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.

Maddison McKinley

Back in October of 2019, I went on my first trip abroad, to Barcelona, by myself. I distinctly remember sitting on the rooftop of my hotel and asking myself: “What do I want to do with my life?”, and the answer bore itself right on the sheet of paper I was writing on. I want to help women feel Clothing Confident. Less than a year later, in September of 2020, I decided to make it a reality. Read more>>

Jadarius Lawson

The summer after I graduated with my degree in Computer Engineering, I woke up and said I want to take my photography to the next level, open up my own studio and really have a full second income to my engineer job. I took that risk last year and I’m currently running two separate studios in the same building. I never imagined I would be this successful this fast but I’m always grateful for my clients and always ensuring customer satisfaction by providing them with a great personal experience. Read more>>

Kelly Heck

Every business owner has taken a risk, and every person working 9-5 for someone else has probably imagined taking that risk. But it’s easy to be held back by fear and uncertainty. That risk? Leaving your “safe job” and starting your own business or side-hustle. And I want to share this fairy cliché perspective, because I think there are a lot of talented people doing less than they can… wishing they could have more. More freedom. More income. More fun. Read more>>

Ebrima Abraham” Sisay”

I woke up one day and decided that I want to guide a billion people from surviving to thriving… I know you’re probably thinking, “Wait, what?? That’s a little over 12% of the world’s population.” – Let me backtrack to 4 years ago (2018). I was running very successful production and advertising agencies called Alkamba Creative Solutions and Alkamba Productions. Each company was doing multiple 6 figures a year and we were steadily growing at 64% every year. Read more>>

Bradley Shuffler

I look at life is taking a risk. God only gives us one life I say use it wisely. But I’ve always heard the higher the risk, the higher the reward it’s not easy, staying up late, working on my dream. I had always wanted to do filmmaking, directing, Photography, editing, writing, and some sort of acting in my own movies. Growing up I’ve always had a knack for the camera and editing. I took the rest start mowing business while I was on a business trip for another company in Dallas Texas. Read more>>

Ines Kim

I believe everything that happens to us and what we do with it, leads us to our ultimate purpose in life. I would like to start this article with something my reserved father advised me when I was a teenager: you have three options in life: to be useless (harming others), to be neutral, or to be useful (contributing to yourself and others). I hope this Canvas Rebel article will be useful to you as much as it has been to me. Read more>>

Kevin Loesch

If you want to work in the music industry, all you need to know is one thing…risk! Before I earned all of my titles and started touring all across the country, I had to lose everything. I always wanted to work in the music industry. I was in band from elementary school all the way throughout highschool. I used to rap in my closet and make music on my laptop before I switched to the business. I used to work a normal corporate job and I was dating a nice girl. We had a garden, a dog, and an ideal life together. When I took this leap of faith into the music industry I had no idea that I would eventually lose all of what made me happy. Read more>>

Aubrey Tran

If you truly want to take life into your own hands and make your dreams come true, there is no way around it – you have to take many risks. If something equally terrifies and excites you, you’re probably in the right place. Taking risks to reach your dreams requires lots of vulnerability and courage but it is almost always worth it. Read more>>

Annie Ingram

I have always been a worker. Growing up in the Midwest as a descendant of farmers, work was wrapped up in my identity and self-worth. It didn’t matter if I worked at a gas station, or as a waitress, doing a good job no matter the wage was a significant aspect of my confidence. As an adult, I ended up working for a large health insurance company in the claims department. I learned a lot and was promoted. It was a secure job. It had good benefits and a 401k. I knew my job and did it well. Read more>>

Patrice McLaurin

My existence as a business owner is the biggest and most rewarding life changing risk I’ve ever taken. To go from a job, which essentially is guaranteed income, to having to create your own income is scary! Before branching into entrepreneurship, I was a staff accountant. While working as an accountant I wrote my first book, Have You Thanked an Inventor Today. A couple of months before it was due to be published, I was laid off from my job. I considered this perfect timing; as I was struggling with the idea of how I would effectively promote the book while working a full time job. Read more>>

