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.
Jennie McNulty
I guess this is the tale of two risks… :) When I was 26, I left my full-time job (with less than $1,000 in my savings) to start a non-profit, Blackbird Academy of Arts – mind you, during a recession, in a Southern town seeped in athletics. When I first filed the LLC paperwork, I had no building, no experience running a business, and no idea where I was going to get the funding, or what staff I would be able to find. But I knew I wanted to provide a place where kids – regardless of their circumstances – would be able to get quality performing and fine arts training. Read more>>
Tara Carroll
If you look at my entire life journey up until this point; it’s been all about risk taking. Before the world even considered me “an influencer”, I was the girl that people told shared too much. I was the family member that other family members would reach out to to tell me to “take that post down.” Not only did I keep sharing, but overtime through the journey, I found the purest intention in which continues to drive me to this day: love & healing. Read more>>
Pamela Vega
I have always had an affinity for all things creative. A constantly dreaming, ever curious and imaginative mind, when I was young I was always making things, like jewelry, re-arranging spaces, playing dress-up, playing music, dancing —all forms of creativity, I’d say. I like to think of myself as a limitless creative with a discerning eye to curate at any landscape. For as long as I can remember if the narrative wasn’t the best I would look for a way to reshape it. Among the things that bring me satisfaction and pleasure— transforming emotions and ways of perceiving ideas or concepts. Read more>>
Stevie Marceaux
Choosing myself and listening to what is true to me is the biggest risk I have ever taken. We are in a pandemic where it is normalized to have more trust in what is shown and duplicated around us than what we create ourselves. Untraditional moves and choosing to decide for myself in a world that has an answer and paved course for everything is often very illuminating. Just like the majority of people, I want a sense of belonging and the impulse for conformity lives inside of me, however, I would rather feel this deep sense of aloneness and at the same time, oneness with myself than allow the world to answer the questions for me. Read more>>
Rigo Gimenez
Being a creative is a being a risk-taker by nature. You have to constantly step out of your comfort zone to try and achieve the next big thing, the latest great creation. I see risks more as opportunities. My most recent opportunity has been launching a new business in the fashion industry named “Saint Misfits™”. Saint Misfits™ is a Miami-based premium streetwear clothing line with the purpose of showcasing your individuality and self sought-out path. I created it because I believe in building something truly special from the ground up takes love for your craft, passion and attention to detail. Read more>>
Hokett Gallery
Contemporary Artist formally known as Fashion Designer, Hokett Gallery. An Artist who creates sculpture paintings through a mixed media process combining all his artistic ability and creative vision into one. Switching from Fashion, where I designed and sold everything from jackets, sneakers, bags, and more: to the Art Industry where I create what I like to call Sculpture Paintings. Sculpture Paintings are my 3D wall sculptures made from combining all of my design styles into one. I combine multiple mediums from pastels, acrylic, graphite, charcoal, fine art photography, digital art made from shapes, art on a fashion canvas, and sculpting to develop my work. My goal was to disrupt the idea of what traditional art looks like and feels like. Read more>>
Nikolina Fridman
The biggest risk I’ve taken so far was undoubtedly the decision to move to Hawaii and start a new life with my husband. The journey leading up to this decision was filled with uncertainty and doubt, but looking back, I wouldn’t change a thing. It all started during a vacation to visit friends in Los Angeles in 2016. I met my husband, and we spent every day together. When it was time for me to return to Sweden, where I lived at the time, we continued to stay in touch. Read more>>
Megan Walters
When I was just 22 years old, I found myself buried in over $80,000 of college debt and unsure about my future. I knew I needed to make a change, and so I took a leap of faith and started a commission-only business in the real estate industry. It wasn’t easy. To make ends meet, I took on odd jobs like delivering bagels at 4 am for just $25 a day. Meanwhile, my husband and I started a coffee business on the side, which only added to the challenges we faced. Read more>>
Mrs. Carrie Bernard
As a business owner I take risk everyday. For example: when a customer orders a custom made item i take the risk of them loving it and not changing their mind or not paying once it’s complete. for the fact that I cannot resale a custom made item. Also when buying large pieces of equipment from out of country vendor there’s a risk of it arriving pack poorly and broken the risk of loosing money can be very scary. Fortunately I have not as of yet had the bad side of taking the risk in these matters. Read more>>
Carrol Givens
My whole life is made up of risky decisions I was uncertain about. However, each of those risks brought me to where I am today. The first significant risk I took that put me on this last was dropping out of the University of Connecticut (UCONN), where I have a full scholarship, to join the Navy. The second significant risk I took was getting out of the Navy. I had no job lined up, and I had a family I was supporting. However, I needed to be with my daughter, and the military was getting in the way. Read more>>
