Caroline Herring
Up until last year, I spent 8+ hours a day in front of a computer crunching numbers, coding javascript, and designing data visuals to depict digital marketing performance to high profile brands that many of us know. It sounds impressive saying it now, and truthfully it was considering just 3 years prior I’d graduated from college with a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Photography. Somehow I’d wiggled my way to the side of marketing that couldn’t be any less creative. Read more>>
Dr. Maryann Rivera-Dannert
I’ve taken numerous risks throughout my life. However, the most recent risk I took was leaving the safety and comfort of a job I loved in Austin, TX and returned back home, to Upstate NY. I’m originally from Rochester, NY. In 2017 we made the decision to relocate to Central Florida. The one thing I absolutely loved about FL was the proximity to the beaches. During the four years in FL I made some great friendships, my business grew and I enjoyed my job. Once our youngest child moved out we took another leap of faith and relocated once again. To Austin, TX. Read more>>
Dr. Theresa Osmer
FLOW Chiropractic opened its doors in 2016, working out of a room in a co-working space. Owning your own business is an incredible risk and a leap of faith. Faith that you have what it takes to wear all the hats and also know when it is time to let someone else wear some of those hats. As the practice grew, we brought on an office coordinator towards the end of 2019 and my husband, who is also a chiropractor, joined the practice in 2021. Now it was our joint income that depended on the success of our business. After 6 months, we decided to take an even bigger risk and purchase our own building. Read more>>
Michael Skillern
The largest risk I’ve taken to date was to move overseas for work. At the time I had never considered moving overseas. But, a chance connection on Facebook ended with me crossing the Pacific in search of something new. My mother had just died. I had completed two unsuccessful contracts at jobs in Atlanta. I was also battling personal struggles that were stifling my career as a concert percussionist. I wasn’t sure what I needed. But I knew I needed something else. 1 year later, I married my wife Kim, and she joined me. That Facebook connection remains one of my best friends to date. If you’re reading this, you know who you are. Read more>>
Howie Shareff
In 2005, I read an article that asked the reader to consider whether they venture into projects to make money or help people. At the time, I had an idea to produce educational materials and programs that share the benefits of gentle yoga to people in my age group, aging Baby Boomers. My body was challenged from arthritis and yoga was helpful to me in getting comfortable. My intention and action was to make a video with my teacher that capable and challenged individuals could utilize. My passion to help others was blinding. The teacher agreed. I assembled a program that she approved, a team to produce the video, a business to generate the minimum 1,000 DVDs. Read more>>
Trizia Vargas
The biggest risk I’ve taken to date was choosing to go on a completely new path and follow my passion for nail art instead of the path I had been on for a long time that lead to me being a pharmacist. I’ve always done extremely well academically and was finishing up my associates in biology and on my way to enroll in pharmacy school when nail art came into the picture. Nail Art started out as something that I did just for myself and evolved into a skill that not only made me happy but i was able to monetize. The freedom having my own business has given me means everything to me, as a mom it means I can completely structure my work life around my kids and not the other way around. Creating for a living is a blessing and the sky is the limit to where I want to go with my craft. Read more>>
Melonee O’Keefe
I chose this question because the last time I participated in an interview with you I was talking about how I needed to take a risk to push my business and how important risk is. Well here I am now, having taken that risk. I quit my part-time job 3 months ago and went full time into my own business. It was so scary. I was so nervous about the unknowns and the risk of losing the guaranteed paycheck, but I did it. I knew I needed to if my business was going to have a chance of truly going anywhere. If I wanted to expand my customer base, where and how I was selling, and work further toward the dream of a brick and mortar I needed to be able to dedicate 100% of my working hours to my own business. Read more>>
Tara Caputo
Hi my name is Tara Caputo. I’m spiritual advisor, owner of My Little Angel Holistic Shop, author of Prayers for Guidance and co-host of The Coffee & Sage Show (Podcast). I am a simple person who appreciates life and tries to let others find their path. I have worked all my life, whether it be small jobs to big corporate jobs. But I never expected to own my own business. I always felt it would be hard, stressful, time consuming and possible financial stress if i failed. Read more>>