Townsend Russell

At age 33 I had, glowing on the screen of my laptop, an offer to buy my businesses. All 3 that I had started from scratch with no loans, partners, or investors. Just an idea, an uncountable quantity of hours, and determination to make it work. At 33 I was married for 13 years, had 3 kids, a couple of retirement accounts, a paid-off home, and I was genuinely talented at my businesses. Read more>>

Oladipo Akintunde

In recent times, risks have been quite frequent for me. I have come to understand that to grow as a person and truly find success, risks are essential. One particular risk that sticks out for me was moving out of the commercial gym space and going into private practice and online coaching as a trainer. After having spent a few years training clients face to face for a company that supplied trainers with their clients, I realized I was lacking essential skills to becoming a top level trainer. Read more>>

Heather Williams

The summer of 2022, I had the opportunity of a lifetime. I was offered a job at a neighboring school district and I couldn’t pass it up. So, I made a decision to change school district after 15 years. In the teaching world, this is consider a huge risk. There were many decisions that had to be considered when making this change. Teachers have to consider pay cuts, insurance changes, and how your retirement could be affected. This was an extremely hard decision for many reasons. Read more>>

Tamara Washington

Starting my management firm, Boom Effect Entertainment and Sports LLC, (BEES), was taking a big risk. I launched the company during the peak of pandemic and no longer was confident that it would be a success. I can honestly say it was the best decision I made and has been a turning point in my career. The company was in the works before the pandemic. I was traveling across the country weekly and was creating a team that would make sure the clients who would agree to work with us would be successful. Read more>>

Cale Alexander, PT, DPT, Cert DN

Jumping in full time was a huge risk for me. It’s tough to leave the full time, salaried job when you know that you have a paycheck waiting on you each week no matter what happens. But, I knew that if I wanted to get to a place personally and professionally that I was happy and content with then I was going to have to start my own physical therapy practice. Read more>>

Staci Phebus

Juniper Bay Metals was born in 2014, after many years of daydreaming and planning how I might make my love of metalsmithing front and center in my work life. I first fell in love with the craft when taking my first metal jewelry making class in college. It was 1998, and I was a 20 year old art school student mostly studying painting & drawing at the time. When I walked into the metals studio, I immediately felt drawn to the tools of the trade, and the sounds of a busy workshop environment. Read more>>

Abby Elise Baker

If you’d ask any artist if they have taken risks to get where they are today, 100% (yes 100%) of them will say YES! Being an artist is a risky move and throughout your career as an artist you will be presented with opportunities that seem uneasy or out of your comfort zone. While I have had many uneasy moments in my educational and professional career, my biggest risk was leaving my corporate 9-5 to become a full-time artist and designer. It was by far the biggest hurdle I have taken to date, but as scary as it was, it completely changed my life for the better. Read more>>

Della-Kate Flower

Starting my horror themed burlesque, drag, and sideshow company was the biggest risk to date for me. Market research and also performance history come into play as well as the question “Would an audience come to a show that has a horror theme outside of October?” This question was answered in November of 2016 when I produced my first show in Gainesville at a small theater who graciously loaned me a Friday night. I offered slots in the show to burlesque performers locally as well as those I knew had fans in the area. Read more>>

Kanithea Powell

I will start by saying that new beginnings are often disguised as uncomfortable endings I left my job last year. I had a a good salary, a 401k and a pension. I was active in the company and doing things, that at one point in my life, I believed in. When the pandemic hit, everything changed. I realized I had become to comfortable, the company I loved had changed and so had the people. All of the uncertainty, injustice and unrest from Trump to BLM, forced me to ask myself some serious questions. Read more>>

Alexander Hui

The biggest risk that I’ve taken in my life is following my dreams and pursuing a career in personal training. The reason why is that I felt I would lose the support of the people I cared about the most in my life, my parents and family. Being raised in an Asian household, my family wanted me to have a more traditional, stable, well-paying job, like a scientist, doctor, lawyer, or something corporate. Read more>>

Ashley Shepherd

There have been many seasons of my life where I have taken lots of risks. By risks I mean I have made a decision or pursued something that involved uncertainty. One of the biggest risks I have taken is to pursue women’s ministry. In 2015 I went online and asked anyone if they wanted to do a Bible study with me. I made a group and thought I would have a few hundred join. In four weeks there were over 9,000 women in the group. There were over 1,000 women that join the group each day for weeks. Read more>>