Sabrina Gray
One of the biggest risk I took would be in 2020 after being shut down and out of salon for 4 months. I decided during that time to pivot from being everyone’s stylist to inching down and focusing on curls. The reason this was a big risk is because at the time I only had 3 curly clients. This meant that I was start over and loosing more that 90% of my client base. I took this risk because I was so burnt out and no longer inspired with the beauty industry. I was giving it my last effort before walking away all together. I’m so deeply grateful that I didn’t. Read more>>
Lauren Kelly Scott
When you live in an environment that does not include seeing people in entrepreneurship businesses, it is hard to change the mindset. I knew that being in the school setting was just a steppingstone to my purpose and could never see me being in the school setting for 20 plus years waiting to retire. As I started doing research on what it took to build a business and also doing it afraid, I quit my job in 2021 and never looked back. It has been the best transition in the world but also challenging at times. Read more>>
Heiress Gallery
If we’re being completely honest, the two of us attempting to open a contemporary gallery (in Florida of all places) in and of itself has been a huge risk. Heiress is a bi-coastal operation helmed and entirely operated by us and our very new intern, so really, the entire endeavor has felt risky in many ways. At the same time, that’s part of the fun of it. We both left our previous jobs, Finn moved back to Florida from Detroit banking on the idea that Heiress would exist, we’ve made so many sacrifices, monetary and otherwise to dive headfirst into the gallery. Read more>>
Vince Meldrum
What does it mean to take a risk? For us taking a risk meant trying something new, something that was out of step with our competitors and our field in general. A risk that could have closed our business and meant turning away from work that had been “paying the bills” for some 10 years. In the summer of 2017, we learned that our largest sponsor, a corporation that we had worked with for over 20 years, had decided to end our relationship. With the loss of that sponsorship, we were also going to lose 30% of our annual income. The loss spurred an avalanche of conversations, untold hours of handwringing and a general wariness that we would not survive such a blow. Read more>>
Jared Gozinsky
When I graduated from The George Washington University back in May 2022, I had a decision to make. I could move back to NY and find a healthcare job in the comfort of my hometown, or I can move to Boston, MA to pursue my dream with my band, Couch. I decided to take a risk and move to Boston without a place to live and without an income. For 4 months after college, I floated from couch to couch (no pun intended) while trying not to overstay my welcome. My band would tour some weekends throughout those 4 months, but when we would return back to Boston, everyone would go back to their homes while I would go back to a couch. Read more>>
Sariyah Idan
The life of all creatives is full of risks, we take them every day. Sometimes they are big, sometimes small. As a musician and performing artist I try to take risks every time I perform, which is about four days a week. But whenever we take big risks it’s vital that we pay attention not only to the outcomes of the risk, but to the relationships we build. Relationships are golden. Sometimes we take a big risk and over the course of years we get to see just how important that risk was… Here is story about a big risk I took. Read more>>
Michael Zamora
We began our band Posival in the summer of 2013 and have been writing and releasing music ever since. Things have been fairly difficult recently and we have taken lots of risks, using our own money to put shows, tours, and organize festivals as well as purchasing merch, paying for recordings, and investing directly to the community. Recently, we have released some controversial music that isolated us from the music community. Read more>>
Gabriel Smith
Taking a risk is something I’ve done my entire life! My life as a child was nothing short of the urban tale of an inner city youth so taking risks to survive was normal. It wasn’t until I became an adult that I learned the true definition of taking a risk. The biggest risk I took was relocating from the East Coast to the West Coast in 2017 in search of a better life for myself and my children. My children stayed behind while I tried to find myself in this new foreign land. Needless to say. There were plenty moments of regret. I ended up homeless and as heartbreaking as that may seem. This was the beginning of many blessings to come. Read more>>
Emley Sowell
The risk I’ve taken is the risk of failure when going for my singing career. It all started a few years ago when my hubby and I were driving back to San Diego from Mammoth, in Jan 2017, after an amazing few days of skiing in powder. We were driving two of our friends home and having great conversations along the way. I can’t remember exactly what we were talking about but all I remember is that in this conversation we yearned for a higher knowledge of life for ourselves and to better our lives. Our friend was already doing what he loved, he had good relationships, and had challenges he overcame in his life. Read more>>
Sarah Sewell
In starting my handmade business on Etsy in 2008, I was thrilled to find a platform that allowed me to showcase my creations to a wide audience. At first, it was a small-scale operation, with me working from home while my husband stayed home with our children. But as my business grew, so did the demand for my products. The revenue was great, but the workload became overwhelming, leaving me feeling like I was on an assembly line, churning out the same products over and over. I was earning multiple 6 figures a year but not filling fulfilled or passionate about what I was making. Read more>>
