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.

Darius Dennis

Right after graduating high school in Memphis, TN, I made the bold decision to take a leap of faith and move to Atlanta to chase my dreams in the entertainment industry. I didn’t wait for the “perfect time” — I packed up and left the very next day after graduation, determined to make something of myself. Read More>>

angela thomas-smith

The last time I paid someone to “handle it,” I sat staring at the invoice like it was a fine for my own hesitation. The work wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t me. The deadlines slid. The details were off. And worst of all, my vision—my umbrella of ideas, services, and projects—kept getting diluted in translation. Read More>>

VIVEK NAGRANI

In 1999, I took a gamble and decided I would try to create the best socks in the world. Of course, most of my friends and family thought I was out of my mind, but I knew this was what I had to do. Of course, my personality prevented me from getting a real job, so my options were limited. Read More>>

Kimberly DeShields-Spencer

Honestly, when I started Behind Her Brand, I had never worked in the magazine publishing world. Not at all. I didn’t come from that space, and I had no prior experience creating or managing a publication. But I had a vision—a strong, persistent pull to create something meaningful for women. Read More>>

Scott Knight

When I decided to chase music full-time, I’ll be honest — it scared me. I didn’t come from money or a guaranteed safety net. What I had were two loving parents who adopted me and gave me the freedom to dream — and I chose a dream that most people warned me against. Read More>>

Chelsea Luv

Taking a risk has been at the core of every major turning point in my journey as an artist. I’ve learned that growth rarely happens in comfort — it happens in those moments when your heart’s racing, but you do it anyway. One of my biggest risks was deciding to fully invest in myself — financially, creatively, and emotionally. Read More>>

Nicole (Nikki) Lacherza-Drew

As a Licensed Psychologist, I never imagined I would own a virtual assistant company, alongside my private practice. My professional path had always been rooted in mental health… helping others manage burnout, anxiety, and stress. Ironically, a few years into running my private practice, I realized I was experiencing the very burnout I so often helped my clients navigate. Read More>>

ANGELA THOMPSON

One of the biggest risks I’ve ever taken was quitting my full-time medical social work job to accept a temporary travel assignment across the country. In 2015, I was exhausted—overworked, underpaid, and craving something more. I started searching for new opportunities and stumbled upon the idea of travel social work. It immediately sparked something in me. Read More>>

The Plant Lady

The biggest risk I took was choosing to bet on myself again. I’m originally from New York, where I worked full-time in the beauty industry. When I moved to Charlotte, I assumed I’d continue that success, but I had no clientele and had to start from zero. I ended up pivoting into healthcare for several years for stability, but I knew it wasn’t my purpose. Read More>>

Tatiana Fritzgerald

The Risk of Choosing Myself—Even When the World Wasn’t Ready One of the biggest risks I’ve taken was choosing to lead with clarity and boundaries in a world that often demanded my silence, my labor, and my emotional availability—without reciprocity. Read More>>

Aisha Robinson

Well this journey all started when I lost by job during Covid and I refused to sit around and wait on things to be handed to me, I had to make the choice to get up and make something shake! A very close relative of mine reached out to me and she told me about the V-Steams and the benefits that has. Read More>>

Katrina Fraga

I have always been a ‘rule follower’. Growing up, I was afraid of taking risks. I followed a very set path and did everything on the expected timeline of life. Very quickly, life showed me that no path is certain and not taking risks, can lead to a feeling of emptiness. Read More>>

amanda harsche

The biggest risk I’ve taken was simply going to beauty school at the age of 28! It’s something I’ve always wanted to do and changing a career later in the game can be terrifying! You can decide who or what you want to be at any point in your life though it’s never too late to start over. Read More>>

Kathleen Day

When it comes to risk-taking, I’d have to say the biggest risk I ever took was betting on myself. As a neurodivergent individual with medium-support needs, the business side of things has always been the hard part for me. I excel in abstract thinking, pattern recognition, communication (I’m hyperlexic), and all things creative. I grew up labeled “book smart”. Read More>>

Ruth Scego

Great question! One that definitely requires a little backstory. So let me tell you about a journey that I truly believe was the Lord’s doing. In my heart of hearts, I’d always wanted—well, maybe “wished” is the better word—to be an artist. I’ve always been a sensitive soul who reflects deeply and feels things profoundly. Read More>>

Daniella Steinmetz

The biggest risk for us was honestly just opening the bakery at all. We had just moved to Oklahoma from the Northeast and were still surrounded by unpacked boxes, trying to get settled. On top of that, the move had drained us, financially and emotionally, so the idea of starting a business right then felt a little crazy. Read More>>

Jazmin Cano

I didn’t wait to feel ready. I built my readiness one risk at a time. I was studying for my licensing exam, recovering from the hardest breakup of my life, and trying to climb out of debt while living back at home with my parents. Everything in me wanted to wait until life felt in order. Read More>>

