Taking Risk is essential, but how much, when and why? Taking risks effectively is as much of an art as it is a science and we’ve asked some of the brightest folks in the community to tell us about how they think about risk taking.

Kelly Jenkins | Real Estate Agent

I have been a risk taker for some time now. A good friend of mine told me that if you really want something you just gotta go for it. It seems that the more I take a risk the more it works out for me. Yes there is a lot to consider. When doing so. But everything is figureoutable. I took a risk moving my family to another state and I couldn’t be happier that I did. Read more>>

Rhea Daniels | Stylist & Founder

Risk is the price of admission to a life and or business beyond your wildest dreams. It is so important to learn to take risks in life and in business. Fear is a completely normal emotion. We just can’t be paralyzed by it. Where is no risk there is no reward. Read more>>

Kimberly Sellars-Bates | Grant Writing & Research Consultant

I have always lived my life in a conservative comfort zone. I rarely took risks and when I did, they were minimal. It took me almost a year to hire my first employee after I started my company. I was trying to do everything myself because I was scared to spend extra money. I was scared to hire another person because I was not sure if they would have my best interest at heart. I was not invoicing people in a timely manner. Sometimes I would go 3 months without sending out an invoice. The only reason I finally hired someone was out of fear that the IRS would come after me because I was such a mess at accounting. I regret all of that now. I only started taking real risks about 5 years ago. Case in point. Only a handful of people know that I sold the KSTB Scholarship Division a couple of years ago. My goal was to work with students to ensure that they had enough money for tuition and housing to pursue a higher education in 2- or 4- year colleges. Read more>>

Derek Perez | CEO, Illustrator & Graphic Artist

The choice to leave my Senior Design position (with salary and benefits) to go solo and start my own business was the riskiest, yet most rewarding choice I have made in my career. It allowed me to regain control of my work life balance, as well as the ability to pursue the projects and clients of my dreams. As a freelance designer and business owner, I knew that risk was inherently part of the path ahead. Each month presents new challenges and there is the constant risk that the emails will cease, the phone will stop ringing, and the likes and follows will fade. That fear of failure can debilitate you if you let it, but I use it to propel my determination to succeed in the face of those risks. You may not come out on top in every scenario, but as long as you have a goal in mind and the acceptance that failure begets growth, you cannot be stopped from achieving your dreams. Read more>>

Rachel Manning | Owner

Every time the business has grown or progressed in a significant way, it’s been because we took a risk. It’s scary, but it’s kind of life giving too. I’m not talking about being reckless – I’m talking about that feeling when you’ve evaluated your options and you’re still afraid to make a decision. Go ahead and make it. Read more>>

Remey Williams | Artist, Songwriter, Musician & Producer

When taking risks you have to be “All In”. It got me where I am today. I never wanted to have an average life so I knew I had to push myself to do something out of the norm. You also have to keep in mind when taking risks that things don’t happen overnight. It’s a process…. a process that I never wanted to give up. Read more>>

Mercedes Lawrence Marsh | Makeup Artist, Youtube Content Creator & Behavioral Therapist

I think risks are an essential part of life, just think before you took your first step , falling was always a risk. I am one to have taken plenty of risk and let’s just say some of them, well most of them, have not gone in my favor. However, I am proud of all those risk because every time I put something on the line whether its time, money, or even my name, I had the opportunity to avoid the “what’s if” and the regrets of being scared of the outcome and not following through. Risk-taking is something I’m definitely familiar with; as a child, being the oldest I never had time to take risks and be experimental. I’ve always felt as though I had to have it all figured out and that I didn’t attain the time to be expressive because I had to be an example for my siblings. Entering adulthood my career began to feel a bit trivial. I realized how many years of evolution and exploration I missed out on and that’s no longer who I am. Read more>>

Ashley Buero | Hair Colorist & Salon Owner

I have always been a risk taker in my life. I see risks as challenges to conquer. The old adage “no risk, no reward” , I believe is true. Sometimes you have to go out on a limb and believe in your dream even when it’s risky. But the payoff is huge when you are willing to endure some risk and rocky roads to get there! Read more>>