Ebony Tucker
For as long as I could remember, I imagined what my life would look like when I became a mother. I’d tell my childhood friends that I wanted to have a son, and his name would be Malik JamaaI. Spelled that exact way. But I needed to find a husband first lol! Fast forward to my senior year of high school. I ended up meeting and falling in love with the man who would later become my husband. And his name happened to be Jamaal. Spelled the exact way I wanted my baby’s name to be spelled! In my mind, this had to be a sign from God. And it was — just not in the way I expected. Read more>>
Shannon Mello
The biggest risk I’ve taken in my life was most definitely becoming a full time artist. I was a middle school art teacher for 10 years when the pandemic struck. It was during this time my husband (also a teacher) and I decided it best that we homeschool our two young children. Just before the pandemic, I had started exhibiting in local galleries. We decided to take a chance with me being a full time artist and my husband teaching. I would teach the kids during the day, and work in the studio at night. Financially it was one of the scariest risks because we were on one teacher’s guaranteed salary. The life of an artist is similar to that of a realtor. Read more>>
Ylenia Mino
My experience as an immigrant has taught me the importance of taking risks. When I moved to the U.S. from a small town in Northern Italy eleven years ago, I knew that I would have to bend, readjust, and fight for every opportunity. And while it wasn’t always easy, I learned that taking risks was crucial to my success. Through the gift of art, I hope to make a difference in the community and inspire others to take risks and pursue their passions. Art has been my constant companion, helping me navigate the challenges of life as an immigrant and providing me with a sense of purpose and belonging. Read more>>
Arielle (Steive) Hughes
I had convinced myself that I was not lucky enough to take risks in life, and to be one of those people that step out into the unknown and make something out of it. I held a lot of fear in my body for years and missed out on countless opportunities because I did not see myself as worthy enough. In 2022, my cousin and I became roommates and she ended up becoming one of the most crucial supports of my transformation from fear based living, to love and faith based living. My cousin, Shalimar, challenged me on my reasons for why I lived the way I lived; and why I would not take action to change my life if I was unhappy. Read more>>
Maryam Sedadi
The life of an immigrant is almost always defined by taking risks whether they are life changing or not. And I can honestly say that taking risks has been a steady element in my life choices. I was born and raised in Iran and along with my family came to US after my high school graduation for a month long vacation to celebrate my achievement of having been accepted at 3 of the most prominent medical universities in Iran. Once the Islamic Revolution in 1979 reached its peak, my family made the decision to remain in US and my dreams of becoming a physician were altered almost over night. The challenges of the first few years were many but looking back, they were the catalysts of shaped me to the person I am. Read more>>
Jennifer McMurrain
When Sabrina Fish came to me with the idea of starting a romance writing conference from scratch, I knew it was a big risk. Not only were we starting from zero with the financials, the Oklahoma Romance Writing Guild was still a fairly new organization … one that didn’t have membership dues. We were going to have to do a lot of fundraising and convince speakers and sponsors to take a chance on us and if they didn’t Sabrina and I were footing the bill. Read more>>
Eduardo Moran
In my life as an artist or creative there have been many instances where I’ve taken risk. One of these situations that I remember all the time is the first time I went to my first concert. I think everyone gets nervous or takes a little risk the first time they go to their first concert, but I think for me it was a little bit different. The first concert that I went to I was supposed to go with my group of friends but everyone bailed the morning of the show/concert. So I ended up going to the show by myself. The show was “Houston We have a Problem” a rock concert that was hosted in downtown Houston years ago. Read more>>
Megan McDonald Shurbet
My family has been in the furniture industry for 35+ years. We originated in Keller in the traditional furniture market– when “Rustic” furniture was introduced, we switched over and transitioned away from traditional furniture. Into the West had a location in Keller and a location in Fort Worth! We owned our location in Keller and rented a building in FW. We were planning on staying in our FW location for 5 more years, but the owner of the property died and everything went to legal battle with the family and we ended up losing that lease. Read more>>
Laurel Barrett
Laurel is someone who believes in taking risks in life, even if that means potentially not enjoying the experience so you don’t regret not trying. She started competing in pageants in her 30s after seeing an ad for a local pageant and has since been crowned Miss Colorado Springs for America for 3 years and International Ms. Colorado for the last 2 years. Despite the glamour associated with pageants, there is a lot of behind-the-scenes work that goes into them and you have to be ready to serve your community at all times. Read more>>
Alessandra / Ren Siracusa
