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.

Kelsey Geenen

The biggest risk I ever took was believing in myself – Ill explain! I was 25 and newly married when I decided working for a corporation salon wasn’t for me anymore. I went chair rental and started my own book of business. Getting off the ground wasn’t easy. I discounted myself just to have people in my chair. Most days I was hardly making my chair rent and i defiantly was not attracting the kind of people that were valuing me and my work. I became pregnant and was still very stuck – so i kept advertising and taking random people. Read more>>

June Chiang

There have been many risks associated with being a small business woman. Every day presents small risks, How to spend money, spend time, make purchases, schedule, and marketing. But, these are small risks. The biggest risk is consciously turning away from something you know toward something you don’t know. And that is how I started my journey as a Pilates instructor 23 years ago. Read more>>

OJ Evans

As a creative, the first big risk I took was leaving school. I was in Graphic Design school, which got me started on some different graphic design software that I had never used before. I did learn a lot through a couple years of classes, but got to the point where I had all these ideas of how to use the new-found skill creatively, and my assignments in class weren’t covering the types of projects I wanted to dig in on. Read more>>

Danielle Vergano

The biggest risk that I’ve taken in my life is becoming a business owner. This isn’t your typical story of wanting to start a business, this is taking over a very well established one in our community. I began working for my previous boss when I was 16 years old, you can say that I grew up with the business. What started as a part-time high school job turned into a post-grad part time job (while working a second job at a big box retail store). Read more>>

Emma Fabros

For as long as I can remember I’ve always been someone who craved security. I was the girl with the well-used planner, the one who followed the step by step instructions, and the one who was expected to follow the path paved out for her. In other words, I wasn’t the one who pushed the boundaries, made impulsive decisions, or made choices that invited the risk of the unknown. Read more>>

Makel Hale

So it was about two years ago I was in a car accident my pick up truck spun out and that left me not being able to make it to work which resulted in me loosing the job. Also at the same time I was participating in many different art shows, fashion shows, along with hosting my own events 1-2 times a month. So once I lost the job instead of me looking for another job I just figured a way to do more events or sale more merchandise and book more tattoo appointments. Read more>>

Romario Romain, Alexandria Sanchez-Moral NA

The biggest risk we’ve taken would hands down be opening not only one franchise location but two locations. Our first location opened up in Indianapolis about 2 years ago and that was one of the most thrilling/scariest decisions we’ve made. Making that initial investment and becoming a franchise owner was something we both never thought we would ever do. Romario and I were the traditional 9-5 workers who relied on a steady income, so switching into becoming our own bosses and relying on our success rate to generate income was a very unsettling feeling for us. Read more>>

G K

It was so late in life that I realized risk-taking is not bad at all but mainly how important it is for a person like me. I’m the guy who hates stereotypes. There was a point in my life where I promised myself that I won’t be restricted to anything. If I were still the same person before I made that promise, I probably would’ve wanted a risk-free, secured life. As I transformed, I realized the importance of life through the fragility of it. It’s there one day and we don’t know the other. Read more>>

Robert Trumper

I take great pride in the fact that I have taken a leap of faith in pursuing my passion and purpose. Unlike those who work for someone else and struggle to make ends meet, I have poured all my earnings from various jobs into my startup organization. Not only that, but I have also personally invested my own funds and donated any profits earned by the organization to help the local community and support our cause in Kenya. Although I have never been wealthy, I always put the fulfillment of my mission above making money. Read more>>

Samarra Samone

Life consists of “Taking Risks”. Only the successful people in life are risk takers. I’ve learned that if there are no risks then, there is no reward, BUT I would say to NEVER take a risk without GOD. I’ve made several risky decisions in life, but before I made those decisions, I always consulted with GOD FIRST. One of those decisions was to relocate to another state at age 27. I left everything I knew to go to a foreign place with people I did not know. Read more>>

Melissa Z. White

“Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.” Helen Keller said that. I quite agree with the sentiment, and would actually venture to the it a step further by arguing that risk avoidance can be damaging in the ways that it holds you back from realizing your fullest potential. Read more>>

LaTanya Hill

Anytime anyone is doing something out of the norm, it is scary. It is even scarier when what you are doing is not common or relatable to a lot of people. When I began my Reiki journey, people made snide remarks, laughed at me, or thought I was losing my mind. Working in a field that some people believe contradicts their religious beliefs or does not have a tangible item to sell/buy is a major risk. Read more>>

Mykel Jones

When starting my hairline I had not thought about any risk when it came to my outside life. Meaning relationships with family and friends. I thought of risk for my business when it came to products but that was it. I started my business while never looking back and taking everything that was coming at me. I had to do everything on my own as I was a new business. From designing labels to packaging products my chemist created. Read more>>

Michaela Jordan

My whole career has been about taking risks. I grew up in a small backwoods town but always knew I wanted to pursue music. In fact, I wasn’t much good at anything else. I tended to question authority a lot in my early jobs; a foreshadowing that I was supposed to be running my own company. By the time I left at 23 years old I had $400 and my cat to my name and went to Philadelphia. All I knew was that I had experience teaching music lessons and that I was withering away doing anything else. I started teaching at and, subsequently, running music schools and after school music programs in Philly. Read more>>

Brittani Sanders

I took a risk by leaving my job during the pandemic to teach and build my private practice, Soul Care Counseling & Consulting, LLC. I guess you can say I am part of the Great Resignation now that I process it which was not planned. During the pandemic, I was working for an insurance company as a Care Coordinator helping individuals with mental health and substance abuse needs. I throughly enjoyed my position because at my core, I enjoy helping people. Read more>>

