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.
Roy Lotz
My business started to blossomed pretty quickly when I was featured on Seek the World sponsored by Sorenson Video Relay Service on 2017. They had big event going on and I barely had enough room to cook brisket for everyone. Demand for my business started to stack up pretty quick, it surpassed the capacity of my previous smokers, which forced me to look for bigger and better quality smoker. I found a welder who custom make bbq pits in Fort Worth, Texas. Dennis Roach, who owns El Cucaracho Smokers business, was featured on Texas Monthly Magazine as one of top Pit Builders in Texas among with Mill Scale Metalworks and Moberg Smokers. I took the risk by buying 500 Gallon smoker from him, at the moment, Read more>>
Kristina Hoover
I’m not a risk taker by any means, but after moving to a new city and having my first child, I was slowly creating again without a real direction or purpose. I had some artist friends who were selling artwork online and thought hmm maybe I should give that a try. I’ve always been artistic, but selling my work like a “real artist” wasn’t on my radar. Around the same time, I heard about a local spring art market- I look back at this event as my official start that launched me into this new path. I took the risk and signed up, but an even bigger risk for me was spending the $200 to secure my spot for the weekend. Read more>>
Melissa Moore
When the pandemic hit in March of 2020 and gyms (as well as most businesses) shut down around the country, I was unsure about my future as a full time personal trainer. This had been my career for almost 10 years. It’s all I’d done since graduating college. Thankfully, I had the opportunity to start training a few of my regular clients virtually. It started small and I wasn’t sure it would grow into anything, but by August of 2020 I made the decision not to go back to the gym I’d been working at pre-pandemic. Read more>>
Sean Green
I had been working as the head writer of MTV’s Ridiculousness for the previous four seasons and renewal time came around. During this time I was also really growing my company, SGPN, Sports Gambling Podcast Network and while it wasn’t generating the same income as my writing job it felt like the prime opportunity to transition. Read more>>
Emily Thomas
I think all business owners have to take on some risk to be successful. When I reflect on my experience running Emily Katherine Events, two big risks stand out as pivotal turning points for my business. The first was when I decided to take the business full time. I’d been planning weddings as Emily Katherine Events as a side gig for 2 years, and thinking I’d be able to gradually cut back my hours with my full time job as the planning business took off. After two years it became clear that there was now way I could grown Emily Katherine Events into a full time career without having the time to dedicate to promoting, marketing, and building my brand. Read more>>
Leshun Boyd-Gordon
Every since i can remember, I’ve always wanted to be a successful musician. In 2010 i decided to put everything i had into music. All my efforts, all my pain, money & emotions behind my music career. My name as an artist was “Spade Kosta.” During my journey i had many high moments. I was building an organic audience and every year i felt i was closer than ever to becoming a mega superstar. I wanted to the world to hear my story so badly, but my marketing budget was running low. I invested Nearly $300,000. Read more>>
Ty Morrell
Taking risk to accomplish goals…I say do it. I started training because I love it. I love the atmosphere of it. I love the progress. I love the mindset that you have to have. The job atmosphere was not making me happy. I was at a point in my life where all I had was myself mentally. If I wanted to be happy well…it had to come from within me. I stop working and only invested into myself by investing my knowledge into others. My transformation began once I set boundaries and standards for myself in all phases. Positive words, people and perceptions only. Even if it meant growing apart from people, places and things that I was used to. Read more>>
Rob Opitz
My life has been full of risks, but mostly after the age of 40. I was in a stable public school teaching career for 17 years. Then I took a risk by leaving public schools to be a college marching band director. Then I moved over into the director of bands position. In 2017, I left teaching as a full-time gig, and became a Realtor, where I have had some great success. In the middle of that, I have kept performing and teaching the entire time. Read more>>
Christopher Holloway
Life is all about taking risks to get ahead, right? That’s what you always hear. But, it’s not particularly easy to actually implement that kind of ideology into your own life. And why? Because it’s terrifying! In general, people are more willing to take risks when it’s not their own investments on the line, or — in even more extreme situations — their literal life. Read more>>
Christopher Jalbert