Chelsea Cherry

I wouldn’t be where I am today if I didn’t take the huge risk of escaping my abusive relationship almost 11 years ago. It was absolutely the hardest and scariest thing I have ever done. It all started when when I found out I was pregnant with my then-boyfriend’s child. I was only 18 when she was born and shortly after, the relationship started to become quite abusive. By the time I turned 21 I found myself living in a complete nightmare. Read more>>

Heidi Mills

When I went back to college in my early-mid twenties I felt like I really didn’t have a lot of room to screw around with my career path. I was married, had bills to pay, and was starting a family. My husband had a degree and a good job but life expenses, especially when you decide to get married and move across the country shortly after high school, stack up quickly. This is one of the aspects that led me towards pursuing a business degree. Read more>>

Chelsey Sweeten

How to step away from your business and own a business rather than be self employed. This was something thatIi battled with is stepping away, I knew that I wanted to make sure my business would run with or without me. I also wanted to have the freedom to open other businesses. I think surrounding your self with good people who you trust is key! Over the last year, I have transitioned to this model and my business is thriving! My moto is your only as big as the people you surround your self with, and it cant always be me doing everything. Read more>>

Melisa Ford

While starting a business in and of itself was what I considered to be a huge risk at the time, 20 years ago, is was the best decision I have ever made. Fast forward to my established business of 17 years and at a turning point of a major life decision: stay in California or move out of state. My family and I decided to look at our options here in Southern California to buy property and start a small homestead and we ended up finding our dream location in Valley Center, about 25 minutes from where we lived in San Marcos. Read more>>

Dina Marto

My career has been a series of small and big risks especially as an entrepreneur. I have found that the more risks you take, the better you are at making them and the less fearful you are when doing so. My risk-taking includes a combination of strategic planning and intuition. One of the biggest risks I have ever taken is when I left a major record label to launch my own artist development company and creative space. I worked on music mogul Antonio “LA” Reid’s team at Island Def Jam for six years. Read more>>

Jessica Cummings

Five and a half years ago my husband and I took a massive leap of faith when we decided to resign from our physical therapy positions at an in-network, insurance-based clinic to start our own out-of-network, cash-based physical therapy practice. Many of our colleagues were skeptical our plan would work and one colleague even directly told us “you know this won’t work, right”. This may have been partly because we opened our clinic inside our garage. Read more>>

Sunahtah Jones

One of the biggest and most impactful risks that I’ve taken has been moving to Atlanta. Before moving to Atlanta, I was living in Tampa (where I went to college) and working at a very emotionally taxing job that I hated. I thought I wanted to be a professor and ended up getting rejected from what I thought was my dream school in Atlanta. It turned out that the closing doors that I was experiencing was actually the Universe encouraging me to make space for new and amazing opportunities. I found a little apartment in the West End (never did a viewing beforehand), packed my car up, and moved to Atlanta at the beginning of the COVID pandemic in 2020. Read more>>

Dr. Ashley Peterson

Starting my travel influencer journey has taken 5 years. During the day, I work as a doctor so I often felt being creative and posting my travels would be frowned upon. Professionals have to learn that they are multi-dimensional people. You can travel, post on social media, and still treat your patients well. Now I want to help other professionals travel to luxury places and enjoy your vacations more when they are not working. Read more>>

Kasey Acuff

My biggest risk I have ever taken was actually going 100% into my business. I grew up having to work random side jobs with my artistry as a weekend job. I was working receptionist at a Medical spa and suddenly we were told it would be closing . Me and my husband had a serious talk about my next step and he had the confidence in me only doing my freelance makeup artist business , Read more>>

Monique Garza Sullivan

Risk is something I calculate very carefully. There are many components that need to align when considering a move into a new realm for my artist career. One day in early 2021, I caught a glimpse into a new enticing world of Cryptoart. I just so happened to view a post of one of my favorite Fine Art photographers making a difference with his billboard art campaign, Justin Aversano. His Twin Flames photography series had found a new home in this type of underground world of cryptocurrency. Read more>>

