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.

Angela Alexander

My creative journey has been a risk from the beginning. I moved to Asheville, NC in 1997 from Charlotte, NC. I had a background in newspaper/advertising and got a job doing basic graphic design for a small company in Asheville, It was a good paying job which was hard to find in Asheville unless you were in medicine. I worked for this small company for five years and then they went out of business. Read more>>

Beth Gibbs

I would have never described myself as a risk taker, but in 2011 I signed up for my first improv class. I was about a year out of college, and my typical day was going to work and then spending the evening at home. I was lonely. I needed to meet new people, and being a big fan of comedy, improv seemed like the thing to try. Read more>>

Sarah Duncan

September 2017, I set the intention of starting my own bodywork practice by September 2019. Flash forward to September 2019– I didn’t work a day in corporate world, yet when I chose this route— it was in fear and all risk. To this day, my family is immensely benefiting from that risk I took. Read more>>

Henry Louis Adams

From the young age of 19, I have always been in ministry. I have always enjoyed serving others. This leads me to work as a Pastor specializing in outreach to the low or no-income community.. After years of Pastoring, I took a corporate job. I was compelled to leave the corporate job 12 years ago in pursuit to find a path that will not only provide for my family’s needs but provide in abundance while I enjoyed growing in my new career. Read more>>

Andrea England

The most biggest risk I’ve ever taken was voyaging across the Pacific Ocean in a 36′ sailboat. The boat was built by my father-in-law, and my husband and I were going to sail her from New Zealand to Canada. The most obvious risks were environmental- wind, waves, reefs and rocks. That’s what everybody else was worried about- two people in a small boat on a big ocean. Read more>>

Valentina Rodriguez

I believe becoming an artist was the biggest risk I’ve ever taken. I don’t come from a creative background and pursuing the entrepreneur lifestyle was never really a dream of mine, it all happen by accident one morning and I went full-time into this crazy journey from day one. Read more>>

Michelle Buser

I was making plans to uproot and change my life by moving from the Washington, D.C. area to Brooklyn, New York to pursue my art career and invest in myself as an artist just as the pandemic hit. Months into quarantining, I decided if I could still successfully and responsibly go forward with my plans I would, because I’m not one to put my life on hold and none of us knew when it would pass over. So as planned, I took a leap; an even bigger risk than just positioning myself to commit to my dreams of becoming a full time painter, but doing so in the midst of a pandemic, and I moved to Brooklyn. Read more>>

Stephanie Marzella

The biggest risk I’ve taken in my life is chosing to make a living as a fine artist. I credit my mother for supporting this endeavor and financing a majority of my education at The Cleveland Institute of Art. I majored in textile design and worked in the field for several years. Eventually I transitioned into doing my own artwork. I was able to do this because my husband had a job as a toy designer. Read more>>

Heather Novak-Peterson

I think the biggest risk I ever took was quitting an amazing job to start my own company. It was 2019 and I felt like I had finally broken through the glass ceiling as an Associate Vice President in one of the top Architecture firms in the country with an amazing boss that thought about design in similar ways, and co-workers that were inspiring and highly collaborative. Read more>>

Carmela Montgomery

Taking the risk of putting yourself out there can be difficult. As an artist you understand that when you present your art to the world, you are exposing yourself and your artistry to both positive and negative feedback. Since I was a kid, I have always been a creative; drawing, writing and poetry. But as an adult, I started painting as a form of therapy. Read more>>

Misty Blú

In 2010, I was handed a pink slip with my 6-figure corporate project management/ director assistant in IT Business Services in the Pharmaceutical Industry. I was so clueless and didn’t have a plan at first. I literally had a dream job. Help oversee a staff. A six-figure salary. Respect within the organization. A nice corporate card + bonus. It was the best setup ever. But GOD had something else for me to do and deep down inside, I knew I had a higher calling. I knew there was something in His plan that had to grow. Read more>>

Dustin VanLieu

In 2014, while I was in-between jobs and having just been introduced to parenthood with my 1st daughter being born, I decided to start basketball training in the local Hudson Valley, NY community to earn supplemental income while I waited for the right career opportunity. Read more>>

victoria Hairston

I got into real estate in 2019! I knew eventually I would want to do it full time! I worked hard and prayed harder! In 2021, I stepped out on faith and left my full time job to focus solely on real estate! Best decision ever. It allowed me to put my all into what I was passionate about. If I would have never taken that risk to quit my full time job, there is no telling how my business would be now. Read more>>