LaCora Monet | Health and Beauty Advocate, Radio Host & Producer

I’ve Always believed in the saying ‘no risk no reward.’ I think that risk is the fabric of entrepreneurship.Yes it’s scary and yes it’s lonely but it’s very necessary. Imagine if the hawk brothers never invented the airplane what would the world look like As it relates to traveling. Growing up I didn’t Exactly know what risk meant I knew what survival meant. In my career I understood that a lot of me surviving was taking the risk. Read more>>

Amber J | Event Strategist & Activator

Taking risks is a building block to success. Throughout my years of entrepreneurship I have been blessed to encounter some amazing and successful people who all have stressed the importance of “taking risks”. They taught me to change the narrative of taking a risk as a negative thing and to view it as an experiment that you are testing to solve a problem. As we all remember from science class we mixed various elements together and got different reactions. Having a brand is similar. There is no one way to get the desired result. We must continue to find what works for us. We mix marketing, messaging, events and other elements to hopefully get our desired outcome. In my mind we are not taking risks but experimenting lol. And of course we still must plan strategically before just mixing things together so we don’t blow up lol ( or get overwhelmed). Read more>>

Elizabeth Rasmusson | Costume Designer

It is so easy to get stuck in your comfort zone. I think as artists if you don’t take risk you aren’t growing. A few years ago my life was really at a low point – I was going through a divorce and felt like my world was in shambles. I walked past a store that had a slogan outside it that said “do something every day that scares you”. That really struck home with me and I realized I had been stuck in my comfort zone for far too long and in reality I was not happy and I was not growing into the person I was meant to be. Right then I looked at my life and thought about what were my priorities and what was the junk you I could remove to get there. I wanted to only work on freelance design projects I was truly passionate and excited about. I wanted to travel and I wanted to spend more quality time with my son. I left a job that had started to feel toxic and I began to focus on my desires and priorities. Read more>>

Terran Lewis | Founder

I think of risk as being necessary for growth. The thing about it is, that it’s like stepping into the unknown. As a person I had assess if I was willing to be a thrill seeker, and thankfully I was. Taking risks for me personally has led to living a life that I imagined, but to see it in fruition is very gratifying considering what it took. This whole journey of entrepreneurship, thus far has been about taking risks and sacrificing comforts in order to grow. Essentially it’s what made me become an entrepreneur in the first place and create the life I wanted to have. Read more>>

Carrie Schrader | Writer & Director

Risk is awful! And TOTALLY necessary to succeed. I have such a love-hate relationship with it. I know that I have to take risks on a daily basis in order to grow as a filmmaker and business owner. Yet, every time I do, whether I’m trying to solve a story problem, facing a new challenge on set, or pushing myself to reach more writers, I feel cagey and uneasy…then suddenly I’m reorganizing my sock drawer or shopping online. Please, I’ll do anything to keep me from having to take that dreaded leap! To make matters worse, those internal voices love to get really, really loud right before I take a risk. They tell me: “You’re faking it! You’re a talentless fool! You should QUIT NOW and stay comfortable right where you are.” The problem is…one cannot grow without risk. I have to dive into that scary unknown because it is the deep, gooey place where all creation happens and it always, always leads me to an answer, an idea, a new character, or the next storyteller who needs my support. Read more>>

Karen Joyner | A Georgia OkraGirl

Risk taking isn’t always that one defining moment in life that makes or breaks a person. Risk presents itself to me daily. Every time I push myself to go outside of my comfort zone, I am taking a risk. The customer I’m pursuing might tell me “no.” I might not have the technical savvy to design my own web site. My Facebook posts may not have the impact desired or maybe aren’t professional enough. But I still do it all anyway. These little risks may not sound like a big deal, but the thing I am risking is disappointment in myself, maybe finding out I’m not as good as I want to be at what I do. And, that does happen. In fact, it happens frequently. But when I tackle something I don’t do well and ace it…well, I know that in the experience I have become a better, stronger, person. I also know that one day when that defining moment in life, the ultimate risk, presents itself I’ll be ready for it. Read more>>