Julie Lauman

I lived in St. Louis Missouri for 25 years, being an avid animal lover I volunteer my time doing events, and fundraising for the St. Louis animal Society. Being a part of such a special organization my love for animals and helping them grew even stronger. I continued this passion by working with Chinese Shar-Pei rescue groups which lead to rescuing dogs from them as well. My life was about to take a big change when my husband came to me and said he had a job opportunity in Charleston, SC. Read more>>

Bria Waldron

Starting a business is all about taking risks. Rude Gyal’s Kitchen isn’t my only business. I’m also Co-owner of a handbag/accessory line (Bleu Fleures & Co), A turo host, and I do career services. Besides all of these, I work a regular job. I actually lost my job earlier this year and just recently started a new one. That was the hardest things because my job is what funds my business when business is slow. Since 2020, Read more>>

Robert Liberatore

When I went to college I had every intention of becoming an engineer. I studied hard, got good grades and interned with various companies each summer. But by the time I graduated I had learned that a career as a mechanical engineer wasn’t what I had hoped it would be and I was faced with a difficult dilemma: do I accept an offer for a job that I know I will hate, or do I take a risk and ignore my expensive degree to hopefully find a new career that will bring me more fulfillment? Read more>>

Kip Allen

Taking the risk of becoming a professional musician. I spent most of my school coming up with the goal of being a professional musician but when I took the jump to move to nashville to go to college for it that was a big turning point. It seems to have turned out pretty well as I am now 6 years out of college and I have been able to only do music as my main job. Read more>>

Melvin Henley

They say: “Entrepreneurship is like, jumping off a cliff and building a plane on the way down”. I don’t like to think of going down. The risk is risky, but in the words of Jim Rohn: “It’s all risky”. The best bet I ever made, was to bet on myself. People may not see the value in YOU, but it’s job to see the value in yourself. If you work at that, then the world will see your work and believe in your value. It’s literally like a “show and prove”, but only to yourself Read more>>

Adia Tabron

I’ve always had a knack for drawing, but around my senior year in high school I had my first art class. Though I had raw talent, I greatly lacked experience and knowledge of art medias. I stuck with pencils and wouldn’t dream of trying anything else, pencil work was the only thing that got me validation. My teacher at the time, Mrs. J, often encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone and try more mediums. I didn’t listen to her until about 3 years later, when I finally began testing out acrylic paints. Read more>>

Rana Sobh

I feel like after working in retail, doctor’s offices, and in corporate for the last 10 years, I’ve learned that the same repetitive tasks and sitting in a chair with yellow lights in my face all day bored me. So I left. I took a risk leaving my secure, stable job to pursue my love of film and I’m STILL in shock after 2 years. I left what I thought was a my dream job back in May of 2020 as a publicist for musicians. Right during the height of covid I chose to be jobless (only for a little while) and that led me to discover what other options I had. Read more>>

Nikki Erpelding

I actually wanted to be a photographer, it was when I was studying photography and working as a server that I switched my career to restaurant manager. This is important because what I didn’t know was, when you run a restaurant, you may also by-default manage the beverage program. As I created drink recipes, met with distributors, went to trade shows, I organically started to learn about wine and spirits. It was the part of my job that kept me engaged, and interested in learning more. Read more>>

Jess Novak

I always wanted to be a musician, but didn’t believe I was good enough. As a result, I went to college for music industry and graduate school for music journalism. I thought, if I wasn’t good enough to perform, I could at least be involved with music in another way. I became a music editor, journalist and radio deejay and though I loved those jobs, my real desire still drove me. I wanted to perform. So, one day, I quit all of my jobs (three at the time) and took off across the country. I still don’t really know why. Read more>>

Puck

The biggest risk I have taken is one that I take over and over again, and it is the risk to either lean into the discomfort I feel or to retreat and shrink into my comfort zone. This is the sole risk that I face down time and time again. It is really the only one that exists, everything else is merely an iteration of that main dilemma. There is a famous quote by AnaÏs Nin that really encapsulates this thought so beautifully, “And the day came where the risk to remain in a tight bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” Read more>>

