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.

Sharla Ronée

I started my photography business in 2018, but wasn’t able to truly take the leap into running a full-time business until COVID hit. I had always had a full-time job; however, as a single mom, it’s relatively terrifying to quit a steady paycheck to chase a dream of passion. In October of 2020, I became one of the many who unfortunately lost her job due to the long-term impact of COVID on the company I was working for… and that was the signal that it was time to move full-speed ahead into photography. Read more>>

Tahnie Nollenberger

The sheer definition of an entrepreneur is a business person who takes financial risks. That’s the pure thrill of it all, isn’t it? Well I took that big risk in 2020. While we all know what happened in March of 2020, let’s rewind to the very beginning of the year, January. Where everything was new and possible. We all set goals every January with promises to ourselves to ‘be healthier’, strive harder, and plan that destination travel trip to a tropical paradise. Read more>>

Ashlyn Coronado

After I graduated from college, I immediately started a full time job as a Behavioral Health case manager. This job had many challenges and helped me grow in many ways. During this time, I really turned to my mindfulness practice to manage/ prevent my stress and anxiety due to my job. A year after being a case manager, I had experienced burn out, as many do. I always had the idea of starting my own mindfulness business but never thought to pursue it. After my one year mark, I re-evaluated what I really wanted to do for my career. Read more>>

Gabe Ceniceros

The Blacktop Grill (Brick and Mortar) was open for business on November 14th, 2020 in the middle of a global pandemic. Crazy, I know. I heard it from many people who told me I was crazy for making such a move during such a crazy time. It was also all over the news about restaurants closing their doors left and right due to the circumstances. We were originally supposed to sign our lease in March of 2020. At that time signs of Covid were starting to skyrocket and people were raiding the stores for toilet paper. It was out of control. Why did people’s survival instincts turn to toilet paper? I’ll never know! Read more>>

Ariel Miranda

I’ve always known I wanted to become a professional singer, and along with that, I’ve always known there would be risks. Being a singer isn’t the most “traditional” job, there’s not one clear path that you must follow in order to achieve your goals and dreams. It’s different for each and every individual artist, which is part of why it’s such a risky career choice. Ever since I was little, I would always get asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, and when I would reply saying I wanted to become a singer, everyone would think I was crazy and ask what my real plan was. Read more>>

Zach Earhart

A career as an entrepreneur/artist means endless risks. If you want to be something the world values, you must sacrifice that comfort of knowing what might happen. My biggest risk is spending $800+ on traveling to other cities to work with people who inspire me for free. Rex hung out through DMs, I would meet up to shoot with these people. Months later all my travel photos are published in magazines so it worked out Read more>>

Melanie Alston

I believe attempting to develop and create a new product and trying to get the word out about it was risky during Covid -19. While a lot of businesses were shutting down and trying to pivot to stay afloat I was risking a lot by investing any extra money and down time to make and introduce a new product that people may not even care about – especially during a pandemic. Read more>>

Sara Stepnicka

When people ask us how we started our business, Camelback Candle Co., I often first refer to the risk we took well before we ever started this company. That risk was moving, blindly, out to Arizona from Michigan. I was able to transfer to a new location for my employer at the time, but once I got here I realized almost immediately that I would need a new job. Dwindling funds, looking for a new job, and all the expenses of moving across the country and settling in here, were all big risks to take; but without taking that first risk to move out here, there would have never been a Camelback Candle Co. Read more>>

Phoenix Sky

The biggest risk I ever took was to move to Savannah Georgia from New York City in 2017 to start my life over in a different way. I was burnt out and tired of the hustle of the big city and my soul was yearning for peace and calm. I only knew two people in Savannah but felt like it was calling my soul so I decided to take a leap of faith and trust myself enough to know that I could thrive anywhere I went. Read more>>

Candice Mason

Overall, starting a business is a big risk, especially when you’re unsure about the future of your personal health. Why did I start my business? I was diagnosed with stage 3 melanoma in 2017 which is notorious for being the most fatal form of the three common types of skin cancer. As a cancer patient whom suffers from anxiety, I needed a fun and creative outlet to channel my energy in a positive manner. Read more>>