By definition, the word risk implies the possibility that some thing unpleasant may occur through exposure to danger. In my eyes, what the world defines as a risk, I see as an opportunity to practice leaping & dancing with faith. One of my biggest leaps thus far was during the beginning chapters of the pandemic. At the time I had been educating seekers of the esoteric on how to work with crystal energy, holding space for breathe work ceremonies & spinning fire professionally. Read more>>
Aidan Hargis
During COVID, our band was unable to practice due to multiple key members being high risk for COVID. During this time, I experienced severe writers block and was unable to pen any new songs. Once we had our first show back, we decided to radically shift sound and lineup, and basically reboot the band. So late in the existence of Conway, this is a big risk we’re taking, but ultimately I think it’s worth it. Read more>>
Tarah Carnahan
My first day as Executive Director of the organization I had co-founded 3 years prior was on the first day of the stay at home order of the COVID-19 pandemic. Already I was stepping into a role I was wary of. I had found my footing after a season of burn out and an international adoption and did not want to find myself fully consumed and worn by my work – I wanted to keep healthy boundaries. Also, despite having always found myself leading things, I didn’t see myself as a buttoned up leader or the face of an organization. Read more>>
Laura Monk
The more risk you take, the less you see anything that can stop you, but getting the confidence to leave fear at the door is the key to gain experience and see any sort of growth in your path. Fear was, and if I am being honest, still is, my biggest mental block to getting me to take the risk to shift my life and my career. I proudly can say that I have had several career changes in the past 15 years of my professional life. Read more>>
Natasha/Jen Ganes/Griffith
Likely the biggest risk we’ve taken together was to start our business. Entrepreneurship isn’t easy – you have to be able to pivot often, even (especially!) when you don’t want to – but we’ve managed to keep on keeping on during all the highs and lows. We’re blessed that we work well together and share the same goals for the company. Read more>>
Elíseo Equihua
For me the biggest risk I ever took was to follow the great ambition within me to follow my dreams. I come from a very low sector of society. Born and raised in East L.A. I am the first born son of immigrants from Mexico. Who on the weekends and on holidays would street vend to make ends meet and raise funds for the non profit organization my parents started. Going after a non conventional career path is something most people look down upon in my community. Job stability and settling down by your mid twenties is the correct path in most people of color households. I just knew that wasn’t the case for me. I could never see myself behind a desk or working for someone else my whole life. Read more>>
Jim Riley
Your age can be the perfect motivation to get things done. When I turned 40, I thought to myself how incredible it would be for me to go on and achieve 40 different goals for my 40th birthday. That’s a huge number of goals, but I believed I could do it and went for it. The trick is to figure out how to make the chase fun. Obviously, my life has always been about chasing my goals and seeing them to fruition. Throughout my life, I have set myself goals that many would deam as impossible, and I went on to achieve every single one of them. The idea of achieving 40 goals was both refreshing and motivational for me. Of course, it was going to be challenging, but I was up for it, nonetheless. Read more>>
Tiffany Martin
Being an entrepreneur is not for the faint of spirit. Although being in business for yourself can be extremely fulfilling, it can also be extremely challenging. The best and biggest risk I’ve taken was to walk away from private industry and government work after 20+ years in the game. I am an Electrical Engineer by education (I hold an MSEE), and I have served careers as a Hardware Engineer/Technical Project Manager, Special Agent in the FBI and Career Technical and Public High School Teacher. Read more>>
Brian E Thomas
It was just a few short years ago that I wanted to move up into the C-Suite at a Fortune 500 company. I had some experience in the C-Suite, but at medium-sized companies. To grow my career, I knew I had to take some risks. So, I decided to do just that and put myself out there. I opened some social media accounts, started interviewing for jobs and volunteering for some notable projects in my community. Before long I had signed up to give a few speeches including a keynote at a large regional function in my city. I also applied for writing privileges at several of the large top tier publications. Read more>>
April Smith
Life is all about taking risks. It keeps us young and vile (from my own personal experiences). I’ve always wanted to create a space for helping to empower, enlighten, and encourage communities. Dancing is a passion and I express a lot through dancing. My passion for dance, for writing, for meditation, for mindfulness, and for inspiring others has led me to take one big risk and that is the opening of a space and creating a business called Evolistic Living, LLC. Read more>>
Stephanie Morrison
The corporate world had been my home for over 20 years. I spent my entire career in Human Resources and that was what I knew and where I was comfortable. There comes a time when we are asked to leave what is comfortable and try something new. Sometimes we make those decisions and sometimes they are made for us. My life, like many people, was changed during 2020 when I was laid off. I didn’t know what I was going to do but I knew that I needed to find a new way to be of service to others. Read more>>