Von Tae

I got rid of my apartment, sold all of my stuff and moved to Atlanta in the middle of the night in 2019. I was fed up with working a nine to five and felt as though Atlanta was the place I needed to be. I remember driving and filming myself, praying to God that everything worked out for me. Unfortunately I ended up homeless for a few nights but I did end up getting a job to help support myself and that same job provided me with a place to live as well. In between performing, creating new content and networking, Read more>>

Sharee Silerio

I was born and raised in St. Louis, MO. My parents tell me that when I was in elementary school, I would talk about California. I had never been to the state, and didn’t have any close family members there, so for them, it was odd. Lol. I even remember checking out a book from the school library about California (that I may or may not still have, lol). Read more>>

Dawn Vaflor

“Take a risk!”, they said. “You are talented, and you can do this.” This is what my friends and family were saying when after winning several local dessert and bread contests, I was encouraged to start a bakery business. How does one go about starting a business when you have so little capital to start with. This is what I was thinking. Read more>>

Shemeka McNair

Pursuing my dream was one of the biggest risks I have ever taken in life. You leave your comfort zone and enter into the unknown. In that comfort zone is where everything is planned out, and you know what comes next. You leave everything you physically see for something you hope to one day see. That takes courage and faith. Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not yet seen. I took a huge leap of faith on numerous occasions. I went after every dream I had. I refuse to live a life of regret. Read more>>

Christine Powell

It all started with one student I worked with during COVID. They struggled with focus issues, organizational challenges, and completing homework on time. Our weekly one-on-one sessions allowed me to understand their learning challenges fully, and I was able to apply my knowledge and skills in a meaningful and rewarding way. The student’s success was measurable, which is what we look for in educational data. Read more>>

3Fifs

“You gotta take chances to make advances.” This quote is one of my mantras in life, so when my buddy, who was a full-time, charting songwriter at the time, told me that I should be making music full-time, I hesitated briefly before jumping in ten toes deep. I went to college at Florida A&M University and studied Political Science/Pre-Law with intentions to be an entertainment attorney and artist manager. Read more>>

Tracy Carroll

I started my business from the personal need of re-stocking the Cuban products that I use. After moving from Miami to the Jacksonville area, I discovered that the availability of the products that I use for cooking, personal care, etc. are not easily available as they were back in Miami. It set off the idea in me of opening up an online and local pop-up market where I could sell those items. I whole heart deadly felt, at the time, that I surely could not be the only one struggling with finding these Cuban products. But as a full hands on mom I took a risk with doing so, not fully understanding what it really meant to be a small business owner. Read more>>

Sophia “SJ” Thomas

I have been cooking since I was three years old. My mother taught me, my father taught me, and my grandfather taught me. I knew as soon as I could make my own five cheese macaroni that I wanted to be a chef. When the pandemic hit our world, many of my friends were asking me how to make certain foods because their parents had to work. They wanted to be able to make their own foods. That’s how SJ Savory Kitchen started. Being only 12 years old at the time, I took a risk in starting my own business. With the help of my mom, it worked out! Read more>>

Christopher “The Real Frii” Elliott

The biggest risk I’ve taken in life, to date, has to be the one I took on January 31, 2022 at 4:24pm. This was the day I emailed the HR department at my “day job”, and notified them I would not be returning to work, and formally resigned. Now that I think of it, I may want to print that email and frame it. God, I was so nervous hitting that “send” button. Read more>>

Karen Torok

Quitting my full time job (with insurance and 401k) at an Advertising Agency to be a freelance designer felt like a huge risk but the real risk came later. As I worked on various projects, I realized I was always incorporating illustration. Like so many other artists, I’ve loved drawing since my parents gave me a box of crayons. My mom introduced me to drawing with pastels and the expressive style of Henri deToulouse-Lautrec, and it completely rocked my world. I have been filling sketchbooks ever since. Read more>>

Erika Roberts

The biggest life-changing risk for me was when I left my life as a lawyer and pursued making art full-time. I had been practicing for nearly ten years. I loved the people I worked with, but I really needed more flexibility and autonomy in my life. At that time, most larger law firms couldn’t offer that and I started looking for another job. After interviewing for a few different nontraditional legal jobs, I just was not finding the right set of circumstances that worked with my lifestyle. I had two very young girls, and a husband whose job had unusual and demanding hours. Entrepreneurship just made sense for us. Read more>>