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.

Adriana DeHaan

A little about be , since I could hold a camera I have been taking photos . Photos of people , kids , animals , nature , myself . Id like to think I invented selfies . (Smile) I was 24 years old and a mother to a four year old and 2 and half year old before I first took my risk and got in front of the camera . Now why was it a risk? What was risky for me was putting myself out there . Trusting . Read more>>

Nikyla Maria

I walked away from my career as a school administrator. I worked as a Summer School Principal and Dean of Students. I was an only parent of 2 small kids and I left something solid and stable to pursue my dreams. I had a deep desire to help people and create change in the world. I thought I could do that in the education system but without deep systemic change I realized my voice wouldn’t be heard. Overcoming a lot of trauma from my childhood and first marriage and surviving cancer left me with passion and inspiration to create something beautiful out of my pain. So I began working with Domestic Violence survivors and single moms. Read more>>

Zoë Zahasky

The tattoo industry is full of risk. When I first started tattooing there were many times I questioned if I was cut out for this line of work. Marking people forever is a lot of pressure! You take a risk when you take the jump to start a career in this business. You also take a risk on yourself. You are self made in this business! Read more>>

Amer Abukhalaf

I have always been interested in risk management and how to identify, analyze, prioritize, treat, and monitor different types of risk. When I got the chance to explore that interest of mine during my Master’s, I didn’t hesitate, and I built my capstone thesis, “Revising Institutional Disasters Response Strategies in the US: Hurricane Katrina Case Study,” on the different strategies of risk treatments, including risk acceptance, transference, avoidance, and reduction. Getting to work on such a topic also interested me in exploring the most significant risks of all: Natural Hazards. Read more>>

Natalie Sutherland

I had never been to “America”, but growing up in Scotland I had a dream and a big part of that dream consisted of coming to America. I got on a plane at 20 years old by myself, and flew to America. Straight to Los Angeles. I didn’t know what a “dime” was, how you could drive on the other side of the road, or even what an “Agent” was, but I knew I had a desire in my heart and nothing scared me. I didn’t know anyone in America, but it was an adventure. I had to figure out how to live in another Country by myself, how to get an apartment, a job, everything. Read more>>

Kirsten Bierlein-Hollenback

After begrudgingly leaving a job that I thoroughly enjoyed in March 2020- my newborn and toddler in tow- I knew in my gut that it was time to pursue my biggest fear- life as an entrepreneur. Starting a business is not for the faint of heart. Starting a business when the world has turned all topsy-turvy even less so. But that’s exactly what I did. And it was not without its trials and tribulations. Read more>>

Ashley Park

What some people consider risk, I consider a calculated investment in myself. Producing my first film was a big leap of faith, and I didn’t quite know what I was getting myself into. But each time you try something new, you learn invaluable lessons and apply that knowledge to the next venture. Instead of waiting for someone to say yes, I chose to forge my own path. As an independent film producer, it’s about taking stock of what you have, and finding a way to make something good with it. This ‘no excuses’ approach to production means not waiting for the ideal circumstances to begin a project. Read more>>

Lamar Neal

In 2015, I published my first book, A Misc. Eden (pronounced A Miscellaneous Eden), a coming-of-age contemporary fantasy about a ten-year old boy who believes his mother is a Goddess who created him and the world around him. Bar none, publishing A Misc. Eden is the biggest risk I’ve ever taken. Read more>>

Marie Senghore

Going into this industry is a huge risk. There is not safety-net and absolutely no guarantee of any sort of success. I alwsys advise people to try, but to truly think about wether or not they wish to turn this into a career. Even though I decided to try, I always had to make sure I had a back-up plan. Not in terms of career, but in terms of income. Nothing is free and it costs money to earn money. Taking a break from your dayjob to go to an audition or for a shoot is a risk. Your boss might fire/demote you but you the work you do that day might bring you closer to where you want to be in regards to your passion. It is not stable, which i why I think a lot of people give up but me, I’m not wired that way. If I’m going to “lose” I am going to do it after I’ve given it my all. I think that’s best because I haven’t regretted anything I’ve done, success or not. Read more>>

Jennifer Paweleck Bellingrodt

After treating patients for nearly two decades and staring at a very lengthy waitlist for my services year after year, I decided I needed to find a way to reach more people. So, I built a training platform and started a podcast to do just that. But that wasn’t enough for me. After publishing a 3-part series on marriage on both platforms, I heard from a lot of people and received a lot of questions about marriage and relationships. The continuum ran the gamut: Some partners were stuck in a rut and wanted a little boost to their marriage. Others were near destruction and needed salvation. And then there was everything in between. After considering all the points on the relationship continuum, I realized I had a lot more to say. Read more>>