Julie Lessard 

My journey in animal rescue started back in 2011. I didn’t know where it would lead, I just knew I wanted to help. I jumped in, volunteering anywhere I was needed and learning every piece of the rescue process. I said yes to it all, the good, the messy, and the moments that teach you the most. Read More>>

Tre Babauta

The risk was really just taking the first step! My ‘gym’ started with coworkers that wanted to train, and we were outside at a park doing our own thing. They were super generous and donated what they can, eventually we moved to our garage, got a bag, two mats, and started having more legitimate classes in there. Read More>>

John Thompson

Believing that I can spark a green consumer revolution that saves the coming generations from ecological disaster before it’s too late to avoid the worst of consequences. I knew laws and court actions couldn’t do it, and thought business could if it realized the profit potential in taking the lead. Read More>>

Whitney Jones

Let’s start with what exactly Risk is, everyone always hears the word Risk and assume the worst that can possibly happen, because it exposes you to danger that may be unseen. Never taking into account the ‘Risk’ of something great happening or working out for your good. In my case, I dropped everything and moved over 20 hours away from home to a new state. Read More>>

Megan Oberholtzer

One of the biggest risks I’ve ever taken is actually the one I’m still in the middle of. After earning my PhD in Clinical Psychology, a process that took me just four years, even though it usually takes people five to eight, I thought I was on a solid, stable path. Read More>>

Patrick Ellis

I had wanted to start a creative business of my own for years but always found a way to talk myself out of it. I used to think that if I didn’t have all the answers to any possible challenge then that meant the time wasn’t right or that I wasn’t ready yet. Eventually, I realized perfection is a mirage. Read More>>

Walter ‘J.R.’ Brooks

One of the biggest risks I’ve taken recently was relocating to the Atlanta area. The decision didn’t come easily—it meant leaving behind familiarity, stability, and the network I had carefully built over the years. But deep down, I knew it was necessary. Read More>>

Randy Heart

I took a huge leap when I decided to quit teaching full time to open a juice bar called Berry Good Juice Bar with my brother and best friend. We aren’t just building a business we’re building a space that blends art, wellness, and community love. We invested our own money, we’re designing everything ourselves, we’re building it from the ground up in Macon. Read More>>

Maria McSwain

Sometimes the biggest investment you’ll ever make is in yourself. A few years ago, I was standing in my elementary classroom surrounded by colorful bulletin boards and the joyful noise of my students. Teaching was more than my career, it was part of who I was. I loved helping children discover their potential and watching their confidence grow. Read More>>

Quinn Thomashow

I think that being a creative inevitably means that you have to be comfortable taking risks. It is an inherent part of making art, and having the illusion that somehow and someway this is going to work out. I think vulnerability is inherently risky, yet it might be the most rewarding thing a person can be/do. Read More>>

Keelie Armstrong

One of the biggest risks I’ve ever taken was deciding to turn Millie’s Treats from a fun passion project into my full-time job at 19 years old; and doing it right after the world started opening back up from the COVID shutdown. When I first started Millie’s Treats, the world was completely shut down due to COVID19. Read More>>

Ateeb Afzal

The first time STEM2Youth ever ran a workshop, it was supposed to be simple: me and my four co-founders, Max, Shan, Akhil, and Dany, teaching kids the basics of physics with a popsicle sticks activity at the Reston Library. Prior to the event, we’d printed flyers, prepped lesson plans, and imagined the room filled with students. Nobody showed up. Read More>>

Tabatha Russell

For me, taking a risk has never been about chasing danger—it’s about honoring the creative pull that says, “Build what doesn’t exist yet.” When I started my journey as a Pilates educator, I taught anywhere that would have me—gyms, yoga studios, community centers, even church basements. Read More>>

Marcos Paz

I was getting ready for my professional debut out in Las Vegas. It was taking quite some time and nothing was materializing. I had been out there for three months and I was about to go home when the opportunity presented itself to Fight. The only problem was is that I was going to have to go to Mexico . Read More>>

Jen Vincent

Starting my business in 2019 led to writing and publishing my book, Living the Life of a Writer: 6 Practices Student Writers Have, Know, and Do. I had been writing young adult novels for years and even had an agent when my publishing dreams came crashing down. Read More>>

Melissa Ettinger and Lourdes Ortiz Diaz N/A

We have been working back of the house as chef’s together since 1999. We’ve hopped around the country doing all different types of cooking jobs from catering to deli to university cafeteria, we’ve cooked breakfast, lunch dinner, and pastry. Consulted for a farm stand and a tea house. This is where we first started developing our recipe for the scones. Read More>>