Laura Rose

It was the end of 2020. I had hit a wall with my business. As I saw it, I was going to go all in or do something else. I had heard of this business coach who helped people like me transition their business online. Feeling curious, I decided to hop on a discovery call and see what the program entailed. Before my mind could catch up, I said yes to a $12K investment in my business for said program. I got off the call feeling nauseous. Read more>>

Veronica Wheat

Taking A Risk: How Veronica Kress Overcame Fear & Doubt To Expand Chef V Would you take this leap of faith? In a multi-billion juice market that’s completely over-saturated and dominated by corporate Goliaths like Odwalla, Naked Juice and Bolthouse Farms, I decided to enter the market with the only slingshot to tackle the giants being a recipe for a green veggie drink that a few dozen clients in the San Diego area were addicted to. Read more>>

Adrien Beggerly

In early spring 2017, I was teaching in a self-contained special education class and expecting my second baby in March. I was exhausted and burned out and the mere thought of starting the next school year over again and having to do the same thing all over again while also being a good mama to two little girls was unfathomable. So I took a risk. On the same day that I turned in my FMLA paperwork for maternity leave, I also submitted my letter of resignation effective the end of the school year. Read more>>

Alexis Lopez

When I look back on the past 2-3 years I see it all as a risk. The biggest risk I have taken so far, was betting on myself. Throughout school I always knew I wanted to be someone who stood out in this industry, I wanted to create a name for myself and I was ready to get the ball rolling. But it was during school that I also realized how much determination I had to make a name for myself. I worked long hours at school, managed my then 3 year old at the time, was living with relatives, and also waiting tables any chance I could to make some extra money.  Read more>>

Maria Hernandez

I think the biggest risk that I have taken in my life was shifting from corporate to being a business owner. The thought of creating something new for your own financial benefit can be a bit scary in many aspects and bring lots of question; from figuring out and creating the business you want, to how successful you want it to to be, and how will you do it to make it so it does not fail. Read more>>

Sonya Ellis

I never in a million years thought I would be a co founder of an award winning medical spa of my own. I always enjoyed working for someone else and I always thought I would be working in a plastic surgeons office full time. I love Boobs just as much as I love Botox. ; ) My dream was to work in a facility that had plastic surgery, dermatology and medical aesthetics all rolled into one state of the art center, where we also offered training and mentorship for the next group of aesthetic practitioners. Read more>>

Chris Hamer

Taking a risk is the first step in becoming an artist. Especially if you want to do this full time. I try to never forget that first year of me not playing is safe and getting a regular 9-5 because I fully believe that it’s what keeps me motivated after 16 years of doing this. I remember my last year working for someone else and coming home feeling beaten, feeling like I had nothing left to give those I cared about around me. Read more>>

REN Dillard

Just being alive in this realm implies taking risks. The risk is baked right into the cake from the start. There is never a guarantee you will make it back home the same way you left. The world is a hungry place. Every morsel of food, every gallon of gas we consume, every piece of toilet paper we wipe our asses with means some animal or plant had a bad day. A very bad day. Read more>>

Sandra Mack-Valencia

That’s a good question. Four years ago I decided to quit my office job and become a full-time artist. That was a big risk, considering that during my adult life I always held a day-job, and I was used to the structure and financial security that it brings along. However, I had this “itch” in my mind. The “What ifs” started piling up in my head, and sooner than later, that itch became a goal of pursuing painting as my full-time job. Here I am, four years later, and I couldn’t be happier about having taken that leap of faith. Read more>>

Chris Musina

I had been working as a full time professor at a University, the department chair was really pushing me and I was working easily over 60 hours a week, with little time for my own work. Eventually the position went south, which was ultimately for the best, but at the time was really nerve-racking, and depressing. I had always wanted to try putting some of my work on a t-shirt, and this precarious situation gave me the energy to try. My close friend Rosemary and I printed off 20 shirts with one of my designs and I sold them all right away. Read more>>

Carrie Wilson

I started my photography journey in 2016. I mainly shot families, seniors and weddings. I got into a creative rut in 2018 and decided that I wanted to venture out and do something different with my photography. I have always enjoyed live music and going to concerts. In November 2018 I was going to be attending a show in Huntington, WV at the V Club seeing Town Mountain. I thought why not bring my camera? Read more>>

