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.

Monica Tayem, RDN | Owner and CEO & Registered Dietitian Nutritionist

Risk taking is necessary for success, especially if you are an entrepreneur. There is an old quote that exemplifies how I think about risk, “only the person who risks is truly free.” If we don’t risk, we are just playing it safe, which means the payout for things such as happiness, wealth, personal/professional growth will also be of equal measure. Safe, but likely not exceptional. Read more>>

Rachel Midori Drolet | Owner & Founder of Midori Bikinis | Life-Long Learner

I believe risk takes on an imperative role in achieving growth; both in our personal and professional lives. If we didn’t pursue risk to some degree, we’d rarely take the steps outside of our comfort zones that often lead to achieving success-or in the least, valuable lessons. The first decision involving risk that comes to mind was deciding between a private elementary school where I wouldn’t know anyone or a public school many of my friends would be attending. Read more>>

Ae Southammavong | Chef & Reality Star

I did not always have a positive approach to risk. Growing up, I was always the good student in school, the good employee at work and did everything right. I took the advice of my family to study finance in college to understand risk and money. Money was the driving force for everything in my life for a long time. This mindsight lasted for almost a decade until I found myself unfulfilled and yearning for something more. Read more>>

Blake Berman | Entrepreneur & Engineer

The way I think about risk is that it is an inevitable chance that arises when faced with an opportunity to achieve a reward. There is rarely a reward that comes without any risk at all. With this, I understand that there is no hope in waiting around for a risk-less opportunity to present itself and that I must accept some level of risks in order to achieve greatness in my life. A famous quote from Peter Thiel models this understanding perfectly: Read more>>

Josiah “JosytheKing” Martin | Music Producer & Artist

I’m a strong believer that taking risk is a necessary thing to do especially in the entertainment and music business. You never know how far your gonna go if you don’t take the risk of putting yourself out there. As a creative person I think risk was something that I always have dealt with and learned to become comfortable with. As a producer its necessary to put yourself out there to artists and studios in order to find work. If you really love your craft and truly wanna take it to a place where it puts food on the table you can only be successful by taking risk, and being comfortable taking risk every day til its a normal practice, where being uncomfortable is what motivates you to become better in your craft. Read more>>

Adam Asher | Producer. Host. Adventurer.

Risk. This is something we all respond to differently. Some are averse to it. Others seek it. I probably fall somewhere in the middle. It’s not something I look for, but it never stops me from going after what I want. I’m not afraid to lay it all on the line. This has certainly paid off at times. And it’s also cost me. But looking back, I wouldn’t change a thing. I believe the platforms I’ve built are making a positive impact in the world. And they would not exist had I been afraid to try. Read more>>

Janae Williams-Guerra | Producer, Chef & Host

My myspace quote used to be “Be not afraid of the fire. Some will die, some will get hurt, and some might just make it” I know I just dated myself by sharing that but, I did it to show that my entire life has been surroundsed by taking risks, Growing up, I had unfortunate turn of event after event and everything was out of my control. There were a lot of times I felt hopeless and, frankly, infuriated that I could not control the environment around me. I knew at a young age that I wanted to make my own decisions and those decisions, good or bad, would lie solely on my shoulders. Read more>>

Henry Reynolds | Clothing Brand Owner

“Living on hopes and dreams” is what I used to tell my friends when they use to ask me why I would make rash decisions. From deciding to leave my studies of business administration and enroll in art school from just the idea popping into my head. The same happened when I got a chance to get hired on in an entertainment agency in Los Angeles, California. I said I could start the earliest that they could have me. I lived in San Diego and was betting everything that I could find a place to live in LA, with out doing any research or idea of what I could afford. Read more>>

Ashley Reader | Aesthetic Nurse Ashley • Aluma Medical

The only way to any degree of success is through risk. In each step of climbing the entrepreneurial ladder, risk is there. I’ve learned through my business choices and growth that on the other side of every risk there is also a door of opportunity. It is scary, exciting and empowering all at the same time! Risk never fully goes away no matter your level of success, and that’s the beauty and thrill of growing your own business. Read more>>

Zach Fullwiler | Real Estate Agent & Gym owner

Risk. When I was 23 years old I was working at Boeing, great job with benefits but not making much money. I knew Boeing was not going to be for me. I have family that has been in the real estate industry for years. I began my real estate school while working at Boeing. Every day I got off work and worked on my schooling. After I got my real estate license I realized life was going to change. Going from a steady paycheck every two weeks to living off of commission was a scary thought. But that fear for some reason felt good. I decided to stay at Boeing until I sold a few houses and saved a little bit of money. Read more>>

Abigail Molldrem | lifestyle content creator

Risk has played a large role in where I’m at today, especially recently when I decided to move from Minnesota to California. This choice was risky because I dropped out of the University of Minnesota to do online school and be completely virtual. This allows me to have my own schedule and create social media content. Read more>>

Maria Martinez | Manicurist & Nail Artist

I think risk is necessary in life. People really shy away from change. It’s understandable. Change is difficult, because you can’t always “see” where you’re going. I was told by a friend that risk taking can be safe: the worst that could happen is that you will end up back in the same situation you were in. It helped me reframe my thinking in terms of my career. Moving from the salon to a studio was a huge risk. Even though I was staying in the same career, the independence was both attractive and intimidating. Read more>>

Catherine Housseau | Photographer and Holistic Health Practitioner

Everything about life is a risk and even though we want to believe otherwise, nothing is permanent. Life is in perpetual flux. When I was growing up in France I knew I wanted to see the world. I also knew from a fairly young age that I wanted to be an artist; Since childhood I started to draw and paint. I also loved taking pictures; I remember taking my grandfather‘s old vintage accordion camera (Yes, he still had films for it!)- so I could take pictures of the family and other random sceneries. I do believe I got my love of photography from him; he was an avid photographer of black and white! Read more>>