Jessica Prill

The biggest risk I have taken is opening my second business after having suffered some big finacial blows with my first go at small business ownership. I was never going to do it again. There was just too much to loose, too many hours to work and too much stress and resposibility that came ahead of my personal life and freedom. These were all the things that I told people when they asked me how I felt about having been a small business owner during the crash of 08…I was done. Read more>>

Ashley Parris

Mastering vulnerability is a practiced and premeditated skill or perhaps a trait that should not exist within the realms of our livelihood. I was tested and overwhelmingly challenged with this idea of exposing my truth when I decided to document my growth journey in my first self-published book entitled, Find You F%ck Them. Read more>>

Laura Webster

I took a big risk when I completely switched my career. I taught first grade for nine years. It was something I wanted to do my whole life and never considered any other profession. There was a thought though, what else could be out there? Am I selling myself short for never seeking another profession? After weighing the pros and cons, I decided to leave teaching when my husband and I made a big move half way across the country. I haven’t looked back! Read more>>

Kenzo Cole

This question makes me think broadly about the inherent riskiness of life. No outcome is ever guaranteed to us, but yet we must try, we must take that leap, we must be true to and be led by our internal guides. I think that any day navigating the world as a Black queer person is a risk. Our existence is the total antithesis to everything we are socialized to love, desire, and create lives around. For the Black queer folks out there, embracing it all, loving how the love, and serving the looks… Read more>>

Debbie Terrell

Taking a risk (while Learning the craft) Just a few years ago, I decided to take one of the most challenging, yet fulfilling risk of my life. I resigned from the federal workforce (a second time) to pursue my passion of becoming an Actor/Model. For many years, I had been balancing my craft on a part-time basis, while working a full-time job, and being a U.S. naval officer’s wife and full-time mom of two beautiful daughters. Read more>>

Sammi Peterson

I never considered myself a “risk taker”, as I have always been goal driven and have aspired for more than what I’ve been given in life but from what I thought were conventional ways, until I looked at the decisions I’ve made and realized the vast majority would categorize me as just that, a “risk taker”. I took a risk when I was very young and fell into the midst of addiction. I was very fortunate that I was still young when I made it out of the depths, but not without the motivation of an unexpected pregnancy when I was 17, Read more>>

Macarena Morales

My experience in the publishing world is quite extensive. For a time I worked in a Publishing House specialized in historical novels, then I worked as an editor producing language school textbooks and later as an editor in a large transnational. Read more>>

Elizabeth Mary

“Everything you want is on the other side of fear.” A midnight toast on New Year’s Eve 2018 set my solo music career in motion. At this time, I was currently working for my career job at the National Mississippi River Musuem & Aquarium as the Retail Manager/Buyer. The retirement of my 9 year run with my cover band, Zero 2 Sixty gave me the opportunity to revisit my years of songwriting. In April 2018, I recorded and released my six- track debut EP Album, “Dance with the Fear”. Read more>>

Alisha Khanna Haig & Kate Dockeray

When we first met, Kate was a freelance photographer, and Alisha worked at an advertising agency as a producer. With the both of us feeling uninspired, we often discussed our shared frustration with the marketing industry – not only did we find it to be male dominated, but we also found there was little to no space for BIPOC voices. By the time projects came to us in the pipeline at our day jobs, there just wasn’t enough space for us to have a say in our work or flex our creative muscle. Read more>>

Jasmine J-Su

In my lifetime, I’ve taken many risks. Although I don’t consider myself to be a risk taker however the risks that were taken were necessary for my survival and growth. After working for my former employer for 4 years, I decided while sitting in my cubicle that I was ready to level up in my life. The epiphany happened when I saw a flyer while working that announced the retirement of a woman that was a customer service representative. Read more>>

Chris Thomas

Early in life, I knew my future would be defined by risk-taking. I realized my love for cinema and music would culminate in a career of scoring music for film, and there was no conventional path into this life. There would be no job security, no promise of opportunity, and no guarantee that I even had the talent to do the work. Everything would be a gigantic risk. Read more>>

Talia & Kelly Bongolan-Schwartz

The biggest risk we’ve taken as individuals and as a business was leaving our jobs and going full-time into the bagel world. When we first conceptualized Tali’s Bagels & Schmear, Kelly was doing environmental work and Talia was taking a break from her PhD and waitressing full-time. In its infancy, Tali’s Bagels & Schmear was your quintessential pandemic-era online business. Kelly was working from home and Talia worked nights. Read more>>

