Tony Robbins says the #1 human need is certainty, but do you know what the second need is? It’s uncertainty. This tug of war between the competing needs of safety and risk are at the heart of so many dilemmas we face in life and for most folks the goal isn’t to eliminate risk – rather it’s to understand this core human need. In our view, the best way to understand or learn is through stories and so we’ve asked some very talented entrepreneurs and creatives to tell us the stories behind some of the risks they’ve taken.

Matthew & Alicia Ellison

When it comes to the biggest risk either of us taken I think we can both agree it was joining the Navy, and from that point forward throughout moments in our lives we have continuously taken risks we weren’t sure we should. For the both of us leaving and joining the Navy was something no one expected us to do. I am the child of Cuban immigrants and grew up appreciating everything and my husband was born and raised in Alabama and was also raised with minimal and to appreciate all thing. Read more>>

Chelsea Augustine

I had always had a W2 job working as an employee for someone. This was something that made me feel safe and stable, financially speaking. And I have endured some really terrible bosses and really crap work environments because of it. During the first year of the pandemic I was working at a blow dry bar and leaned two days before Christmas that the company would no longer be operating and that we were all out of a job come the new year. Read more>>

Marquisia Kemp

Growing up I lived in a small city in Florida called Winter Garden. No, not the side of Winter Garden that is always being advertised but on the side of town in which it was a lower income area. I always knew as a little girl that I would be something “Big” but I just didn’t know what. At the age of 16, I became pregnant with my daughter and at this point I knew something had to change. I knew that I couldn’t continue to stay in the same environment if I wanted change. I knew that I now had someone that was looking up to me and I had to make some changes. Read more>>

Beth A. Freely

I’ve been writing most of my life, but never in the capacity that I write now. I won a “book writing” contest in third grade which saw my little kid’s book, “Topaz and His Adventure,” bound and placed in my elementary school library. I caught the attention of my teacher, Miss Higgs, when I lived in England after writing a short story about a popular television character. But beyond that, I didn’t really consider writing and publishing. Read more>>

Amnoni L Myers

As a young person who grew up in the U.S. foster care system, I decided to go to college to pursue a degree in social work and sociology because I was passionate about making a difference in the system. What I didn’t realize is that I also went to college to escape homelessness because that is what often happens to young people once they age out of foster care. I pursued academia as a way to prove to myself that I could achieve graduation because I was not on track to graduate and was told that I would end up just like my parents; incarcerated and another statistic. Read more>>

Tina Stoy

My story of risk is a continuous one, one in which I have chosen to invest in myself and the business over and over again. There have been numerous points in Akasha Leather’s journey where I had a choice to make. Either continue working at the same level or uplevel. I continue to choose to uplevel. Read more>>

Ginner

The biggest risk I took was to not get into college because I wanted to give the 100% of my time to get better at what I do, play at different events, learn how to make a great song and basically dedicate my life to it. This was a enormous risk because the usual way, for people that graduates from high school, was start a career, then graduate and look for a job. In my case was way more different because I trusted my instinct, my skills and my talent. Read more>>

Ashley & Marielle Hendry

NEXUS opened in 2020. Yup! We opened a community gym during a global pandemic. Everyone called us crazy and at times I couldn’t belive we were going through with it. But, both our guts told us to and each step of the way we trusted our intuition. We build NEXUS with 100% used equipment to support other local gyms who were permanently closing. We got a call on a location and signed the next day. Read more>>

Lily Rivera

Everyone has a particular dream career or business idea they would love to fulfill but not everyone is willing to do whatever it takes to get there. I’ve had the particular dream that is now my day to day. For many years I day dreamed about it but never had the courage to take the plunge in running my own bridal business. Better yet, manufacture. Read more>>

Blake Riesenfeld

I was 15 years old when I started working with a modeling agency as a photographer. After taking photos with a model I contacted via Instagram, she gave me the email address of her agent. From there, I met with the agent and started to set up test shoots with models associated with the agency. Because I was 15 years old and working with people in their 20s and early 30s, I quickly learned to fend for myself. I protested retouching, negotiated payment, and organized entire photoshoots myself, serving as the creative director, stylist, and photographer. Read more>>

