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.

Andrew Thomas

The biggest risk that I ever took was getting my studio. It was September 20 20 in the middle of the pandemic and me and my best friend decided to get a studio. Read more>>

Kathryn Hubert

Starting this business has, by far, been the biggest risk I’ve ever taken, In fact, I spent about 6 years in the dreaming and planning phase because I wasn’t sure if I was ready to take the plunge. Read more>>

Denzell Oats

It started with a self converted bus. In 2021, like so many people, I found more free time on my hands than I could ask for. At a time where everyone was working from home and so many places were shuttered to the public, I was finding myself “antsy”. Read more>>

Viavia Veavea

I’ve always been a creative person and me wanting to live my artistic fantasies was always a huge risk for me, growing up in a christian conservative home i was taught to be masculine, Read more>>

Valerya Kanonov

Since childhood I’ve dreamt of being a designer, dabbling in jewelry making and enjoying every minute of it. I was dreaming of colorful beads and a little boutique shop with my handmade jewelry… 🧚‍♀️ Read more>>

Arouna Ntosengeh

The biggest risk I ever took was to leave my small town and going to the economic capital Douala to look for a life more better. Read more>>

Maurice (GetMoses) Pelman

The first time I did an actual DJ set/performance was a high risk, but also the greatest reward. Until then, I had only done live hip-hop performances where I would play a show track for each song and do scratches/turntable tricks over the music that the rappers/singers were performing to. Read more>>

Donte Dodson

As an artist/creative, taking risks & putting yourself out there is a major key to our success. Fighting the internal battle of what people will think or taking your hard earned money & investing into something that you won’t get an immediate return from in hopes of creating a moment or opportunity. Read more>>

Sam Harding

The biggest risk I ever took was moving straight to LA from my hometown of Kansas City in 2020. In October 2020, to be exact, LA was shut down completely. Read more>>

Shania Roper

Embarking on Shade & Travel, a full service travel consultancy, during the COVID-19 pandemic was a monumental gamble I dared to take. Read more>>

Stacy Fayling

For me, the years between 17-28 were the ones that broke me down and brought me to a crossroads where I needed to decide if I was going to stay broken or head down the path of healing and self-love. Read more>>

Robin Denise

Since 2018 I have been taking risk after risk after risk. In 2016 I was miserable, overweight, and chronically tired. I was working 2 jobs with wild hours. Read more>>

Nicki Hennessey

One of the biggest risks I’ve taken is opening Collective Dimensions and quitting my full-time job in order to do so. There were so many things to consider, such as, health insurance, steady paychecks, and retirement funds. Read more>>

Madison Schiltz

I started my entire career journey in the strength and conditioning industry– went to undergrad for exercise science at Westfield State and Masters at Springfield College, did internships at University of Notre Dame and Quinnipiac. Read more>>

Alisha Reckamp

Hi! Having my coffee while I write to you, I hope you’re doing well! :) I’ve been painting for 2 years, so I’m still a very new artist! When we moved here last year (military), I was excited and terrified by La Conner’s Art community! Read more>>

Andrea Luna Rodriguez

The biggest risk we took was opening our very own business during the peak of the pandemic. We did not know what we were thinking at the moment, but it felt like this was a “take it or lose it” opportunity. Read more>>

Queen Frye

I took a risk and decided to grow food in a large, vacant lot within North Mpls. I started out with $300 and was instructed to do something good with it. Read more>>

Ricky Shoebio

Taking risks is where our Agency is rooted. When we launched we walked away from the stability we were accustomed to for the uncertainty of launching a new endeavor. Read more>>

Stephanie Diaz

Back in 2018 I decided that I wanted to host a wellness retreat; I didn’t quite know what it would look like, but I knew that I wanted it to be something that emphasized different movement modalities and focused on being a women’s only experience. Read more>>

