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.

Dunwich Heroes

Usually, as a band, we are constantly taking risks. We all have the belief that it is better to pursue an opportunity rather than let it slip away just because we feel like we aren’t ready. We are always working hard practicing on our own and together so we can take these opportunities with confidence. Read more>>

Damon Bradley

The biggest risk was opening up Shoptalk Podcast Studios with my partner Jason Johnson. We started the studio just to have a space to record. Where we recorded previously wasn’t doing the type of business we appreciated, and for the cost it just made sense for us to have our own space. Our first client came out of happenstance. A good friend wanted to record his podcast and we had equipment. It literally grew from there 7 years later business is still great, and continues to grow. No we’re looking for a stand alone location for 2024 and beyond Read more>>

Lynn Hetherington Becker (no hyphen)

Any time you decide to reveal your art to the public you are taking a risk. I have been an artist all of my life, but for personal reasons didn’t come into my own as an artist until my 40s. At an “older” age, starting my public art journey was scary. I hadn’t attended art school and didn’t have connections in the community. Read more>>

Angel Swanigan

The biggest risk I’ve taken was moving from NY where I was born and raised to Ohio where I barely knew anyone. I made the move here 8 years ago leaving behind everything and everyone I knew and loved including the foundation I was building with the youths in my city with my non-profit organization. Although it was mentally and emotionally challenging, my goal was to work towards the things I could accomplish when taken outside of my comfort zone. Read more>>

Mary Myers

The biggest risk I have taken would definitely have to be quitting my job to open my own business. Going back to early 2022, I was only 22 years old and had made the decision that I was going to quit my job working for someone as a lash artist for two years and open my own lash boutique. I had built a very loyal clientele in a short time and wanted more for myself. With being so young of course I was terrified, I had so much learning and growing to do. Read more>>

Landon Carter

Everything you want is on the other side of fear. The best thing you can do for yourself is to figure out what you are truly convinced of, what is the reason you do things? Professor of Psychology, Linda Skitka said that Convictions are attitudes that are treated more like possessions or aspects of the self.” In other words, convictions are not just mere opinions, but they are firm beliefs that define who we are. Read more>>

Brian McMaster

I’ve always been a musician. Ever since I was a kid I have been singing and wanting to create music that moved others the way my favorite artists moved me. Only recently though did I take the leap into pursuing a career in music and earning a living from making art. In the words of a friend and fellow songwriter: “Fear held me back from what I wanted/What I wanted was you.” Having just turned 30 and with 2 kids and 8 years of marriage under my belt, I felt it was time to make a change. Read more>>

Jessica Feliz

Leaving my position as a traditional classroom teacher to pursue my passion of teaching Spanish and opening my own language school was quite a risk. It required a leap of faith and a commitment to turning my passion into a sustainable business. And it truly has been a journey! Transitioning from a biweekly paycheck to now working for myself was not easy. However, in the midst of all the risk-taking, Read more>>

Benjamin Misanovic

I remember back in the Summer of 2014 after I graduated High School, I was laying on the couch at my parent’s place mindlessly watching TV at about 2 in the morning and the thought dawned on me: “I have no idea what I’m going to do with my life.” The weight of the thought hit me like a stack of bricks and my body was flooded with anxiousness. “What am I going to do with my future?” I never truly thought about it until then. Read more>>

Sean Flannery

Max Lux Media was launched by Rob Esposito and myself in January 2021. Launching a video production/photo business during a pandemic was definitely a risk, especially since our target clients are medium size business owners. Read more>>

Aileen Lane

I have always felt called to be of service to others. For over 28 years, I was an Occupational Therapy Practitioner working in a variety of settings including, the state-run Infant-Toddler Program, Inpatient Rehabilitation and Acute Care for adults, Special Education for the School System, and outpatient Pediatric clinics. Read more>>

Ana Mitrushevska

Making a huge life changing risk, moving my whole life in just 2 suitcases (and couple of shipped boxes :) ) across the Atlantic. Just over a year and a half ago, I and my husband decided to take the opportunity bestowed to us, and move from Skopje N.Macedonia to the US. We had to start everything all over again, from owning an apartment to renting one, from having all home essentials and more to an empty home, from being a senior in your profession to being considered equal as a graduate, from having close friends and family to building your social network from zero. Read more>>

