You’re working hard, things are going well, piece by piece you’ve built a life you are proud of, you’ve overcome obstacles and challenges, beat the odds and then you find yourself at the center of an unexpected dilemma – do you risk it all to keep growing? What if growing means leaving the job you worked so hard to get or the industry you worked so hard to break into? How we approach risk often has a huge bearing on our journey and so we’ve asked some of the brightest folks we know to share stories of risks they’ve taken.

Sofia de la Sota

A big risk I took was moving away from my home country of Argentina. I decided at young age that I needed more, and I began traveling abroad in my early twenties. I eventually landed in Hawaii for a few months before pursuing my PhD, and ended up meeting the most incredible man (who is now my now husband) and we were married a few short months later. Read more>>

Ilana Held

The biggest risk I ever took was probably moving to the UK all by myself at the age of 21, in order to pursue music. For me, it was kind of a no brainer and I didn’t realize what I had done until I got there. I remember there was a moment when I finally arrived in my new apartment halfway across the world, where I was like “okay, don’t panic. Just see it through,” and I did. What happened next were four years of creative development, adventure, love, heartbreak and suffering that made me who I am as an artist. My high school art teacher once told me that art is all about taking risks and after all these years, I’ve realized she was right! Read more>>

Robert Corrall

The biggest risk I took in my career was stepping out on my own and starting my own company. At my previous company, I helped grow the business and become a minority owner. However even as a partner, it was still not my company and I couldn’t fully control the direction and my own destiny. I took the plunge to give back my partnership and took a bet on myself. This decision was one that worked out both financially and personally, and while it was a hard decision, and there were times early on when I may have questioned the choice, looking back it was certainly the right move. Read more>>

Teddy Van Gough

My journey has been an amazing one. I aspire to the one of the souls that help to inspire people to follow their dreams. I’ve been a barber for 13 long years. I made countless sacrifices to achieve all that Ive accomplished so far in life. I reached a place in life where I found myself searching for more. I am a constant student, always looking for growth opportunities. I am actually, in the words of rapper, Joey Bada$$, I am addicted to growth and development. Read more>>

Monet Thomas-Shaw

Taking a risk, I knew I want to own a hair salon. I took a risk at the age of 21 and opened my own salon. I took a chance and 22 years later, my business continues to grow. I went to real estate school and start buying and selling real estate I was scared and thinking what if this don’t work, but I was fearless and took a risk. Today I’m invested in over 6 resistance and commercial properties and have help many homeowners buy and sale home. I’ve helped people own real estate who never thought they would own a home. Read more>>

Chila Lynn

I always wanted to come to the United States and bring my music here, for a Cuban girl to dream of being an international artist singing and writing spanish and english Pop/R&B/Latin songs is a distant fantasy because in my country there is no music industry capable of giving you visibility that you dream in my music genres, so it was difficult to take a path in which all the odds are against you but I never gave up and I am very grateful for everything I have achieved. Read more>>

Veronica Vale

Three years ago, I was working a job in an art museum. It was a good job, close to home, in a beautiful setting, and had a good salary, healthcare plan, PTO and more. I had every reason to be completely satisfied with my life, but, nevertheless, there was an incessantly nagging voice inside of me that knew that I was meant to do something else instead. Read more>>

Shawna Wells

This is one of the hardest questions for me. In general, I think life is full of risks and everyday we make choices that take us slightly out of our comfort zone that force us to do things beyond what we consider as normal. I’ll share, though, that one of the defining risks of my career happened when I was graduating college. During my senior year, there came the point where it was time for me to answer the question “what’s next?” Many of my friends and classmates would be heading to Boston to start jobs since it was close and familiar. Me? I was going to Vegas, to play new cards and learn to be a teacher (pun intended). Read more>>

