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.

Jo Weatherford | Addiction Expert, Speaker and Coach

The greater the risk, the greater the reward, so rather than shy away from big opportunities, lean into their potential. For example, I co-owned a thriving martial arts school in 2020 and when we got shut down, it was a terrifying time. Instead of worrying what was going to happen, I leaned into the possibility of what “could” happen, and we sold everything (including real estate) at an all-time high and moved to Los Cabos. Everything going online allowed me to start a remote coaching business and focus on addiction treatment, which is actually my specialty. I had worked in the mental health field for 12 years and have a Tedx talk on overcoming addiction, not to mention I taught university courses on the subject and had to transfer my class online.  Read more>>

Abrianna Holman | Beauty Entrepreneur and Top Stylist at a Leading Men’s Grooming Salon

Starting my business has been the most significant risk I have taken thus far, but I am confident that the rewards will continue to grow as I embrace new challenges. I believe that anything truly worthwhile should evoke a sense of fear or apprehension.
Reflecting on my career journey, I realize that each step has led me to this pivotal moment. There were times when I considered giving up my passion for hair, yet my enthusiasm for it has never been stronger. Looking back, I see how every small risk I took paved the way for this larger leap. Read more>>

Patsy Rausch | Visual Arts Teacher & Papermaker

“There is always the option to feel like a failure, but allow yourself the feeling of the experience before you give into the feeling of “fail.” As we are in the thick of the project, and feelings of failure creep in:
“You are too early in this experience to be so critical of your work; keep participating, and don’t let your fear of failure hold you back.”
(I also tell them to stop stabbing the erasers with pencils, but that’s not a life lesson I’m 100% invested in, nor is it one they adhere to.) Read more>>

Ashley Martin | Mental Health & Applied Behavior Analysis Practicioner/CEO

I have now redefined the definition of risk as being an intended act to be considered as a blessing instead of a faulty decision when it comes to making strategic plans to excute. This means with being a business owner there will be more unknown outcomes because of venturing into unknown terriority. This may cause doubt, fear, and anxiety among other emotional disturbances. Instead of venturing with intimidation, I have decided to make decisions that have been made from the basis of weighing out pros and cons. As long as there are more pros than cons I will view these risk as a blessings that I am willing to embrace. Read more>>

Julina Busby | Influencer/Content creator

When I think about risk,
I always look and think, is this something I want to look back on say I tried rather than not trying. Some of the most successful people in the world had to take risk to get where they are. I am a “it is what it is” type of person,
So the way I look at it is I can try and no matter the outcome it’s going to be what it’s meant to be at the end of the day and I will be happy knowing I have it a shot then nothing at all. Just like this story, if I would have not risked putting myself out there, then this opportunity would have not landed for me. Read more>>

Gabrielle Jones | Stylist & Fashion commentator

Taking a risk is how I got here. At work, bored on the the floor. Took out my phone and begin recording tik toks about fashion with no filter. I completely forgot Saks even had a social media policy but luckily I did not break it. Taking that risk and being myself in those videos is what gained me success. Read more>>

Lizzie Campanella | Model & Undergraduate student

My relationship with risk has definitely evolved over the course of my experience with adulthood. I have always had a relatively “Type A” personality and am a careful planner to my core- so risk-taking has been a source of anxiety for me. While I am pretty outgoing by nature, I have had a hard time pushing myself to step outside of my comfort zone and try new things. This mindset became very limiting when I moved to Atlanta alone this past year, and was forced to face many new experiences on my own. Read more>>