Alecxia Ceballos

This topic makes me feel emotional because I’ve never let anyone, or anything stop me despite my timid personality. I was placed in a box way before I was born. The world wants people like us to fail. I recognize that my light complexion has gotten me places and recognize the privilege I received because the color of my skin. I don’t mean to get deep but becoming an entrepreneur and opening my online practice this year opened a door to unknown freedom I’ve never embraced before. Read more>>

Dana Eshelman

As a young athlete, I was significantly misguided in my fueling to support performance as a female athlete. Not having a normal menstrual cycle and being “lean” were applauded and presented as “normal” until it was affecting my health and performance. Read more>>

Ebony Robinson

Let me be the first to say that I was not the biggest risk-taker when it came to taking risks. In 2012 I earned an internship during my senior year in high school working at the hospital as a Patient Access Representative. This was a big deal for me because it was my first real corporate job and a great opportunity to jump-start my career in the health field. But once I started working there I soon found out that this job was not what I wanted for myself. Read more>>

Erica Prime

I am a risk averse individual by nature. I fret over decisions, I am resistant to change, and I enjoy consistency. As such, I spent over 20 years in the same career, working as a school psychologist in dozens of public school academies. In hindsight, I realize that, although the work was rewarding, it was my resistance to the risk associated with a career change that kept me there for so long. Read more>>

Amanda DiPol

My biggest risk was starting Pampered by Panda! I actually worked in banking before getting into esthetics and I was really good at it. However, it just wasn’t fulfilling in the way I wished it were. So when I decided to go back to school, I wanted to do something that would create freedom, but also bring me joy. I wanted to do bridal make-up. Once I started school, I absolutely fell in love with skin and the science behind it, instead. I ended up going part time with my banking position, and part time at a full service spa. Read more>>

Morgan Thurman

Starting my business and opening a brick and mortar was definitely a risk and a journey into unfamiliar territory. My name is Morgan Thurman and I’m a lover of fashion and outdoor adventure. I’m a wife with two small children and the owner of a lifestyle brand, MIVA. At 34 years old with a sociology degree and my own in home daycare, I decided to add a little side hobby to my plate. At this time my son was going through some health issues and we had been searching for years for a diagnosis. Read more>>

Lanette Denton

I am a person that has struggled with substance use disorder for most of my life. It first started becoming a problem at around age eleven. Substance use dsorder wasn’t very commonly known back then and I just came across as a problem child. I had many run ins with the law early on and spent a lot of my childhood locked up in a juvenile detention facility. As the years went on and my addiction progressed so did my criminal record as well as my misery in life. Read more>>

Chloe Kemp

One of the most significant risks I took was to write my memoir, Wisdom Keeper: My Extraordinary Journey to Unlock the Sacred Within. It wasn’t the writing aspect that made me nervous, as I was already an award-winning writer. What concerned me was that I would need to write about very personal things that I had not shared with most people. Read more>>

Tyler Talbert

Starting Only the Food and giving 110% was a big risk for me! I did not know how I would do as a new business owner, and I was afraid that people may not believe in my brand as much as I do. After about two years of doing catering events and selling platters I knew I could do more, and I wanted more! I moved my family to Atlanta, GA because I felt like it was the Mecca for small black owned businesses. Read more>>

Abdul Sesay

In 2014 I met a man who would change everything I felt about the music industry. It was an eye opener into the real world. At the time I was a sophomore in college attending McNally Smith school of music. That was the same year I got the opportunity to go on American Idol. Things were going great! It was the same year I also met Richard, aka “the music man”, the title given to him by fox 9 news after doing an investigation. Read more>>

Sapheria Emani

The biggest risk that I have taken, was the risk of putting myself out there for the world to see and get to know. I started Inspired Growth in 2018 with just a thought to help inspire people. I didn’t know what to expect but I knew that the basic step was being more open with who I am to strangers that I did not know. I took a risk on MYSELF. Starting an idea from scratch is not easy. Read more>>

Sarah Patterson

After making the life-changing decision to stay home with my daughter after maternity leave, I was terrified my dream business wouldn’t take off. I talked to friends and family, tried giveaways online, and delivered free samples all over town, but I just wasn’t gaining the momentum I had hoped for. Then one day, I had the idea to collaborate with a local brewery owned by a friend of mine from high school. Read more>>

Jackie Koenig

My husband and I sold our house, packed up our family and moved to the coast of NC during the pandemic in 2020. We had lived in the Outer Banks many years ago before we had kids but we always dreamed of going back and raising our family there. I knew when we moved I wanted to continue to grow my painting business but it would require me being bold and vulnerable in ways I had not yet experienced. We were living in a rental cottage by the beach, homeschooling our kids and didn’t know anyone local yet. Read more>>