Molly Hodo

My husband and I design and create different wood products from area native woods and also exotic hard-woods purchased from a select few vendors in the San Diego area. Making functional art is first and fore-most important to us, but also just creating special pieces that people can enjoy in their home, office or as gifts for those special occasions. We specialize in one of a kind cutting boards, charcuterie boards, grazing boards, rustic live edge furniture, custom signs, fireplace mantels and much more. Read more>>

Yaasmeen Ahmad

In life risk is necessary for ones survival and quality of life. Risk requires an element of knowing ones purpose and having a degree of faith. It is the thrill and fear of uncertainty that gives it its allure. Growing up in the Germantown section of Philadelphia, I’ve always been a very creative and expressive girl. However, being brought up in a home that nurtured and prioritized education and “college appealing” extra curriculars, my phases of story telling and songwriting were done in private and kept concealed. Read more>>

Marshenia Francis

I was a beautician in Louisiana for over 13 years. I’ve serviced new and old clients by doing their hair and also body sculpting. Back in April of last year I felt that I needed change, I felt that I needed to rebrand my business in order to gain a larger clientele so I decided to move to Houston. Not really knowing anyone here and not knowing if these new faces would like my work I stepped out and made the move. Upon my arrival I started working different jobs that I really didn’t like but I had to do something that would keep the bills paid . I became so frustrated because I wasn’t doing what my heart really wanted to do but I was so scared of rejection I didn’t even want to hand out a card. Read more>>

Lola Renee

In March of 2020, right before the pandemic hit I took a risk and moved out of a home I shared with my kids & their father. I had no job & only enough money to pay the deposit & 1st month of my new apartment. I was a single mother of two knowing I had to change my current situation if I ever wanted to not only be successful but to be happy. Read more>>

Brittney Robinson

 

PCrain Designs

We all know that taking a risk can turn out to be a good thing or a bad thing, right? Well, with us and our business we took a huge risk to take it serious work less job hours and go in full time. We were able to lease an local office office space and work full time making our business flourish. It was the best and fulfilled experience we ever did (The Big Risk). After a year, and with the pandemic things slowed down our customers wasn’t coming out as much to shop and use our services because of the fear of COVID. We understood that wholeheartedly no one wants to get sick including us. Read more>>

Brittney Robinson

Taking a risk is scary, however, I’ve learned, making yourself uncomfortable with the unfamiliar is the fastest way to grow. I never expected to have a career paying 6 figures without a college degree at 21 years old. I had everything I could ever need or want, but I was unhappy. Something was always missing. I always felt homesick (in my penthouse) for a place I couldn’t identify. Read more>>

Diana Ruth Pemberton

I finished my undergraduate degree in December of 2014. Life post-graduation was fast-approaching and unwelcome; I had no job prospects, no idea what I wanted to do (apart from make art) and was just generally full of anxiety. I moved back home feeling defeated. My mom approached me one day with a job possibility: teaching English in Japan. Yes, I had studied abroad and traveled outside the country before, but this was different. It was a year long commitment, I did not speak Japanese besides ‘sushi’, nor did I have much teaching experience. Read more>>

Tyler Love

I first took a risk by leaving my 9-5 trucking job. I was working 12-14 hours a day, 5 days a week. I was making what I considered to be very good money at the time. Overtime after 8 hours a day. To a person that has a main agenda to go to work, do the job, go home & get paid, it doesn’t sound like a bad deal. But for me, I had aspirations of being in the studio working on music, whether it was working on beats or recording vocals, I had to make a decision. Spending time at work for more than half a day was taking up my time away from my passion. I found a contractual driving job where I could work when I wanted to. Read more>>

TIRA GRANT

One of the biggest risk I have taken was starting my business, Tira Lynn Events in 2017. I am a single mother of two. And very active in their school and after school activities, so timing was key for me. I knew I would not be able to devote time to my business until my youngest was somewhat finished high school. After years of dreaming of owning my own business, I finally stepped out on faith. Not knowing where to start, I invested in a mentor to help guide me thru the process. Read more>>

