Are you a risk taker?  Do you think you have a stronger appetite for risk relative to your friends and family?  We asked some folks from the community about their approaches to risk and have shared their thoughts below.

Wilson Chaney | Media Personality & Founder of UFM TV

Risk equals Reward. I think that’s the perfect way to sum it up. It’s definitely played a huge role in my career. In this industry you can’t be scared, people sense weakness all the time, and once you express a hint of it they will expose it. One of the biggest risk I’ve taken was helping start my own media network. I was called crazy or even stupid for not even wanting to work at a local news station after graduating college, but now looking 3 years later UFM TV has made several news outlets, worked with a professional football league (while I was still in school) and even have huge sponsorships on the way. It’s still in it’s incubation stage but the work is definitely showing. Read more>>

Zharkynay Issabekova | Co-owner of cleaning company Superb Maids Houston

My sister Altynay and I have always been risk averse, we graduated universities in Kazakhstan, got our master’s degrees in the United Kingdom and then worked for Chevron business units in the UK and Kazakhstan. In other words, we both stuck to the traditional career path. Our turning point was maternity leave, when we realized how hard it is to keep a work life balance; we’ve decided that it is worth trying starting our own business and opened a coffee shop in Kazakhstan with our friend. This experience proved that taking risk and hard work pays off, and now we put ourselves to a bigger challenge, opening a business in the United States. Read more>>

Casse Vaughn | Designer and Founder of Streetwear Brand, Formal Set.

I believe risk define us. You can look around at people you consider winners and you’ll also see behind the wins are many risks. I think about risk as the ability to be uncomfortable when the results are unknown. People who remain comfortable have more chances of living mediocre. People who take risk have better chances of making changes and accomplishing things that my seem Impossible to the next person. People who take risk either learn from them or win. Either way it’s a step in the right direction. Read more>>