Eva Whitmer

The biggest risk I’ve ever taken was choosing to end my marriage after twenty years. It was the hardest decision of my life—one that took me a long time to make. For years, I lived according to what I thought I should do: be the good wife, keep the peace, hold everything together. Read More>>

Denise Elizabeth Byron

Anyone who knows me will tell you that “risk” has never been my first instinct — I’m a Taurus, after all. I love comfort, stability, and beauty. Yet, in my 40s, despite having what looked like an idyllic life, I felt a deep and growing disconnection from my soul’s path. I was married and living in a beautiful, progressive town. Read More>>

Dashae Tuggle

Before I became a content creator, whenever I listened to other creators’ think pieces, I always felt like something was missing or that it could have been said differently. One day, I decided to take a chance and post my first video — it reached 30k views, and that’s when I knew I was on to something. Read More>>

Kim Tootell

After spending 24 years in the fast-paced apparel industry in New York City, I reached a point where I knew something had to change. On paper, I had built a successful career — but behind the scenes, I was running on empty. I was constantly fatigued, struggling to focus, gaining weight in my midsection, and wondering why I no longer felt like myself. Read More>>

Aaliyah Tee

My risk was believing in myself before the opportunity existed. My biggest risk was betting on myself. I pursued makeup artistry in a city where the industry was still growing, and that leap led to set design, creative directing, casting, and touring with major artists. Along the way, I discovered the power of business strategizing and funding and OPM (other people’s money). Read More>>

Lindsay Love

The greatest risk I’ve ever taken was starting not one, but two businesses. The first came when I decided to take a leap and leave my stable job as a clinical manager to open my own private practice—TherapyLuv—right in the middle of the pandemic. It was a terrifying decision and completely unlike me at the time. Read More>>

Tonie Reincke

I never had a predictable path — because there wasn’t one laid out ahead of me. I grew up knowing that success wasn’t something handed down, it was something built. I was the first in my family to step onto a college campus, not because it was expected, but because I refused to let expectations define me. Read More>>

Monica Ellis

You know, one of the biggest risks I ever took was when I made the decision to live in my Jeep. Now, a lot of people assume it was because I fell on hard times — and yes, I had my share of challenges — but truthfully, it started out as a choice. Read More>>

Larissa Mundwiler

When Larissa Mundwiler first opened Rooted in Wellness in Denver, she wanted to create more than a skincare studio. She envisioned a sanctuary where people could slow down, reconnect with themselves, and experience beauty as something that starts deep within. What began as a single space with soft linens, sculptural massage, and a belief in natural healing soon grew into a movement. Read More>>

Crystal B

For years, I worked full-time as a store manager at a luxury boutique. Makeup was always something I loved, but I never imagined it as a full-time career. At that time, I was in school for business and believed my path was to climb the retail ladder and eventually manage or lead within that industry. Read More>>

TD Tran

Professionally, one of the biggest risks I ever took was transitioning from a career in STEM to community management. Switching from the health field to community and marketing was a major leap for me, especially since I only grew up learning about “traditional” career paths. Read More>>

OzUnique Moore

A life-changing risk I took was deciding to pursue cosmetology full-time. At the time, I was working traditional 9-to-5 jobs, but I quickly realized they didn’t align with my schedule, creativity, or long-term goals. The structure felt limiting, and most employers weren’t willing to accommodate the flexibility I needed to grow in my craft. Read More>>

Meeko Clavell

As a Recording Artist putting my heart on the line and my personal life on a track for the world to hear and judge is one of the most risk taking thing an artist can ever do. It’s important and pivotal as an artist to write and sing about true events that has happen to me. Read More>>

Katisha aka Ink by Tisha (artist name) Farrell

One of the biggest risks I’ve taken was deciding to step out on my own and open InkySPA Tattoo Studio. For years, I worked in other artists’ shops, even helping some run their businesses while balancing my own clients. I had stability in those spaces, and it would have been easy to just stay comfortable. Read More>>

 Jessica Lewis

If I had to sum up my life it would be random leaps of faith. Risk with big rewards. I’ve never been the type to stay in the lane people expect of me. In fact, I secretly think I have a thing for trying to do the opposite. Especially as a woman and as a black woman, it’s immensely important to set the tone. Read More>>

Roan Hesse

Not too long ago, I felt disconnected from my creative path, drifting away from the sense of purpose I’d built during art school. Graduating as an art student can be disorienting: you leave behind an environment built around curiosity, resources, and collaboration, and suddenly face a fast-moving world that measures success differently. Read More>>

Jordan Nickel-Dubin, MA, P-RDT

When I was eight years old, I fell in love.

Okay, not the way you’re thinking. When I was eight years old, I saw Wicked at the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles and fell in love with live theatre. I knew from that moment that I wanted to forever have theatre in my life. I took acting classes from 9-14, then performed in a weekly improv show from 14-17. Read More>>