Erin Taylor

I (Erin) had a successful and thriving floral design business in California – we planned to moved to Oklahoma so Cliff could officially retire – things didn’t work out with the floral end, so we had to pivot and my efforts switched from florals to candles. We thought we would be the cute old couple at the Farmers Markets selling our candles on the weekends, but a higher power had a much bigger vision for us. Our candles became popular much quicker than we anticipated and production amped up quite a bit – so producing at home became a challenge – we found a space to move to that was MUCH larger than I had product to fill, or time to create enough to fill as I spent much of the first year we were here traveling back and forth between California fulfilling contracts that had been postponed. Read more>>

Karyn Elle

I think the biggest risk I have taken was launching my podcast and small business. I grew up wanting to be an entertainer, acting, dancing and telling jokes. I have always been a creative. I remember growing up in midtown manhattan and swinging songs I had written in my diary out of my bedroom window. As life progressed my passion for media and arts had to take a back seat. But it was always there. I remember taking my notebook to my daughters softballs games and spending my time there writing what will one day be my first drama series. After becoming an educator and raising my kids my passion to follow my passion began to ignite once again, only this time I was in the mental, emotional and physical space to be able to feed it. Read more>>

Yawa Mensah

The big risk that I have ever taken in my life was quitting my job to start my small business without any tangible knowledge of how to operate a business. Couple years ago, I have working as a lab manager for a contract research organization. Although I had a good paying job, I progressively grew tired of working there partly because I felt under-appreciated and the long hours I was working. Then the 2020 covid -19 crisis happened. Our workload more than tripled and we were struggling to keep up. The already long hours became longer and I wasn’t Ok with that anymore. My need for something new grew bigger. Read more>>

Mark Jones

I retired early after a long career in higher education, and I assumed I would need to work another job for 4-5 more years. Fortunately, we were able to work things out, and I did not have to do so. I wanted to write, or at least try it, but moving from public finance to writing was not something I had foreseen becoming successful. Read more>>

Christiaan McPherson

I moved to NYC when I was 17 with about $1200 in my pocket, a job at a bookstore and only a place to stay for week. I did not know anyone; I just knew it was the place I wanted to be. I took a leap of faith and was filled with naive optimism. I struggled the first year, couch surfing, trying to make enough money to survive. I never knew where I was going to live from day to day or if I was going to eat, but I knew I didn’t want to be anywhere else, and failure was not an option. I soon gained ground and called it home for 28 years. I have taken many leaps of faith since that time and every time I’m afraid to move forward I remember, if I can do that at 17, this is easy. Read more>>

Nachaye (Pep) Blanks (B.)

Taking risks are apart of getting ahead in life. Nothing worth having comes easily, you must put in your blood sweat and tears to reach heights you’ve never been to. In March of 2022, I gave up my past life for a new one. I moved to Dallas, TX from Detroit, MI with my daughter to reach a dream of building my career and a healthier lifestyle. It wasn’t easy because I was attending beauty school at the time for my cosmetology license, but I wasn’t happy because my passion was skincare. Read more>>

Alison Espinosa

My entire life, I feel, has been predicated on taking risks. My most life altering risk taken was becoming a farmer as an Afro Caribbean woman with no inherited land or familial agriculture experience. I became certified as a Veterinary Technician at 21 years of age in 2011 through a natural and kindred love and connection with animals and spent much of my time learning and studying them. I didn’t realize it would prepare me for the journey as a livestock specialist and farmer. The following years after certification I worked in the clinical veterinary setting whether it was companion animals (dogs, cats, rodents, birds) to more exotics and emergency veterinary medicine. Read more>>

Dustin Newcombe

Life is all about risks. If you take a risk, that’s the risk itself. If you don’t, you risk losing out on everything you could have gained had you’ve taken it. You’re taking a risk either way, so go chase down what makes you HAPPY first and foremost. Life is risky, you’ll make mistakes, you’ll fall down, you’ll get hurt. Is it worth always having to ask yourself “what if?” to avoid some heartbreak along the way? To me, no way in hell. I made the decision long ago that I was going to go after everything I wanted in life, damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead. Read more>>