Meiliana Sexton
As an entrepreneur I feel every step i take is a risk. However, the reward always out weights the fear. I truly believe I bring the highest quality service for my clients, the feedback I received drives me to be at my best at all times. When i branched out on my own, it ways without a doubt one of the scariest thing ive done. However, to think if i would have let the fear and anxiety win. I would be missing out on all the blessings that is my life today. I have the best clients, amazing employees and a sense of fulfillment beyond my wildest dreams. Read more>>
Christine Schaub
The risk in starting any new business venture is financial. Since it takes an average of two years to see any monetization from a social media platform, the months of hemorrhaging money for staff, supplies, advertising, and equipment seem endless. It’s a heads-down, plow-through, remember-your-dream kind of venture. Painful, but necessary for the reward of success. Read more>>
Haley Applegate
Taking a risk can be a big deal and scary for a lot of people! Back in 2020, I took one of the biggest risks of my life by starting my own business during a global pandemic. Ever since I was a little girl, my dream has always been to own my own hair salon. Although the world was filled with uncertainty, I had an opportunity to make my dreams come true and went for it! I am the kind of person who puts 100% into anything I do and in July of 2020, I opened Prestige Hair Design in Jackson, MI. Read more>>
Aaron Hodges
A risk, seems as though my whole life I’ve been living one big long continuous risk. Even though I hesitate to call it a risk due to the Faith I have in God which is the only, and I mean absolute only reason I’m still afloat. There are many entrepreneurs out there at all different levels. Some successful, some failing, some that look successful but behind closed doors are struggling for their next breath. …and yes success means something different to everybody. Still, it’s no secret that the entrepreneur route is a risk in itself. Especially when you’re starting from scratch. Read more>>
Shannon Brush
I have taken several risks in my life so far. One huge risk for me that led me to my success today was making the decision to get out of college. I realized that I wanted my life to go in a different direction that I originally had planned. Instead of settling for a career that wouldn’t fulfill me or my life, and instead of racking up more student loans in the process, I decided to transition into working full time, and creating my content business on the side. I wanted to take control of my own time and my own career, and I felt the only way to do this was to start my own business. Read more>>
Ashley Spivey
From 2019 to 2021 I was still working for a large tech company as a Project Manager. I knew it wasn’t where I wanted to be. Mr. Claus™ and I talked everything over and in early 2021 I quit my Project Manager position after working there for 4 years. It was scary and everyone always tells you to take a leap of faith, but that is easier said than done. We are a blended family of 6 and going from a 2 income household to just 1 knowing we were going to need to invest additional money into the business to grow it, was absolutely terrifying. Read more>>
Dr. Dawn Ann Molina, DAOM
Why I Chose to Leave Technology to Pursue a Career in Preventive Health Care In my 20’s I was blessed to begin my professional career as a telecommunications engineer for an industry leader and fortune 500 company. In 2002 when I started my role, I was transplanted from the northeast to the southeast to support Florida, the Caribbean, and Latin America. It was an exciting time as new technology was emerging and segmented voice and date providers were beginning to coalesce. Read more>>
Tasonda Black
Taking a risk with starting a business was the biggest risk I’ve ever taken in my life. I decided to quit the corporate world to open my very own retail store because my son was recently diagnosed with autism and I felt I wasn’t being treated fairly in the corporate world. I didn’t like the favoritism employers had on certain employees and I needed to be more accessible to my son. I need to be at all of his appointments and treatments so I can help him get better. So I quit my job 9/1/2022 and opened my very own retail store 9/11/2022. I will say it has been very challenging but worth it. Read more>>
Tracy Savage
Well, when I first started designing and making jewelry in the early 2000’s, it was strictly a hobby. I was a stay at home mom with 4 awesome children. So, to say I didn’t have much time to dedicate to my hobby is an understatement. When I could find time to channel my creative energy, I would go out to the studio and just play with gemstones, pearls and metal. I invested in lots of cool tools, components and silversmithing classes…anything I could do to learn more and more about the art of jewelry making. Read more>>