Candace Peterson

A few years ago, I decided it was time to go out on my own and start a business. It was a big risk–but I believed whole-heartedly in starting a therapy practice that provided respectful, child-led, neuro-diversity affirming care to clients. Read more>>

Christopher Peterson

I quit my full time salary job with a major corperation to pursue this dream of building my own business. I would think that was a huge risk. So far it is paying off in more ways then one. Read more>>

Rhiannon Ebert

To me, taking risks is everything. Stepping outside of your comfort zone and letting yourself be susceptible to experiences you would never normally put yourself in can truly shape you as a person. I tell my friends often times I feel as though I’ve lived 10 different lives because I am always taking on new challenges and journeys. An example of this to me was posting social media content. It may seem like a facetious risk to be spoken of, but in our current generation, ones online presence can be calculated to portray them as someone they aren’t. Read more>>

Ashley Jane Georgia

Take the risk! I believe being fearless is one of the most important attributes a creative person can have. My work always pushes the boundaries and I’m always experimenting with new techniques and concepts that i’ve never tried before. Risk taking is what makes my work feel and look original, especially In a world where pretty much everything has been done before. Read more>>

Renee Chantel

My career as a hairstylist started in 2017. I began by assisting and eventually working full time in commission based salons until COVID 19 happened. When we were told salons were going to reopen, I had a realization that I needed my own private space to allow my clients to feel safe and comfortable as it was such a vulnerable time for many. The opportunity came to me to open my own studio salon. Read more>>

katie doucette

Honestly, my business has been declining since 2020. I’m not sure why, but I think it has something to do with my products not really being a necessity when gas prices and inflation are so high. Or maybe I’m just a “has been,” and my style is outdated or childish. Whatever the reason, my sales have been dismal for the past few years. This spring, I decided it was time to make a change. I cut way back on the number of products I make in my studio so I can focus more of my time on growing my retail store and creating new art for licensing. Read more>>

Ariel Landrum

You know, the biggest gamble I ever took was right at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020. I’d had my therapist license since 2015 and was running a part-time private practice on the side, mostly focusing on military members and their families, but all done remotely. Read more>>

Sabrina Allen

My whole life has been risk taking. Throughout my school career, I was a student who had good grades but was lively and outgoing. This eventually led to “behavior issues” from teachers who didn’t understand my boisterous and creative nature. When I decided to go to college, I had no idea how much it would change me. After 3 years, I decided to drop out of college due to the pressure of it all. Read more>>

Marcel Glenn

I think it’s very important to take risks when you’re a creative. Sometimes you might miss out on the opportunity of a lifetime if you doubt yourself or question yourself. We all have feelings of self-doubt, however, you have to overcome those types of insecurities when you’re in the realm of being a creative, graphic designer or artist. Read more>>

Max Kaplan

I’ve never thought about things like a stock broker. If you have an idea and you think about how risky or dangerous it will be instead of chasing it and making it a reality there will be no benefit. Every creative project I set out to do must challenge me to level up my game. Without that passion and need to succeed at something I’ve never done before I find vast reserves of energy and motivation to pull from to see my idea to completion. Read more>>

Damion Parker

The biggest risk I have ever taken is going into business for ourselves. I had a stable, steady, and decent income. Had benefits, retirement and health insurance. Then I had the great idea to purchase a shaved ice truck with Kona Ice. We paid a lot of money (to join), had no income, no health insurance, and no retirement, and no idea what was next. Read more>>

Cassandra Osterholt

Creating Roost Eleven Eighteen was taking a risk. I have always been pretty self-conscious about myself. I would say I still am. But I wanted to share my experiences so other people didn’t have to feel as alone as I did. I am sure there are people that know me who make fun of me, but I don’t really care about that. Creating Roost Eleven Eighteen has made me so happy, and I found my purpose in life. Read more>>

Rosie Williams

During my time in college, I immersed myself in Middle Eastern Studies, focusing on Arabic language. An incredible opportunity arose when my university awarded me a grant to travel to the Middle East and study Arabic while working at an NGO. Read more>>

Sydney Yeager

I think anyone undertaking a career in the arts takes a risk. There is no guaranteed salary or “health benefits” which come with a decision to become an artist. Success depends on many mysterious factors. The risks, however are profoundly worth taking. Read more>>