Aaron Knipp

Most people within the company already know this but I was in finance for years. I had my MBA by 22, I was a partner at my firm at 27 and by every standard in typical society was very successful. I was chasing what I thought I should be chasing which was job security and status and that just isn’t going to fulfill you long term. There was one day in particular where we had a video crew coming out to film us for a commercial and I remember having this thought of “if I’m in this commercial I will stay at this job for the rest of my life”. Read more>>

Jessica Williams

Have you ever had a gut instinct that was so strong that you couldn’t get out of bed in the morning? Although, I loved the company I worked for at the time, enjoyed the 1.5-2-hour commute by bus and Bart, and it was no secrete…I was beyond exceptional at my role. Even loving what I was doing, I woke up every morning with my gut in my throat telling me I was supposed to go bigger. I didn’t have a plan; I hadn’t thought about being a business owner or entrepreneur EVER IN LIFE so it is safe to say this life chose me. Read more>>

Dumb Belles

Every part of this journey has felt like a risk. From starting the band with little to no experience, to releasing our very personal music, to investing so much time and energy into this project and growing together — still not knowing where or how its going to turn out. Read more>>

Kayla Freeman

I Remember sitting in my room at my grandmas house, with my phone and notebook just trying to finder out what I wanted to do with my life. I didn’t really know where I wanted to start so, I went online and did some research. My first idea was focused on something in beauty, because I had already started posting videos of different makeup looks on instagramtrying to find my way . I sat there and prayed about it all. As soon as I finished praying some beauty schools popped up. Read more>>

Cami Stafford

I think one of the biggest risks I’ve taken was starting my business. As a hair and makeup artist, you have to have the products to cover all skin types, & shades before you can even work. It’s a big investment. You also want to use quality products especially in bridal. It was a little scary having to invest so much into something not knowing if it would fail or succeed. Then there’s good lighting, chairs, brushes, etc. After you’ve invested all this money, you have to figure out a good price point for your services and travel. Read more>>

Sarah Lea

The greatest risk I’ve ever taken is putting every cent to my name into a business that I knew in my heart, the world needed. Going “all in” with all your money and all your faith, with no turning back, has been the greatest risk. However, taking that risk to build a brand that serves pets and their people at the core, with only the most loving and nurturing intention, has also been the greatest reward. Read more>>

Tiana Duncan

I quit my full-time director position with no job lined up, with limited savings, and left for Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, for eight weeks. Most melanated people understand the need to keep a job or have another job lined up before quitting. However, it is culturally looked down upon to be unemployed. I got to this place after relocating back to Seattle, Washington, from Atlanta, Georgia, for a promotion and to be closer to my family in the summer of 2014. Read more>>

David Kopp

When I was thirty years old, I moved to a new city. I was a teacher at the time, but there just weren’t any positions available. Bored and poor, I went to an open mic comedy night at a local pub. I watched as ten or so people from the crowd took their turn on stage, telling stories and throwing out one liners. I thought, “I could do that.” I was a drama teacher. I was used to being on stage. I was used to talking to people. How hard could it be? So I went home and wrote some jokes. Seven days later, I was the one telling the jokes. I had a good enough set not to quit. Read more>>

Gus Carrington

I look back at where I was taking the first steps toward planning what became our debut album, and I feel like that’s a completely different person. There was definitely risk involved in taking that leap, but sometimes you know in your gut you gotta go through with something. Comparatively, I’ve played in bands that were way more studio-ready than I was (without a consistent lineup of musicians) in The Stupid Reasons. Read more>>