Leyna Grace

Around the time that I had been in the tattoo industry for about 7 years, I decided to fully pursue tattooing as a full time career (without any side hustles to fall back on). It was important for me to feel confident in my decision because I was also a single mom at the time. I understood that in tattooing, as well as so many other forms of art, there is not always consistency and long-term financial stability; however, the meaning that this decision gave my life was completely worth the risk. Read more>>

Anthony Amos

The most significant risk I’ve taken so far was diving into art full-time. I was let go by a food safety lab after working there for over a year. It was very unexpected. Having worked my way up from fumbling around to leading shifts and training new employees, I had trouble understanding the decision. I was terrified. Walking to my car my anxiety was high. It was January and oddly enough I couldn’t feel the cold air. Read more>>

Angela Bodnar

Anacua House (my business) is my risk. In 2018, after experiencing some growing vision problems, I was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP)- a degenerative retinal disease that results in blindness. RP has destroyed my night vision and basically all of my peripheral vision, leaving only my central vision intact (and in excellent shape- the vision I have left is 20/25 acuity!). I can no longer drive a car, and navigating dimly lit spaces is difficult. Read more>>

Hennessie Martin

Starting my brand, my business has been the biggest risk I have ever taken thus far in my life, and I am glad that I did it. Modeling as a plus size girl was already taking me out of my comfort zone, when I started back in 2011/2012, in college. I was just like “who wants to see a big girl walking a runway? She’s not small like the other models. Her hair ain’t long, she’s short, etc” You know all the things that we as a society are used to seeing in a model, I didn’t fit into those categories. Read more>>

Shila Lopez

A risk I have taken which to me was big, was quitting my 9 to 5 on Juneteeth to pursue my business full time. I had been fighting depression and heavy anxiety everything I got in my car and started my commute to work. The closer I got to the parking lot the worst my anxiety would get. Read more>>

Audrey Scheck

This narrative from the About Page on our website explains so much of my story… and it highlights the risk I took! I’m copy/pasting it here so you have the full story, and I’m adding in some more color around the “risk” portion! Read more>>

Christina Sticka-Jacobs

In 2018 I had been serving as a full time school psychologist for area K-12 schools for 12 years. I had always enjoyed education, being a student and walking the halls of schools. In college I studied psychology because I wanted to figure out the human mind and better understand behavior. In graduate school I decided to combine my love of education and psychology and peruse a career in school psychology. Read more>>

Shole Strand

Starting my own business was likely the biggest risk I’ve ever taken. After college, I got a job in marketing/graphic design. I worked 14 years in a corporate office environment with a steady paycheck and benefits. Hell, I even had my parking paid for in a Washington, D.C. garage. When we moved from the DC area to upstate NY, I started another marketing job at a big company. Read more>>

Dare Harcourt

The biggest risk I’ve taken was last year when I decided to pursue art full-time. I started painting shortly after graduating from college. After graduation, I went through some serious health issues and began to paint as a way of coping. I quickly fell in love with painting and knew it was something I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Read more>>

Kris Albro

When I was 28 I hit a crossroads. I had just lost my automotive business and had no idea what direction to go in. I no longer had a full time job and no idea what a truly wanted to do. I didn’t want to pursue my degree and I knew I didn’t want a desk job. That’s when the idea hit me that maybe it was time to try welding professionally. I was already playing around with a mig welder, welding chains and spare parts together to try to create art. Read more>>

Chrystopher Hancock

Since I was 16 years old, I have worked sometimes having a full-time job and a part-time job at the same time. No matter what, for 13 years I received a paycheck every week and all I had to do was show up and I knew I would be getting paid. Read more>>

Shari S.N.Arly

Discarding the dream of traditional publishing and becoming and independently published author was both a huge risk and a departure from a life-long plan. I’ve always written stories and dreamed of seeing my books in libraries and stores. After university I finally had time to focus on my fiction writing career. I joined a critique group and started submitting my work. I sold a number of short stories and collected over 500 rejection letters on both my short and novel length work. Read more>>

Missi Russ

After working 10 years in my “dream” job in law enforcement, I resigned in February of 2021. I had been a Certified Personal Trainer for 5 years and my business was growing. I was burnt out working 60+ hour weeks with both jobs. The pandemic hit and it put things in perspective for me. Life is just too short. If I am not loving what I do for the next 20-30 years, what am I doing? Read more>>

Brian Tan

The most recent big, life changing risk I have taken has been moving. I was born and raised in New Jersey, attended college in Vermont, and post grad moved to Brooklyn, NY. I’ve never lived anywhere outside the Northeast and I had never imagined I would, at least in the near future. I was very comfortable with my surroundings especially with my family and friends all relatively close by and just the general familiarity of growing up outside of NYC. Read more>>