Courtney Johnson

When you are down to your last and you have a ton on things you feel like you need to do and you still choose to invest in your dream.. That’s taking a risk and betting on yourself. I always will bet on me because i know I’m not alone with God. Read more>>

C.K. (Cindy) Donnelly

By its very nature, becoming a writer is a risk from virtually every angle. Is one ever up to sharing that much of herself? Can one even write an entire book? Will it be any good? Will anyone read it? Can one sell enough copies to make the endevour profitable? The questions are endless. Read more>>

S. Kennedy

The biggest life changing risk was starting my business Just Schooling, LLC after enduring cancer, learning to navigate as a new mom all while enduring heartbreak and having a dream deferred. My journey as an entrepreneur has not been a crystal stair for sure. The greatest fate has been self educating and learning how to balance and yield profit returns in the midst of many societal impacts such as COVID pandemic. I took the risk because it was necessary to pursue my dreams. My dedication to never give up has allowed our company to grow exceptionally, allowing our work to expand our operations globally. Read more>>

Keturah Fleming-Hall

We are currently under construction for a larger space for the bakery! It has been a long process and a high risk. This space will be larger- more space for the kitchen and a full service bar and tables. During the pandemic we got rid of our tables and went to only take out. We miss having our regulars in the bakery. This new space will have full service and plenty of space for our regulars to hang out! We are doing away with our counter service and will offer bar, tables, patio dinning and online togo pick up! Read more>>

Lavanya Rajagopalan

I didn’t actually set out to be an artist – I came to the United States as a graduate student. What began as an avenue to stay in touch with the art form I loved, has now taken over my life and I love every minute of what I do. Leaving a flourishing research career to become a full-time creative was a risk in itself, and a nerve-wracking choice I made, a decade ago. Read more>>

Megan Vanderslice

The biggest risk I’ve ever taken was becoming a professional horse trainer. It’s not just a job, it’s a lifestyle. I started in the early twenties with not much except for my desire to succeed. This was what I was going to do with my life and nothing was going to stop me. It takes a long time to make it in the horse world, and you have to work hard and be patient. Read more>>

Stephanie Baker

Taking risks can be intimidating. We all want to feel safe and secure, and putting ourselves out there can be frightening. But sometimes, taking a risk is the best way to achieve our goals, especially when it comes to improving our health. Read more>>

Angela Perkins

My name is Angela Perkins, an actress, director and founder of Out The Ordinary Production in Houston, TX. I took a risk on leaving Corporate America to pursue my own business. IHow I got started in the business , I was first introduced to acting over 10 years ago. I saw a casting notice on Facebook and at the time, my daughter was taking acting lessons. I reached out to the director about the role but was told my daughter was too young. Read more>>

Yevyn Alam

The biggest risk I’ve taken by far: moving from Las Vegas to Los Angeles. I strayed away from my comfort to put myself in a space of opportunity–to begin anew–and to pursue my career in the entertainment industry. Read more>>

Eric Serritella

After a 16-year business career as a marketing executive I left the security of a paycheck, company car and air-conditioned office with a view to become a full-time artist working out of my basement. I had taken a pottery class as a creative outlet and fell in love with the material – although I never intended for it to be a career. I began selling at local craft fairs to make it a hobby that paid for itself, because after all, as a single guy, how many mugs do you really need? After buying a wheel and kiln, I donated the rest of what I earned to environmental causes. Read more>>

Edward & Asia Vine

Taking risks is something that was unusually to us at a point in time. Now we understand that there can be no success without risk. The path we have chosen to take is the uncommon path. We know a lot of people will go against us simply because our light shines bright, and we want to spread our love into the world. We are greatness and a lot of people cannot handle that because who we are causes them to “take a look in the mirror”. Read more>>

Sonya Ashley

I started Fabulous On Purpose nonprofit organization that supports single mothers and children in 2017. I have never worked for a nonprofit, let alone ran one. This was all new to me. I felt God leading me to support and inspire women in a way that would uplift and heal them. Starting the nonprofit was very challenging and sometimes still is. The challenges of the day-to-day operation, finding funding, engaging in the community isn’t always easy. Read more>>