I’ll go ahead and say I don’t like taking risks, I take my time and I plan almost everything. This is why when I told my loved ones I was going to go full-time into running a videography business they thought I was a completely different person. They wondered why on earth would I choose something so risky when I could have just gotten a position at a news station or at a marketing company. The comments on why running a business is a bad idea were endless. But the thing is, despite not wanting to take risks, I was willing to go all in for one reason. Read more>>
Thomas Ware
One of the biggest risks that I have taken, is the risk of investing in myself. The risk factor that makes investing in yourself so scary, is that you have no true data to bet against. It is a new journey, with no history of wins or losses. I stepped into the arena of music and owning my own label. I have spent a lot of time and money. Learning the ins and outs of the business has been a wild ride, but I believe that it will be worth it in the end. If you do not take a chance, you will never know the fullness of the possibilities that await you. Read more>>
Wendell Supreme Shannon
As cliche as it may seem… asking any entrepreneur especially an artist about risks is something than cant be minimized. We are the risk. As if being willing to bet on yourself, to say this is who I am and express it day in and day out isn’t enough. We create works exposing our truths and our weaknesses through creative expression hoping someone in the world appreciates who we are and what we do. Investing hours and weeks even hundreds to thousands of dollars into ourselves and our crafts takes gull and the result is exactly what you see before you. Read more>>
Alexus Scott
Back when I was in middle school, one of the therapeutic practices that I started was journaling. As I got older, people started noticing the images and things I would create on the outside of some of my blank pieces and asked where I purchased them from because they liked them so much. I would happily tell them that the creations were done by me and move on with my day. Read more>>
Ocho
The biggest risk I ever took was in 2009, when I quit my day job to become a full-time, self-employed entertainer. I’m taking the second biggest risk of my life right now, I think, by switching my focus from live entertainment to podcasting. I’ve been extremely contented for the past 13 years as a resident musician / DJ / sound tech / event coordinator / MC in Southern Minnesota. My career has grown as cozy as my old couch. I know all the comfortable positions. Why would I trade it for anything now? Read more>>
Ryan Hull
I was 5 years into being a full time wedding and lifestyle photographer when a friend of mine reached out to me and asked if I would be interested in doing photography and media management for a local landscape design company. My immediate reaction was no, I knew very little about marketing and had never considered branching into photography that did not focus on people, but when I took time to think about it, I decided to challenge myself and take a leap of faith. I immediately learned everything I could about advertising on social media and bigger platforms. Read more>>
Robin Uata
I started freelancing within creative fields back in 2015. I worked hard trying to find a creative path that truly resonated with me. For years I did everything from photography, styling, and designing. Although I enjoyed working within those fields, I didn’t feel fulfilled. It wasn’t until I traveled to Tonga for the first time in 2018. Both my parent were born and raised there and it was surreal to be able to go there and really reconnect with my culture and roots. Read more>>
Kiana Shaw
The biggest risk I took was moving to Chicago, Il. I moved to Chicago by myself in 2014. My grandmother was the only person I knew there and she lived in the suburbs. I had to build myself from the ground up as a choreographer and dancer. It was very different from what I was used too, they had an underground dance scene and I was so intrigued. I ended up collating with this Asian break dancer who helped me become apart of an organization called “Chicago loves dance”. Read more>>
Morgan Wilson
I feel like everything in life is a risk, honestly. Like literally any choice you make can you lead down a path you may have not wanted to take but it’s all apart of YOUR journey. One of my biggest risk was the decision to start my own business. Betting on yourself is one of the best feelings in the world but also one of the scariest. I tell people all the time that entrepreneurship is all about mindset & how well you can pivot through adversity. Read more>>
Cashh Clicc Records
One of the biggest risks we’ve taken, was actually leaving our traditional 9-5s to pursue the business full-time. That uncertainty of not knowing if it will ever take off is pretty nerve wrecking. Also, having to not only fund, but keep reinvesting to build the brand was a big risk. Read more>>
Racheal Lee
