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.

Kathleen Berg

One of the biggest risks I’ve ever taken was quitting my full time job, and committing fully to my business….in the middle of a pandemic! During the early months of 2020, I was working a full time job that I wasn’t thriving in, and managing my wedding hair and makeup company part time up until then. The pandemic brought on so many thoughts like, Read more>>

Charity Ragain

Looking back at my life I realize I am one who takes risks. Read more>>

Lorrie Fowler

I’m Lorrie Fowler, a Nashville based painter, specializing in large abstract statement pieces that captivate viewers with their unique movement, texture, and detail. My pieces are created by combining the fluid motion of paints with gravity, air pressure, and a bit of fire. The use of color, texture, and movement of the paint invite the viewer to get lost in the piece. Read more>>

Alexa Kornas

“I took the biggest risk of all, betting on my own abilities and diving into a new career within the same industry. Currently, I am a professional dancer based in Los Angeles, and like any ambitious graduate, I pursued my dream immediately after college. However, everything changed with the arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic, and it was during this time that a completely new persona emerged within me. Read more>>

Ryn Pitts

Back in March of 2022, I was working for a remote tech company based out of the East Coast as a Business Development Representative. During this time, Serendipity Social Co was still very much in its infancy, so while doing my BDR job I was simultaneously working on building the business, networking within the new market I had just moved to (San Antonio), and trying to establish a client base. Read more>>

Esther Anaya

One of the biggest risks I took was when I decided to leave my stable modeling career at the age of 22. I decided to give music my undivided attention, and to pursue music professionally. I invested the money I had at that time into my music career which included production classes and equipment acquisition. I left a career that was paying my bills to follow my passion into a profession that was not yet paying, but instead costing. That was an enormous risk to take on without any substantial financial support. Read more>>

Ronald A. HUMMONS

After discovering that Childhood Trauma was a global crisis I knew that I had to step up to the calling, especially after seeing how passive people were addressing it. I risked my life by doing a 48 hour hunger strike on the steps of the statehouse to raise awareness on my movement, State of Emergency on Childhood Trauma. Read more>>

Tamara Luce Bianca

In April 2022 I took a leap of faith. I left a steady job in Marketing, one that I actually loved, to answer a heart-centered call. There was something stirring deep within me, a calling that I couldn’t ignore. It beckoned me to explore new paths, to seek fulfillment on a deeper level. Read more>>

Denise Michelle

I worked in the corporate world for nearly 10 years before I started on the path of entrepreneurship. In 2006 I had been practicing yoga for 7 years and had a thought that maybe I could become a teacher and help people the way yoga had helped me. The main issue was that I was struggling to heal Borderline Personality Disorder. Read more>>

Hip Stir

I think a lot of people would describe me as a “risk-taker” because I’ve done many things that go against social normality, especially as a woman. I left the country in 2017 to go live in Peru (which I had never visited before), continued to travel solo around South America for about 6 months, moved to Thailand, and then lived in Vietnam through the pandemic. Read more>>

D’Kiah King

The time I had to take a risk that was pretty big was when I decided to be a solo esthetician. I went to tour a suite thinking I was going to get it in the future but instead I was back a week later signing a lease. At that time I had no job, no savings, and no clients. All I had at that moment was faith that I could make it happen. The day I signed I need a security deposit and the 1st weeks rent and I had to ask my sister could she help me. Read more>>

Carlos Garcia

I used to think that I needed to play it safe in life. That the only way to thrive in this world was to get a college degree, find an entry level job and then creating a stable life, for my family and I. I believed so much that playing it safe led to stability, that I took out thousands in student loans to get there. Read more>>

Aunna Duncan

The biggest risk I have ever taken is probably putting my products in a store for the first time. I was about 8 months into running my business and saw a post on Instagram for a store that was opening not too far away from me, looking for local vendors. I replied to the Instagram post and went and set up my products on a shelf about a month later. It definitely was nerve-racking but was probably one of the best decisions I have ever made. Read more>>

Quincy Lewis

I’d say the biggest risk I’ve taken was moving over 600 miles away from home with no friends or family to lean on. This risk came in the form of an internship at Black Enterprise Magazine. During my Junior year at Adrian College, in Michigan, I’d skipped classes for the day and oddly enough, spent that time in the library. I’d gone in to research publications who were hiring for summer internships. Read more>>

Kelly Bailey

When you see a successful small business/maker on Etsy or at an artisan market, you are only seeing a fraction of what it takes to get there. The sleepless nights before a market or a big online order is due. The concept that when you’re the only employee, nothing moves unless you do. If you would have told me the dirty details while I was still crafting cocktails at a casino, I would still jump in head first. Read more>>

DJ Hustle

Juggling three jobs and heading to auditions was my way of life for years, It was the life of a striving actor. Driving across town to call backs on my supposedly lunch break that rarely got me back to work in an hour. I started booking commercials that place me at a crossroad. One choice was to continue this hectic lifestyle and the other choice was to take a leap of faith to dedicate my life to acting. Read more>>

Megan Martina Hunt

There comes a point in life when you realize you either continue to be a victim of circumstances or you take control and create the life of your dreams! I hit this point many years ago when I realized if I did what had always been done I would only be able to get to a point that had always been reached! I chose to change course and go all in on my dream! Read more>>

Ken “Aka MrGentleman” Pyle

To me, risk is an enormous thing, especially if you’re a person who has been shy all your life. I was picked on and bullied every day as a kid. You can end up losing confidence in yourself. Sometimes, if you want to do something you love, you have to go out there. I took some risks, and because of that, I never gave up on my dream. Read more>>