Superstar DJ ROS

This is a story that is unfolding in real time so, this answer will have an air of “To Be Contined” to it.I’ve been primarily known as a DJ for the last 20 plus years. That profession has been the one that I have built a successful global brand upon. However, what most don’t know is that I relocated to Atlanta initially to continue making my way in the music business. At that time, DJing was more of a hobby rather than a primary focus. It just so happened that when music piracy wrecked the earning potential of many of us in the recording industry, my DJ career began to take off. I made the decision at the time to ride that wave and never looked back. Read more>>

Liv Charette

I’ve always believed that big rewards come from big risks so when I decided to pursue music professionally, I packed up my entire life and moved from one country to another. I grew up in Ottawa, Ontario, and while there is a music scene there, I knew I needed to be in a major music city to truly make my dreams come true. When I made to decision to move, I had already spent several years in college in Ottawa but didn’t love the trajectory I was on. After some intense planning, I transferred to Belmont University in Nashville, TN, and I’ve called the city home for about seven years now. Read more>>

Chris Perry

Starting Could Be Better came from pizza, but was really just an idea for two friends to expand their ideas to help local artists elevate themselves beyond being local. Whether it be booking shows at venues in Frederick, Maryland to putting their songs, thoughts, and opinions on a platform that is dedicated to lifting up their whole selves – it kind of…just happened. Read more>>

Jen Antill

When I was thirty-two, I decided to completely stop working for other people. I was ready to no longer have a boss. I did not have any savings, I did not have clients lined up, I only knew that I could no longer stomach having to work for someone else. This was after working two, one-night shifts at restaurants and deciding that I could also no longer serve tables. I had to completely go out on my own. I was ready. I was also, broke. Read more>>

René DeAnda

My sister tagged me on a post one day and said that the post reminded her of me, and that I should look into it. It was advertisement for a workshop where I could learn holistic stress management techniques. I didn’t have the money to reserve my spot, so I asked my boss if they would pay for me to go, I was turned down because it didn’t match up with “advising” enough. So, I called the number and I inquired about a payment plan, once again, I was turned down. Read more>>

Leslie Beasley

Years ago, I remember reading about a study that was done on people who were over 80 years old. If they could do life over again, what would they do differently? Taking more risks was one of their top 3 answers. This has always stuck in my mind. I lean towards risk-taking pretty naturally, but after reading about this study, it became a more intentional practice. You can’t take action on big dreams without taking risks. Read more>>

Haley Niichel

In 2018, I was hitting rock bottom. I loathed my corporate gig (even though it paid me extremely well). I was unhappy in my relationship, and I was harboring a secret cocaine problem and not-so-secret alcoholism. I was a long-time yogi, but felt a lack of meaning and purpose in my life. I felt empty inside, and nothing could fill this void. Read more>>

Kylee Barrett

I initially went to cosmetology school to pursue my dream of doing hair, something I’ve always wanted to do since I was a little kid. I have always been into the beauty industry, I would spend hours with myself or friends doing hair, make up, eyebrows, and everything beauty. Read more>>

Dr. Susan Kaye

My risks began in 1967 when I graduated high school and told my mom I wanted to go to college. Her response was: “girls don’t go to college,” and she left the room. So I took my “acceptable” secretarial skills and landed a job as Secretary to the Dean of Men at Villanova University, where part of my salary was free tuition. My major was Human Services. I didn’t know what that meant, but I knew it was the field I wanted to be a part of. Read more>>

Nadia Sturdivant

Striving to swim up against a current in a world and industry focused on hustle, profit, and self-gain proves itself to be, unfulfilling. In the pursuit of “finding ourselves”, we as a mainstream culture have lost ourselves. It’s not new news, nothing social media of the age or the pandemic hasn’t shown us. In times of vulnerability, we’ve hoped and dreamt dreams, most times with great intentions, only to see most those dreams crash and burn. Read more>>

Kevin Mahoney

Being vulnerable and writing the songs that you will eventually play out is a huge risk for anyone. We’ve all found comfort in playing with friends, at home alone but when you are up there – especially in the very beginning – it’s a big effort….. Read more>>