Where do I start!? Well, to begin, I ran track and cross country in high school, which I loved! I loved my team and I loved the endorphins I got after a good run! Two years into college, one of my roommates suggested I went to the gym with her. I was hesitant at first but thought “why not? I’ll just run on the treadmill.” Once I got there, I felt so inspired by others in the weight room, I promised myself I would go again with my roommate and try out the weight room (even though I know how scary it is your first time stepping in with the “big boys and girls”.) After my first “gym sesh” in the weight room, I became obsessed. Read more>>
Mollie Salazar
I started in photography in 2005, and in 2008 I began my own business in Southern California. I spent years building up clientele, I shot hundreds of weddings. In 2019, I really felt that my business was really where I wanted it to be. I had just photographed my biggest bucket list wedding at Disney World at the beginning of 2020 and the rest of the year was full of amazing weddings that I was so happy about. 2020 was set to be a record-setting year for Mollie Jane Photography. Read more>>
Frank Verga
You know what is the most important thing to remember when taking a risk? Trust yourself. Have confidence in your abilities. The fear surrounding a risk comes from the fear of the unknown, fear of failure. Trust yourself, take the leap. Many do not and many regret not trying. I had fears when I first started formal training in blacksmithing and I almost gave up. I had fears when I decided to strike off on my own and fears when I decided to lease a larger shop by myself. Read more>>
Debra Snyder
I graduated from nursing school in 2009. Becoming a nurse was all I ever dreamed of growing up. I loved it and it was my passion. Several years ago, my husband bought me my first digital camera to take photos of our son. I loved capturing all of the little memories as he grew. It wasn’t long after that, that I started taking photos for my family and friends too. The passion for photography grew from there. After beginning my new nursing career, I continued to take photos for just my family and friends as a hobby. The years passed and my passion for nursing changed as the heath care field continue to change as well. Read more>>
Korstiaan Vandiver
I’ve taken risk after risk in this business, but my most memorable risk in making a move towards Hollywood and filmmaking was particularly a faith move to Los Angeles by way of Atlanta. I’d gotten an offer for a screenplay I’d written, but the offer had fallen through before I left. I was also in the running for a Steven Spielberg reality show, “On the Lot”. I had made it to the second round, but that was as far as I’d go. Strangely, losing that opportunity fueled me even more, it gave me another gear. Read more>>
A Doll
the biggest risk I’ve taken was entrepreneurship. I’ve worked many 9-5s of all different industries , but nothing I was passionate about. I knew and felt like I was always destined to be my own boss. So I quit my apple tech job and went full time doing my aesthetic business. It was difficult at first . Trying to gain clientele, keeping momentum , etc . But good things come to those who are consistent and never give up! Now I am constantly gaining clientele and inquiries daily. besides the financial risk, it’s believing in yourself. Confidence will take you placed potential could never reach . Read more>>
Chelsea Shea Hodges
The biggest risk I took was leaving the salon world and starting my own hair and makeup business. My career starting growing out of the salon into tv, editorial and to on-site weddings. I was having to block out days on my books in the salon and that was hurting my salon clients and the salon. I realized for me to expand in my career the way I wanted to I needed to be on my own. It was extremely scary but the best thing I did to move to the next level. Haven’t been in a salon now in 7 years. Read more>>
Rayshauna Lampkins
Hello, my name is Rayshauna Lampkins owner of Ray of Beauty Salons here in Jacksonville & Miami Florida. Wow, just saying that bring joy & tears to my eyes! However, I decided to risk everything just for a dream I envisioned. One day I decided to wake up in my hometown Cleveland, Ohio & decided I needed more. At the time I wasn’t sure what “more” was but I knew I needed it! Lol… so I decided to move my children & I to Atlanta, GA which we stayed there for approximately 2 years. This move was the first risk I’ve ever taken. Read more>>
W.J. Lofton
I believe to be an artist is to take risks and one of the primary risks artists must take is to refuse meaninglessness. We’re tasked to feel and to see and create from depths of our human condition. It’s an act of gratitude; risk taking demands a belief that creating something new is possible, even if that thing is within, moving and changing us. Read more>>
Summer Tinch