Nico Miller

Taking a risk… Or as I like to call it, Jumping Into The Abyss. As I have often reflected on this practice, I am reminded of a painting I created titled, “Unzip.” And yes, jumping into the abyss is a discipline and practice. Taking a risk, for me, is not something I do one time in my life. I do it repeatedly. Read more>>

analisa ramirez

I think the biggest risk I’ve ever taken was being self employed. I worked for a local bakery for around 3 years and knew I wanted to eventually do my own thing, I’ve had a vision for a food truck swirling around in my head for the past few years that I’d like to still see happen. Read more>>

Evander Mendez

Anyone can become a Tattoo Artist today, I say that positively AND negatively. There are the artist who value the morals and ethics of becoming a true tattoo artist; then there are those who buy a machine off Amazon and go crazy on their friends without taking time to actually learn the process of not only becoming a capable tattoo artist, but a sanitary one also. Read more>>

Brian Rich

The fear of the unknown can be intimidating, but what truly frightens me is the fear of wondering “what if.” Life inherently carries risks, and if you talk to accomplished individuals, you’ll find a common thread: they all took calculated risks at some point in their lives. In my case, I took on a staggering $1,000,000 debt to establish my dental practice. Read more>>

Cassidy Barden

As a whole, Annie Dukes in the beginning was a huge risk. Both Cassidy and Emma were at points in their lives where they had pursued music for so long, they were thinking about stepping away for good. After a mutual friends passing, the two women came together and found their passion for music again. Being both vocalists who occasionally played guitar, they picked up the electric guitar and bass and dove into learning the instruments to form Annie Dukes sound. Read more>>

Henry Alonzo

In the early 2000s tried to start a company that I now co-own. The company failed for many reasons and I ended up in debt. A few reasons were I was naive and inexperienced, I had more passion than knowledge, and I surrounded myself with “yes-man” people. Read more>>

Angela Cordoba

The big risk for my husband and me was to open the store in USA with the visa E2. The main idea about this visa is to let the project ready ( like if the big opening is tomorrow with everything: the location with the contract, decorations, equipment etc), but before open; you have to do the interview in the USA embassy in your country, in our case was Brazil, and justify the business plan! and they have the last word: they say yes or no. I remember the interview day! I was so anxious, nervous because the answer could change our lives. They said yes! And here we are working in our dream. Read more>>

Leya Lowery

In fall of 2022 I decided to quit my very secure full time job to pour 110% into my dreams and here is why. Ever since I was a little girl I have always loved fashion and the thought of being able to create your own style. As I grew older my love and my eye for fashion developed more and more every day but what really pushed me into pursuing this dream is the fact that I truly think every person deserves to feel beautiful in their skin and especially in their clothes! Read more>>

LaToya Cooper

For the first three years of my yoga and wellness business I also worked in marketing. I actually experienced so much growth in that field and I really enjoyed it, but I knew it wasn’t what I was meant to do forever. I recognized that my yoga business wasn’t growing in the way that I knew it could because I didn’t have a lot of time to spend on it. Read more>>

Kalista Tamez

As an artist, taking risks is essential to the growth of your craft. Embracing the decision to pursue art as a career is a major risk, in and of itself, as there is not a guarantee of monetary success (which many adults will remind you of at an incessant rate). However, it is a testament to the passion you bear for the creative field you desire to chase and practice, and that is remarkably admirable. Read more>>

Jen Holley

It all started when I decided to become a clean wine consultant with a company called Scout & Cellar. I was reluctant at first, since I was embarking on a whole new journey. I knew nothing about wine, and would have to learn it all (which is scary)!! The wine is clean-crafted: Scout & Cellar wines have ZERO added sugars, sulfites, pesticides, and chemicals. Keto, paleo, gluten free, vegan, organic. Read more>>

Jenna Trunzo

I take risks all the time. I’m diagnosed with ADHD and risk is inherently part of the way my brain thrives. It’s common for me to take action without much regard to what could happen next. Tree branches that need trimming get chopped down with an unwieldy ax because I can’t find the saw. Emails get sent without discretion to my words because I don’t use the necessary discretion to sugarcoat my thoughts. These types of risks aren’t scary to me; they don’t jar or impact me. I don’t get shaken or stressed over it. Read more>>

Nicole Calabrese

Taking a risk… Moving at age 13 from New York to Sarasota, FL. I have to say I was scared. Scared that I wouldn’t fit in, not be able to find a new dance studio to call home, and start a new school. My parents said “you’ll be fine Nicole. This will prepare you for when you’re older even more” Boy were they right. Read more>>

Emily Berger

The start-up of my business was a huge risk and change. I had originally attended Bethel University and graduated with a degree in the sciences. The plan after earning my bachelors degree was to attend a Physician Assistant program. God had other plans. After only a few months of learning photography, my business started to flourish. I started my official business in the spring of 2021, and already by the fall of 2021, I took another risk and decided to return to school for graphic design. Read more>>

Katie Lowran

Risk and art. What do they have in common? I can distinctly recall painting a piece of my art that absolutely gutted me. Titled “skin of the grapes” after the firm grape skin that without it, the soft, susceptible insides would be unprotected. Once I finished the piece, I stared at my work, in shock at what I just painted, and sobbed uncontrollably. Read more>>

Anisa Carty

A big risk that I have taken is completing switching my career path. Although I have always been passionate about performing arts and media/entertainment, I chose to go to school for a degree in education to become a teacher. Coming from a family background of educators, I decided to pursue this area of study because it was familiar, even though I knew deep down that it wasn’t really for me. Read more>>