Risk is the most common topic that comes up in our conversations with entrepreneurs and so each week we ask entrepreneurs to talk to us on the record about how they think about risk.

Rhonnika Clifton | Allied ASID

Without risk, there is no reward. So, when it comes to my business, I live by the motto of…Big Risks, Bigger Rewards! With that, I also try very hard not to put a time stamp on when those rewards should be received. God is the head of my life, so I utilize the faith I have in Him to remind myself that as long as I put in the work that He’s assigned me to do, the reward will.come…right on time! Risk taking and having faith that what’s for me, will be for me, has worked out very favorably during my decorating & design career. Once I realized that I can’t ask/pray for it AND stress about it at the same time, I begin to see opportunities show up. I believe, wholeheartedly, that it is because I give each situation to God because he knows my heart and needs. Read more>>

Dominique James | Business Owner & Dance Coach

Risks are one of the top factors in being successful and/or becoming successful. I was unhappy with my full time job. Initially, this full time job was something that I was extremely proud of accomplishing. But then as time went by, I realized that I wanted more. I wanted more but was so comfortable with my routine, my pay, my life, etc. I was unstable for awhile due to unforeseen circumstances. Prior to that I was working at least 3 jobs. However, I was also focused on one thing, dance. Anyways, because I was unstable once I had a job where I didn’t have to and couldn’t work 3 jobs and I was finally stable I ran into the same problem. I realized I wanted more and could have more and I was starting to become unhappy. I was unhappy with having to answer to people who did not truly care for my success 24/7. Read more>>

Kristi McDonald | Owner, CEO & Co-Director

Risk is what makes it fun! You definitely have to be ok with taking a risk, in order to start your own business or to put any idea out there. One of the best pieces of advice, I received very early on and it’s something that I come back to daily. “You have to go to the edge. Do that thing that you’re afraid of doing. Celebrate it. Then, do it again.” The big changes don’t happen inside your comfort zone. It’s terrifying, but it’s also extremely fulfilling, when you make it past your edge and when you make it past your fear. The next time, you go a little farther, and a little farther each time until you’ve made it beyond anywhere you ever imagined that you would be. My career is easy to look at on a timeline and see how I started with the less risky and gradually built up to where I am now. When Sip & Shop Texas first started, we were there to have fun. That’s it. That was our whole mission. Read more>>

Ada Lewis | Founder & President

I was 39 years old when I left my successful career in engineering, my family, and friends, to relocate to the U.S. to marry my husband. I always heard that women are not generally known for taking risks, but I was willing to take on a risky challenge to start my life over again in a new Country. It is a challenge for a woman engineer to be successful in male-dominated fields, but I took it as an opportunity to grow and develop myself as a human being as well. Starting my career in Brazil, the construction field was dominated by “Machos”, but also by many men that supported me to strive and become a respectful professional in this field. After settling in my new life in the U.S., I started aiming to take risky roles in large organizations, where I could be challenged to learn new things. Read more>>

Keveney Evanne | Soul Awakener & Author

In the past, I never would have considered myself to be a risk taker or particularly courageous. So, it became especially curious to me that one of the first comments I repeatedly hear from strangers, after they read my book or hear me speak, is how much they admire my bravery and wish they too were willing to “risk it all to follow their heart”. To make a long story short, four years ago I left a decade long legal career after my dog had a seizure. I knew with every cell of my being that the only way to save my best friend was to save myself—which meant leaving my salary and security; taking extreme ownership of my life and decisions; and diving deep into the real work we humans are here to do, the soul work. At the time, it didn’t feel like taking a risk; it felt like choosing to live. It didn’t take long before I realized it was the best (and coincidentally most profitable and healthiest) decision I’ve ever made. Read more>>