When I began working as a Fashion Stylist in 2015 I took a huge leap of faith. At the time I was in college and studying Nursing. After several failed attempts at getting into a nursing program at the time, I realized that it wasn’t my path. At a point when I needed some sense of clarity of direction, I began praying. and God in his faithful sent confirmation. At the time, the confirmation I had received seemed very vague, but I began to seek him more about what I would be doing in Fashion. One day while studying I opened up my high school bible and came across the words “style” and I still small voice uttered, “get your kit.” Read more>>
Sebastian Rodriguez Caballero
Visiting new countries and traveling around the world is one of my biggest dreams in life. 2 years ago, I decided to buy a one-way plane ticket to Brazil not knowing what my future was going to look like. When I got there, I fell in love with the place, the people, the food, and the culture. Traveling by yourself is always risky and scary, at times you may feel alone and as if you don’t belong, but how are you to experience life without risking it all? Read more>>
Tim Gauntt
I love this question, because my story of “Risk” isn’t a single instance. Risk is an every day, week and month experience. Risk can be a very subjective word depending on the kind of person you are. To me, risk can show up as making split second decisions about 10 things. Or, it could be one massive decision that if done incorrectly could ruin the life you’ve spent so much time building. The difference is what you believe the future holds for YOU. For me, “Risk” has become a word that I’ve grown to respect. Read more>>
BARBARA Bradford
It was a cold day in Slavic Village.. I wanted something good to eat. I walk to the corner of the street . There was gyro George and another restaurant that I use to go too but unfortunately that restaurant was closed down for good. Then my mind got to racing .. I wonder if I can take over this restaurant and make it A soul food place for the neighborhood since there is no Southern Homemade Dinners around here… At the time The owner of the restaurant also was the owner of the convenient store which was next door . Read more>>
Amir Davis
In my opinion I take a risk every day trying to chase my dreams doing YouTube and being a content creator. I basically take a chance on myself by believing in myself by trying to make create content every single day rather it’s on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok. Im taking a chance on making this a full time job for myself so I can quite my job and fully do what I love to do and by also seeing the long term goal for myself and my family down the road. I am trying to give everything I have to make sure my family and myself are set for life and that’s a big risk in my opinion because I am trying to go outside of the normal in my family and do something that I know in the long run will be very benificial for all of us. Read more>>
Deniya Barron
I know this may seem like a common risk between all small businesses, but money is one of major risk that I took when I invested in my business. I invested so much of my saving into my business and the age of 19 I didn’t have much so the ‘little’ that I did invest was A LOT at the time. I took it as a leap of faith, I spent THOUSANDS trying to make sure I had perfected everything. (I still am to this day!) My business could’ve flopped right there but it took off in a short amount of time & I got that investment back times three! I wish I could say that about every time I invested but… you win some, you lose some! Read more>>
Aaron McCall
The biggest risk I ever took was quitting my comfortable job with people I loved at a respected creative agency to bet on myself. Walking out the door for the last time was one of the scariest experiences of my life, but it was also one of the most freeing and energizing. Read more>>
Sandra N
Well, the BEST risk that I took that changed my life was staring my business. I never was even thinking about starting a business, it wasn’t even an option. But I was put in a position where I had to make a decision whether to walk away or take my experience to a new direction. Sometimes the best decision in life comes to fruition when a risk is taken,
I decided to take my experience to a new direction and start my own business. I picked the name, registered the domain name to secure it and never looked back. Read more>>
Jacqueline Erickson Russell
Sometimes I feel that anything worth doing has the potential to go wrong. Life without a little risk would be too bland. So it is not to say that I don’t experience fear when I speak in public or take on a new clients or go hiking on paths a little too close to a cliff for my comfort. But rather, if I can listen to my fear and still push past it, I find the experience to be so meaningful. Read more>>
Danielle Mathis
Well, for several years I was working a full-time job as a restaurant manager while also doing all of the sewing, ordering, accounting–and everything else that needed to be done–for my own business. I was literally sleeping 2-3 hours per night, and would sometimes get so sleepy during the day I would take cat naps in my car to get through. I was beyond exhausted. But, I was still afraid to go ALL IN on my own business. Finally, one day I just made up my mind to do it. I turned it my notice at my job and focused 100% of my time and attention to my business. Read more>>