Christian Davis

I have taken a lot of risk in my life the biggest one for me was moving to Atlanta with my family. Ever since I moved to Atlanta I have been exposed to a lot more in the industry that’s helping me grow. Like directors, producers, writers and other actors who look out for each others success. I took the risk because I’m not afraid of a new and fresh start plus the opportunities that Atlanta has are perfect for me. I moved in 2019 and so far I been in 5 movies with a lot of auditions pending. It turned out great but I know there will be more challenging risk to take in my future. Read more>>

Marisa Donnelly

I’ve always been passionate about individualized education and coaching services. When I first started my career, I was primarily focused on tutoring and 1:1 Writing Coaching for this exact reason. I wanted my students and clients to develop their unique voices, pursue their areas of interest, and ultimately create balance and joy in the process. Read more>>

Jessi Wagner

For me, when I think of taking a risk, I think of taking the risk in every moment to be your authentic self. Taking the risk that who you are is exactly enough. Taking the risk that you will be fully seen and heard. Taking the risk that you can attract MORE by simply BEING. Taking the risk to go against the grain and do something DIFFERENT. I take the risk to surrender every single day in so many ways. And every single time is scary when I get to a higher level or surrendering and healing, but every single time it’s worth it. I have taken other big risks in my life. Read more>>

Kelisa Volson

If I had to choose one thing…and there have been so many over the course of my life…I’d share one of the biggest risks was when I moved to Georgia back in 2009. I had already decided to make a career move regardless of my relationship status after getting my full license as a counselor that August. When my now husband and I decided to make our relationship more permanent/get married, I decided there were better opportunities for me in Atlanta, GA than him moving back to Louisiana. I quit my job (with no job certainty) packed up my stuff where I’d been living for almost 5 years and started a new journey. Read more>>

Jennifer Lynn Robinson

This May I will be celebrating 15 years of surviving a near-death accident. I try to set new goals to do out-of-the-box things each year since that time. Last year, at age 49, I entered my first pageant called Classic Universe. It highlights women over 40 years old. I competed against experienced pageant women and ended up winning the world title in Las Vegas. It sounded like a great idea, but after I arrived at the world finals I felt like I was in over my head and had underestimated the preparation. Read more>>

Kent Edwards

I have been taking risks my whole life. Some risks left me with consequences, while others left me with confidence. Photography is the risk that I am still trying to figure out the ending to. My Photography journey started in August of 2018. I started photography as a means to make cash in winter months and the need for a fine arts credit in high school. I never in my wildest dreams believed that I could actually be a photographer, until I touched my first camera. Read more>>

The Haven

The Haven is inherently the byproduct of a group of artists taking a risk to follow their paths when society might have suggested otherwise. We were founded by a group of live painters who mostly made their living traveling and making art at music festivals. When the lockdown started our summer, and because of that our art careers were put on hold. We all were pretty productive in our own studios, but at that point too much of our fulfillment came from painting with each other and fostering creative community. Read more>>

Natalia Farahmand

Being a business owner always carries certain risks. However, a major chance taken in my career was breaking through norms and founding our slogan “Makeup & Crypto”. This continues to be a life changing risk as Desiderio Beauty moves with technology shifts changing the standard of all industries, including the beauty industry. Read more>>

Carl Studna

In 1990 and 1991, I chose to take a risk and document Eric Clapton’s shows at the Royal Albert Hall, spending a month each winter in London. I wasn’t being paid to cover the shows, but I felt deeply called to be there, so I arranged to get press passes through Warner Bros Records. I was doing a lot of work for them at the time, but they didn’t want to pay me to cover the shows. It turned out to be a most rewarding experience on so many levels. Read more>>

Lori Frison

Every weekday morning for 17 years, I got up, put my lipstick on, and drove to work at the County Human Services Department. I felt secure in my position where I knew the system inside and out. I had dear friends to laugh with and a great paycheck. I drove all over the county seeing people in their homes, at schools and even in parks. I loved it. The freedom suited me well. Read more>>

Jesse Strunk Elkins

I believe that the most self-fulling and simultaneously outward-loving act we can “risk” is to choose to unabashedly and unapologetically align with our unique vision as autonomous beings. By this, I simply mean that when we align our daily vision and long-term goals with the thoughts we believe, connections we make and keep, and our interactions with the world around us, we circumvent this idea that we are risking our livelihood, and instead, we begin to stand for what we believe in, wholeheartedly. Read more>>

Lyanne Tsikewa

July 26th, 2019, our Mother Teuila Fa’auli-Samuelu was called home. From that day forward my life was a blur. I don’t remember anything, not even the days leading or the day of her funeral. It was like I was on auto-pilot, no feelings, just empty but somehow maintaining my usual daily activities. I took about 3 months of work off and honestly did not care to go back. That 3rd month the HR manager reached out and I decided that maybe drowning myself in work would somehow be good, help keep my mind occupied during the holiday season. Read more>>

Carol Torian

One of the biggest risks I have ever taken was starting Drinking Gourd Gallery at the age of 50. It was a crazy idea. I didn’t have any connections in the art world, and I didn’t have a retail space. But my love of art started in childhood. I was surrounded by creative women. My maternal grandmother used to make ceramics, and my paternal grandmother was a quilter. My Mom is also an artist, so I would watch her as she sketched. Read more>>

Carolyn Coleridge

Taking a risk is when I became a professional intuitive healer and medium and also a license psychotherapist. There are more out there now, but in the past it was a bit issues because, of hearing and seeing spirit can be considered a mental health disorder. Though working in the field of mind – therapy, body – healer, and spirit – intuitive and been fulfilling for myself and so many other people that I have helped heal on a SOUL level. Working with the spiritual essence of a person, helps you put more gasoline into the ‘car’, so to speak. Read more>>