Catalina Pinon

When I decided to leave my school district, my family and friends thought I was insane! They asked me: “Why are you quitting the status, security, and benefits you worked so hard for? Wasn’t this job supposed to give meaning and purpose to your life? Isn’t it an honor and privilege to be a part of the school district’s staff?” They even went through all of the small, yet noteworthy perks, like those two-month summer vacations, lounge treats, limitless coffee, holiday gifts, and students’ adorable cards. Read more>>

Amy Needle-Redei

In 2004 I was alone in a small apartment in Brooklyn NY raising a baby boy on my own. I had no money in the bank… and was worried leaving my baby with any babysitter or stranger in order to go back to work. I sat up one night after rescuing a dog from Bark shelter wondering how I was going to make my life work. I looked at our new puppy and decided to make a little sketch of him. ( he was so cute of course!) Watching him and the baby was a full time commitment and one day I decided to try baking some organic oatmeal dog treats to keep him (and myself) busy. He loved them! Next i packaged them and created a logo. I started giving them to my neighbors to try. Read more>>

Melvin Raymond

I am originally from the Philadelphia area. My primary background is in IT. I’ve worked IT desktop and network support as a career since graduating college back in 1998. Although my dream was to be a DJ/Music producer since I was a child, I took the traditional post college career route. I figured when the time was correct, I could do both IT and music within a stable financial environment. I’ve worked IT in various industries such as the healthcare, insurance, and software fields. Read more>>

Daniel Gay

Risking Passion over Pay I am a experienced private basketball trainer. With a BA in Sociology from Tennessee State University. Through the years of training I’ve come across a large number of youth that want to learn the fundamentals of basketball but don’t have the resources to afford it. So for two years every Wednesday I devoted 2 hours of my time to train the youth for free. I had one rule. One hour of free basketball training in exchange for one hour of study time which included homework assistance. Read more>>

Drekkia Writes

I remember being in 9th grade. I woke up in the middle of the night to write a poem that literally just came to me out of no where. I couldn’t sleep without finishing it. It was like God was leading my pen. After I completed the poem, I read it to my mother and she said “oh you have to read this at church. I feel like you’re telling my story.” Read more>>

Chais Gentner

As an artist in any realm, there’s a distinct difference between simply being talented and taking risks. There’s nothing wrong with creating solely for yourself but as an artist who wants to be seen and heard, taking a risk is an important part of the journey of self expression. It begins with softening your ego and believing in your craft enough to let the world experience it, judge it, critique it and enjoy it without letting it personally affect you. Read more>>

Crystal Hatch

Most of my adult career has been about taking risks. The first was when I decided to move to Denver with no job in order to pursue a job in Visual Design, the second was quitting my third design agency job to start my own design business, the third was deciding to open a physical gym teaching a movement methodology that no one was doing, the fourth was when my sister and I decided to open up a second physical gym right as the pandemic hit (we had no idea) and the fifth was moving that physical gym and methodology into an exclusively online program. Read more>>

Cristina Del Hoyo

For a couple of years, I got a couple of invitations to be represented by galleries and to show my work internationally. I turned those offers down because I think part of me didn’t think I deserved it (impostor syndrome) and I also had trusting issues as well. One day, I decided I was going to take a risk and try being represented by international galleries. I got represented by two different galleries in Madrid, Spain and one gallery in Paris, France. Read more>>

Wy’ Brown

Starting this online boutique was a risk for me. Working a Corporate America job that I have been at for over 15 years now, testing the waters in the modeling world for over 5 years, investing all that you have into something with no real results or return- That hurt my family financially. So to make the decision to launch an online boutique and knowing that I could be putting all that I have again into it with the possibility of it not taking off the way I wanted or envisioned or even exhausting myself financially with no return again is a huge risk. Read more>>

Bryan Blair

One of the biggest risks that I’ve ever taken was taking the leap to move to a completely different state where I knew little to no people, in hopes to grow my businesses in photography and real estate. Moving to another state or even another city may seem scary, however I believe that it is a life sheet code when you decide to move to a different state or city. I believe that when you experience different cities and their cultures and learn how to network with new people it will take you to the next level in whatever business or niche you are trying to accomplish. Read more>>

Hermes Makeup

If something scares me, I usually go towards it. I never run from things that make me uncomfortable, obviously this is pertaining to dreams not spiders. Haha. Every opportunity presented in life is a risk and I love the thrill of it, the butterflies, the unknown- it is all part of what makes life exciting for me. Read more>>