Maria Nicholson

Being a female owner of a design, build, and remodeling company had presented several challenges and risks for me in this male dominated industry. . I had to fight against stereotype and bias of a society that assumes women do not have the strength, knowledge, technical skills or the courage to lead teams of men. Female mentors are scarce and opportunities still remain quite limited. The lack of female representation in leadership roles in this industry makes it even harder. There were times that I thought of not mentioning on our marketing materials that our company is female owned and managed for fear of not being considered on a project. Read more>>

Tiffany London

One Fathers day I made a small watercolor card for my father-in-law. He just raved about how good it was. Then a short time after when my youngest daughter started kindergarten I decided to take the risk to start my own art studio offering fine art and graphic design. I had always continued creating after college and marriage, but it had taken a backseat once my daughters were born. I can’t believe that was 8 years ago! It was extremely scary and risky to put myself and my artwork on the line and see if anyone would actually buy it. In 2015 Instagram was just starting and I was able to connect with large circle of like minded people and other creatives, thus encouraging me and sharing my artwork all over the country. Read more>>

Dewey VandenEnde

At the budding age of 19, the entrepreneurial landscape beckoned, leading to the birth of Wooden Monkey Construction. The initial phase was a cocktail of exhilaration and trepidation. The fear of failure and the enigma of the unknown were constant companions, yet the most daunting was confronting the abyss of what I didn’t know I didn’t know. Wooden Monkey Construction wasn’t merely a business; it was a conduit for realizing the dreams of many. Our team, bonded by a shared vision, navigated through the intricacies of each project. Every satisfied client was a testament to our growing expertise, every hurdle surmounted was a lesson etched in our entrepreneurial narrative. Read more>>

Hazel Chadwick

Back in the summer of 2020, I was in a car accident. I am lucky to be alive. Just days after my car accident, when I was home from the hospital, I flipped through an old journal of mine and stumbled upon my bucket list. It was as if it was glowing. The top two items on my bucket list were: 1. Living in Ireland, and 2. Writing a book. It became so clear to me in that moment – I needed to go do both. It was time. It’s crazy how the pivotal (and traumatic) moments in our life can really shake things up and make us take a hard look at ourselves and our bucket lists. Read more>>

Jenn Hsu

For nearly 8 years, I had a stable corporate job in brand marketing at the headquarters of a national fashion retailer . The office was close to home and offered a lot of fun perks and benefits. But during the pandemic when the pace of life slowed down, I realized I wasn’t happy encouraging people to constantly buy more stuff. Unlike all my co-workers, my desk at work was also never cluttered with endless tchotchkes and collectibles. I believed in helping people find peace and calm without stuff and clutter, especially in their personal spaces and home life. Read more>>

Marissa Carne

For about the past nine years I have been building what was then a hobby into what is now becoming my dream job. I’ve freelanced in the entertainment industry since leaving college working in reality television, sitcoms, sports broadcast and digital media. Photography had always been my side hustle, my creative outlet, and my “maybe one day full time thing”. Over the years, I’ve dedicated my weekends and free time to my craft and invested in further education by attending in-person photography summits and online learnings- constantly being motivated by fellow photographers who were absolutely killing it in the field. Several months ago, I became one of the many victims of the tech layoffs and essentially lost my crutch of a full time job. Read more>>

Kendré Streeter

In 2016, I embarked on a modest side career in Nashville, supplementing my income as a musician. Many knew of my abilities as a drummer, bassist, and keyboard player. However, a well-kept secret was my growing passion for singing and artist development. As I transitioned from a musician to a headline artist, I confronted a harsh reality: my chosen genre, Urban R&B/Inspirational Pop, wasn’t exactly thriving in Nashville, TN. Read more>>

Lisa Goren

I think that I’m constantly taking risks in that I’m willing to try things I haven’t done before. I graduated from college with a degree in European Studies having never taken an art course (with the exception of Art History). As I started painting, I took many adult education courses to help make me a better painter. One of my teachers said that I needed to work on my drawing skills. Read more>>

Beverly Browning

The first risk: In 1988, I left my salaried position and entered full-time entrepreneurism as a freelance grant writer, newsletter author, and higher education trainer. It was scary. I could not afford fringe benefits or upscale office furnishings. My husband, John, was already self-employed and struggling. We had a young daughter, and I feared that we would lose our modest home when we had nowhere else to go. The heavy worry was on my shoulders to keep our small family secure and stable. This was the beginning of my faith journey. Read more>>

Yoshie Nakayama

One of the most profound risks in my life has been the decision to enroll at Berklee College of Music, a big investment and risk encompassing not only tuition and living expenses but also a considerable amount of time devoted to intense study away from my family, friends, and country without knowing where my life would end up afterward. After a decade of service in a non-profit organization in Tokyo, with a teaching license in music from majoring in Music Education at Kunitachi College of Music, a passion I hadn’t pursued professionally, I opted for an admin job. This career choice afforded me financially to cover fees and costs of music activities to pay for performance venues and rehearsal studios. However, I could not ignore this internal voice, asking myself “Is this how I want to spend my life?” Read more>