Jessica McIntee
Before the COVID Pandemic, I left my first “Big Girl Job” and started my career as a Full Time Entrepreneur. Even though I was very excited, this was most definitely a risk. I mostly lived off of credit and loans at the time. Shortly after my decision, the world shut down and the pandemic worsened. As a stylist, we were not deemed as essential so we could not really work. Once we were allowed to go back to work, Read more>>
Jerold Limongelli
My Company MVN Movement was scaling beautifully, doing over six figures in revenue within the 1st year of business. Going into my second year, we were on target to expand and scale when everything came to a sudden halt. I had a radical encounter with God and had to re-evaluate my coaching program, especially what I was teaching. In that time of rebuild, I recorded several zero-income months. It was a painful & testing time in my life. I wasn’t sure if I would rebound from this shift in identity. Read more>>
Lacey Vandermeer
Doing something you love to do is always a risk. Finding the balance to turning it into a business and staying passionate about it is Definitely a risk that is being taken. But one of the biggest risks I have made since starting my photography business was moving it from Madison WI to Denver CO. Denver has more of a arts scene and a great community to be apart of. I never thought I would of kept so many clients in WI to have them keep using my services and allowing me to do what I love and continue to capture their moments. Read more>>
Sean Spence
The biggest risk I ever decided to take was to move to the United States. I was born and raised in South Africa but I wanted to get away and pursue a career in music as an audio engineer and producer. Nashville seemed like the place to do that, so I decided to obliterate my life there and make the move. I had never visited the city before and pretty much had no idea what I was doing, but felt it was something I had to do. This was about 12 years ago. Read more>>
Craig Palmer
I’ve taken a lot of risks. Some of them paid off, others didn’t. For example… Growing up, I lived in a small town where there weren’t many opportunities for a creative person. So, small town hick moves to the Big Apple. It paid off. I accepted a job as a copywriter at a prestigious ad agency in Boston having never written anything other than a few English essays in high school. It paid off. Read more>>
Derek McKeith
I took a night to think about the risks I’ve taken in my life, and none amount or mean more to me, than the risk I took on myself to succeed. I came from a family steeped in the entertainment business. My Mother, Sheila Frazier a famous actress, and my Father, Sam McKeith, was the 2nd black music agent at William Morris Agency, which is now Endeavor. Both of my parents were and are known as pioneers in their fields. All of their friends were and are celebrities, or the people behind the success of them. It was this type of upbringing and environment that shaped my perspective and how I approached life choices. Read more>>
Katina Cunningham
Whether we understand it or not our mere existence is a risk. Risk is defined as a situation with exposure to possible danger. We navigate in and out of risk from getting out of bed in the morning to the time we lay down to rest at night. If we will take it a step further, sometimes we fail to understand that even when we don’t realize it a risk is occurring more often that we know. Read more>>
Shonda Berry
When I was younger I didn’t take many risks. Lately, I’ve been jumping off the cliff, without a parachute and blind folded. My latest joke with my friends is “I’m walking by Faith on a tightrope,” however there’s so much truth to that. I’m in a season where I’m taking some of the biggest risks and challenges I’ve ever taken before. Read more>>
Alison Ratner Mayer, LICSW
After we went virtual for covid and I closed down the physical offices, I knew that reopening was going to be a risk. We were getting lots of requests from parents and therapists to reopen and that meant I had to take an entirely new space since our old building had since been torn down. The space I found was amazing, 4 overly large offices, a supply room and 2 giant and charming rooms for group therapy that were upstairs. It was more than I wanted to spend, fewer offices than I wanted and group rooms that would take a while to fill. Read more>>
Jc Strange
2017 I was struggling with steady work and was in between jobs. I worked several jobs part-time that were barely making ends meet and I decided that I was going to do something else with my time. I recorded several songs at home and started shopping them around to people see if anyone would be interested in playing music with me. I found a drummer and about 3 months after that we played a live show at all star rock bar. We didn’t have any other members other than me and a drummer. Read more>>