Monica Lanigan

Starting my own business is definitely the biggest risk I’ve taken so far! I’m so glad I did tho. In fact I should have done this sooner. I’ve worked in a few very popular bakeries local to the Tampa area, which I absolutely loved, however nothing beats being able to be my own boss, make my own decisions and create my own visions for my work. To me baking is a form of art so to be able to have my own creative freedom is one of my greatest accomplishments aside from my daughter. Read more>>

Raven Brooks

I graduated with my Masters in Clinical Psychology in 2020, right after the COVID-19 pandemic started. My mindset was “what job can I secure right now and how do I get it?” After some time, I landed a research assistant job in a field I thought would allow me to progress smoothly. While it did meet the financial needs, it didn’t meet my interests. Read more>>

Suz Gratz

The biggest risk I have ever taken was choosing to accept myself as I am- a multi-hyphenated theater artist! It is a risk that continues to expand over time and the mission is definitely still a work in progress! Read more>>

Michelle Luchansky

I was VP of Marketing at a small 10-million-dollar company when I was given an opportunity to jump back into the product marketing world, in the beauty space (which I’ve always loved). The job was initially a step back in title but seemed like too good an opportunity to pass up. After a few issues with the employment contract, we decided that it would be better for me to come on as a full-time consultant. Read more>>

Jessica Nordon

So I started my nonprofit Chhaupadi Inc. back in 2020. I had worked in the nonprofit field for 6 years before this. I had worked four years at a shelter for abused children and then two years at a domestic violence safe house. Even though these jobs were very rewarding I knew that I wanted to help those in need in my own way. Read more>>

Daniella Chase

At the beginning of 2019, I sat on my bedroom floor, with the overwhelming conviction that I was created and capable of more. I wasn’t certain what that entailed but I desired more joy and fulfilment yet the longer I stayed at my work desk, the more my frustration grew. While my job gave me a sense of financial security, there was no joy for me from my everyday tasks. Read more>>

Joseph Patrick Moore

You have to take risks in life! I currently live in Las Vegas and there is a saying here “you can’t win unless you put it on the table and are willing to lose”. It’s a great metaphor for anything you do in life. Read more>>

Michelle Williams

I am a young African American woman from a small African American town. The population is less than 5000 and we were once known as the first black community above the mason-dixie line that was fully operated by African Americans. We have a proud strong history but like most African American communities we have been hurt by the war on drugs (the crack cocaine era), over policing, and trauma related to poverty. Read more>>

leyla ghobadi

The biggest risk I’ve taken is breaking the mold set forth by society of the typical 9 to 5 desk job. It was particularly difficult given my parents are from an Iranian background, and although they are liberal at heart, they felt I should be using my business degree. In 2016, I was going through big personal changes and needed a clean break and set out for Dubai all the way from Montreal, CA. Read more>>

April Burns

In 2018 I found myself staring at the hardest, scariest decision of my life. My marriage had fallen apart and I was left with a house to pay for, three kids to raise, a chronic illness to manage, and no income other than a small side hustle selling handmade soap. I wasn’t physically able to hold a typical 9-to-5, but I wanted to see what I was capable of. I wrestled with the decision for a few months, and finally decided I wanted to try taking my side hustle seriously, and go full-time. It was terrifying, but it felt very do or die. Read more>>

Maria Chavez

I feel like I have taken many risks in my life journey. The risk to become a CrossFit Affiliate owner has probably been the biggest yet. My journey with CrossFit started just over 3 years ago; I fell in love with it! I have always been into fitness in health and when I first started doing CrossFit workouts, I saw it as a challenge and still do. I have chronic health conditions that made it impossible for me to workout for years. Read more>>

Mary Hubley

As a young artist, I got hungry. I was living on ramen, just barely making rent, and couldn’t afford to heat my home. I had tried to make it on my own as a freelance artist, do shows, and get into galleries, but the income just wasn’t enough. I had no choice but to get out of my beloved art studio and find a living wage. Thus, I found myself working for several Fortune 500 companies writing and illustrating books. Read more>>

Kenya Haynie

My life changed tremendously from the start of my career! I went from being a full-time college student while working a full-time 9-5 to completely betting on myself and becoming a full-time freelance makeup artist in a blink of an eye. Everything happened so quickly and spontaneously and if you know me then you know I’m not spontaneous at all. I’m a planner, I always have a some type of plan lined up “just in case”. Read more>>