Laura Teichroeb

I’ve taken giant leaps into the unknown many times in my life. Free-falling, with nothing but determination and sheer strength of will to catch me. Starting my own business was no different. I was on disability because I couldn’t work. Constantly stressed because the disability payments didn’t cover the bills. Mentally struggling to recover from childhood trauma and abuse. I had nowhere to turn and nothing to fall back on, except myself. Read more>>

Chanell Hill

Speaking out about my own struggles with mental health. Concurrent with mental health issues in the black community and church was one of the biggest risk I’ve ever taken. Growing up we are often told “just pray about it “, “Ain’t nothing wrong with you! Or “what happens in this house stays in this house”. Statistically, the black community suffers from mental health concerns. Read more>>

Elizabeth Cawein

I’ve always been a bit of a “leap and the net will appear” kind of gal. I moved across the ocean for graduate school knowing no one, I moved to New York City with no job – eventually I made lifelong friends in London but never did manage to find a (real) job in NYC. At the time I think I interpreted that as a missing net situation – now I know the net just looked a whole lot different than I thought it would. Read more>>

Faron Rashelle

Pursuing my music career as an r&b artist was me taking a risk. I grew up in church and a family that was and still is heavily involved in church. I also grew up going to gospel radio stations and events regularly due to my father being a radio disk jockey. Because of my upbringing, me venturing off into R&B felt scary but it felt right at the same time. Being an artist in general is putting yourself out there to be judged by the world but believing that it’s your purpose makes it all worth it. Read more>>

Tremontez Rose

Around December 2021, I had the opportunity to meet an Investor who really liked my work ethic and what I was putting out. Although a bit hesitant in my abilities, I was given Capital and had the opportunity to show them how well their investment with me would play out. Confident in my abilities, I successfully was able to acquire 10 pairs of Cool Grey 11’s. Read more>>

Jennifer Leigh Warner

Even as a small child I knew I wanted to be a wildlife photographer. I would cut out pictures of big cats from the pages of magazines and plaster them all over my wall. But when I graduated I didn’t really know how to make a career out of taking pictures of wildlife yet. I started working for a portrait photograph company, teaching other photographers how to photograph preschoolers and all the while I was building up my wildlife photography portfolio. Read more>>

Jessica Gray

You know that feeling. The curiosity.. The, what if? The piece of the puzzle you can’t quite see, yet, it calls to you. Some risks have great reward and some leave us taking inventory of what happened. Regardless, I’d say the risk is typically worth it. Read more>>

Sarah Cofer

I’m going to go with the biggest risk I’ve taken here. The biggest risk I ever took was walking away from my old life, and betting it all on myself to succeed. I went to school, majored in Photography, took the first job I could find out of college working for a small eCommerce company, and after a few years I left to do what I thought was start my own photography business. I ended up having my daughter soon after, and staying home with her while picking up the odd photography job here and there. I never truly found my niche, but I was happy enough at the time. Read more>>

Brady Jacquin

I recently quit my job of four years at Walmart. It was an okay job to pay the bills, but after a while it became clear that God had given me a passion and talent for film (and art in general) to the extent that if I really wanted it, I’d have to have faith and go all in. It’s honestly terrifying, as I’ve also just bought a house and now have a mortgage to deal with, but I knew that if I didn’t take the risk, I’d never be satisfied. Read more>>

Melissa Rippy

On July 16, 2013, I told my former employer of 11 years to take my job and shove it. What precipitated this was I had asked my manager for two consecutive days off. I had over a month of earned vacation time, and I was told that if I took the time off of work, I would be written up. I typed my resignation letter that night and delivered it the next morning. Read more>>

Beth and Flo Business Partners

Well Hunny, let me tell you about the risk that Yesss Hunny Tea took! At the end of 2022, we finished the Cartersville Farmers Market in our city for the third year, where we sell loose leaf blends and cold bottled tea and mock tea creations based on those blends through the summer. While we love the market, we also recognized that our current set up with only a tent and tables had its limitations. Read more>>