Deborah Lawson

Narrowing my practice to a very small, often unpopular and misunderstood, niche market in a hostile jurisdiction might be the scariest thing I’ve ever done. Read more>>

Alexis Mejia

My biggest risk I took was opening up my own Beauty Studio and fully funding everything on my own. I have worked in different salons and also retail jobs that lead me very frustrated in their operations that did not resinate to me, and also always being on someone’s time. Read more>>

Folahan Amudipe

The beginning of my content creator/ influencer journey was kind of an accident. Although I love my career now, I never intentionally came into the field with intention of making it my full time career. Read more>>

Jodi Hammond

I’m 5’4 on a good day and in the modeling world that’s considered too short. I have the soul and passion for runway and editorial modeling but my physical height is what has been holding me back. Read more>>

Brittany Hall

Starting a Mobile bartending company from the scratch has had its challenges. We make sure we provide 100% customer service, an everlasting experience. Read more>>

Dustin Brown

In A Jam Down By The River, the festival that is started as kind of a joke if you will. The first year was just a few friends and artists. After that I started to see the value it was bringing to people’s life’s and my own so I decided to continue to improve upon thr idea and invest my own money. Read more>>

Nathalya Mamane

The biggest risk I’ve taken in my life was to start a diagnostics company on my own, with no scientific or medical background, after years in the hospitality industry. Read more>>

Leyla Taghiyeva

Leaving behind the familiar streets of Baku, Azerbaijan, and the comfort of my stable job, I embarked on a journey into the unknown, chasing my dreams with nothing but determination and courage as my companions. Read more>>

Kim Peppers

I always thought I’d work for a fitness company, I ended up with an opportunity when the club I worked for closed, to open my own business in less than 6 weeks. That was almost 14 years ago now. Read more>>

Kat Harrison

I always grew up fearful of the future and what it would entail. I lived in a survival mindset where I believed I had to run my body into the ground and withstand all sorts of abuse along with it in order to be worthy of a paycheck, a place to live, and even love. Read more>>

Cierra Smothers

I’ve taken several BIG risks in my life, but the biggest risk was resigning from my former job, working in the non-profit sector, in the human resources industry. The job was secure, paid decent, and had opportunities for growth. Read more>>

Alex Wonder

The most rewarding decision I ever made was taking a chance on my creative career. In the realm of creative pursuits, risks are often more pronounced, yet the potential rewards are equally substantial. Read more>>

Erin Sisko

Moving from Good to Great I worked in the Canadian banking system for 15 years starting off in personal banking and shifting to commercial and corporate banking for the last 10 years. Read more>>

Tricia Schepp

I feel like being an entrepreneur is all about risk taking and trying new things. Probably my biggest recent risk was leaving my full-time job in 2023 in pursuit of the entrepreneur life. Read more>>

Freedom Clay

In 2015, I took a huge leap of faith and left a “secure” local government position to pursue/explore my creative career full-time. There were a couple of life happenings that informed my decision: Read more>>

Karalyne Winegarner

One of the greatest risks our band Flight Attendant has taken – is one we all take quite often: the risk of failure; or rather, the risk of not being inherently good. Read more>>

Cara Cline

Starting your own business is always a risk of some kind. I feel it is always worth it, even in failure – we learn valuable lessons either way! Read more>>

Patrick Shatter

Every move you make carries a level of uncertainty and potential risk, whether you’re aware of it or not. The outcome of your actions remains unknown until you actually take them. Read more>>

Shonna Roberts

I feel like I’ve taken a lot of risks in my life. However, at the time I didn’t feel like they were risks. I thought I had really well thought out plans. Read more>>

Suvi Tory

There is beauty in everyone, at every age. That is the heart of what Suvi Tory photography stands for. Suvi loves empowering others to see their beauty and potential because she did not understand or appreciate her own strength and power. Read more>>

Kathi Chase

In early 2021, I began working with a local holistic practitioner to offer paint nights with guided meditation as a form of mental health care. Read more>>