Caitlin Wood
I started playing around with tie-dye about 2018. I was currently working at our local Pizza Hut as a shift manager and worked my way up to assistant. Not long after I became the assistant manager in 2019 I found out I was pregnant with my second child. I ended up getting all in my feelings about working 50 hour plus weeks and managing time with my at the time 8 year old son and a newborn. I ended up making the decision to leave my corporate job and stay home to pursue my own business. Read more>>
Sunday Coleman
For the most part my entire life has been subjected to taking risk. Being a risk taker is actually one of my most attractive attributes. Because I live with a chronic health condition, Sickle Cell Anemia, since birth I’ve learned and found the beauty in taking risk. My sickle cell condition has caused me to take risk many many of times. For instance, I’ve had to try a number of medical physicians, numerous surgeries, childbirth, relocating, indefinite leave of absence’s from work, starting a business, and the list goes on. Read more>>
Kendall Davis
Being an entrepreneur comes with risks. One of the biggest risks i’ve taken is doing what I want, how I want. When you rely on social media for e-commerce, it’s easy to fall into doing what others want to make a profit. Personally, i’ve always done what I enjoyed or liked. I remember for the longest time, I tried to use matching color pallets when creating, but in the long run it made all my design pieces look the same and boring. I couldn’t stick to a set pallet. A lot of business owners i’ve seen on social media really focus on the aesthetic of their pages. Read more>>
The Frst
Risks…Well a life in the music industry is pretty much all risk, even on the business or industry side…And of course you’d believe, at least I used to, that 1 hit song, or 1 major placement or cut could change everything…It certainly can, I mean Tarantino changed everything for us…But really the name of the game is continuing to do ‘your thing’ over and over and over again. The days of resting on your laurels are long gone. It’s 24/7 X 365 and if you can’t provide whatever it is that your audience is looking for, then they’ll go find it somewhere else almost instantly. Read more>>
Pamela Benson Owens
Over the last year I did a peace pivot. It was a huge risk because with that comes a smaller circle of support, less clients potentially, harder conversations and a reset on priorities. It was the best decision I ever made. A peace pivot is when you actually prioritize your peace in such a way that you execute it at all costs. By doing so, I’ve been able to show up in the world in a different way. Time is the one thing you cannot get back, I’ve not only reclaimed my time, I’ve unleashed an new and improved definition of self worth. Read more>>
Judy Jellison
I guess I have always been a bit of a rebel, but when it was time to begin to make my own living and pay my own bills, back in the late 60’s and early 70’s, I wasn’t quite sure how I was going to go about it in less than a traditional way. Yet, one day at 20 years old, in a very non traditional way, I was walking along and saw a flyer about a yoga teacher training course in the Bahamas. I had no clue what yoga was (in fact, not many people in the US knew about yoga in those days). But I intuitively knew that I was to be in that class. I somehow found the money for the airfare, talked to the school about allowing me to make payments, and off I went. Read more>>
Rachel Pru and Brooke Nelson N/A
We both left our stable jobs to start our very own company, an art company at that — there was definitely not a class offered in “how to start an art company” in college. We call ourselves “calculated risk takers”, and we started planning for this transition over a year before we did it. We started with weekly meetings with action items and due dates. We each assigned ourselves just 1-2 simple tasks per week and focused on a few things instead of the huge list. We’d meet in Rachel’s small SF apartment in our sweats, and started with a website and contacting SF City Hall to obtain our business license. We started with a general partnership and then switched to a LLC once we saw we had a viable business that could pay for the $800 fee. Read more>>
Yazmin Castellano
It is scary when you are taking a leap of faith into the unknown. Leaving all the material things that brings you security: marriage, job, house. Leaving behind what brings you safety within yourself: thoughts, behaviors, ideas, beliefs. All of that just to follow your instincts. Accepting the fact that you don’t know who you are, what you like and dislike. Have the courage to rediscover the women that has been screaming inside of you for so many years. That woman wanting to come out however; doing so will result in breaking with many beliefs, breaking generational cycles, loosing friends. Read more>>