Anastasia Rose

Risk is everywhere. Living is a risk. Stepping out your front door is a risk. Driving to work is a risk. We are inundated with risk, but we filter so much of it out. As a creative, risk is present as well, but somehow we are more paralyzed by it. This may be related to our art being an extension of our soul. Our soul can be rejected by others — and then what does that mean about us? Our soul also is an intangible way to “pay the bills” which is a common “risk” people cite as a reason to not pursue creative careers or passions (although, Read more>>

Magaly Rodriguez

Hi my name is Magaly Rodriguez and I’m a full time content creator. Before doing social media I had a 9-5 type of job. Everything started when the pandemic started, I’m sure we were all bored at home with nothing to do than just being with our families and being out our phones. So I downloaded TikTok to see what it was, I then started posting random videos from my job and in a month I got 10k followers on Tiktok after my first video went viral. Read more>>

Angeline Walsh

In my view, making a conscious decision to pursue the life of a Creative is a risk. But it’s a meaningful one. I graduated from college at the start of the pandemic. By late 2021, I felt like I was floundering. The kind of life I’d imagined for myself after I left school was much different from reality, and it didn’t seem as if my prospects were all that bright. Read more>>

Shaelene Kite

I have taken many to get to where I am today and I think this is the story for all entrepreneurs. There is always a level of risk that comes with starting a business. For me, it started with leaving the consistency of a salaried job at an agency to work privately, and then to leave the comfort of a group practice to open my own. Without an office location, I still made offers to employees despite not having the plan being perfected. Read more>>

Laquane Ramsay

Transitioning into real estate was not the easiest gig. Not only did I leave a comfortable position in my life working post closing in the busiest time in mortgage industry (During Covid Refinances), I hopped into a game with less experience then my peers. I ended up renting out my Auntie’s residence so she could purchase a primary residence. I saved expenses for 3 months so if I did not make a sale in 3 months I was screwed! My auntie ended up being my first client and things went up from there! Read more>>

Sheri Vela

Taking a risk is usually nerve-racking. However, if we don’t take a chance then there would be no change in the path that we walk. The first risk I took was 2015 moving back to my hometown to pursue a job I would have never considered: teaching middle school students art. Trust me when I say you need thick skin and a backbone for this position. I’ve had good days and bad, however, these past 8 years have allowed me to meet incredible artists from young to seasoned. Risk #2: Higher Education. Read more>>

Claudia Gonzalez

Leaving the safety of a job with full benefits and a consistent salary to start my own practice felt like a monumental risk. I was lucky enough to have the financial support of my partner, who believed in my vision and has supported my professional goals from day one. I had a lot of doubts and felt increasingly anxious and stressed when I quit my job. Read more>>

Ruby Blu

Performing is always a risk. You’re seizing the moment. You hope it goes well. But sometimes you do something and you wonder if you pulled it off. Or you make a mistake and try to catch yourself. Did I fix that in time? Could they tell? Read more>>

Greer Bowley

Starting my business was a risk in and of itself. I have always worked for other people and relied upon those jobs to pay my bills. Being able to step away from that and start my own business that supports not only myself but my whole household was very scary! I tried to take baby steps, and slowly ease into it, but at some point or another you just have to take the leap! Read more>>

Emalyn Williams

I started my social media journey in 2015 with my first ever post on Instagram, and from there, I started building a following. As of today, I have 11.2k followers on Instagram alone. Once social media started to take off, I started getting more and more opportunities to make money through my page. This was when I decided that I was going to monetize my account to be able to make money from it. Read more>>

Sydnee

Being an 18-year-old nonprofit director, there are so many risks. In any business you have to believe in yourself and fight for what you believe in, but being so young in the business industry is challenging. I am constantly trying to find people who will support me, my mission, and the heart of my organization. We work hard to provide for those who are experiencing homelessness. Read more>>

Matthew William

Acting is risky in so many ways and that’s exactly why I do it. Wins and losses have real consequences, and it is in the struggle where I grow, where I learn about myself, fight with myself through all the defenses, and hopefully, if I do it successfully, it means that I’m letting go of the outcome, the expectations, and am just showing up with an authentic version of me. Read more>>