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.

Lisa Conway | Owner and Stylist at L Raymond Styles Hair Salon

Isn’t this the question of the year – we are all considering risk in one way or another. Should we see our family members, spend time with friends, send our children back to school, go to the grocery store or hair salon, spend money to support local businesses and causes we believe in, or buckle down to protect our financial security? Anyone who knows me will tell you that I’m an inherently conscientious person. Given everything going on in the world, the word ‘risk’ can bring to mind the implications of our choices, and the potential consequences. But risk can also be a counterweight to possibilities. When I think about the risks I’ve taken in my life and career, I think about how the potential to affect change, learn something new, and grow, outweighed the possibility of something bad happening. Read more>>

Rikki Grant | Model & Photographer

Risk is a hard thing to take. I am a person who enjoys security, and being able to map out my future. Taking risk eliminates the ability to control the outcome which can be scary. The greatest risk in my career that I have taken was dropping out of school, studying biochemistry to pursue modeling full-time. I have not, regretted my decision to take the risk knowing the high possibility I would not be able to make a living income. Here I am 3 years later, and not only am I surviving, but I am thriving in a career that fulfills every aspect of my life. Read more>>

Amber Braxton | Photographer

Business is all about risk versus reward, and being talented is only a small portion of it. A successful business takes a lot of persistence,a bit of obsession, and a whole lot of blind faith. I’ve invested a ridiculous amount of time and money into things that I didn’t know whether they would pay off, but if you trust in yourself things have a way of working out. One of my favorite music artists, Bumpin Uglies, has a lyric that goes “Living life safe is just dying slow”. When it comes to life my career has become my obsession, and in order to have unique experiences and set yourself apart from others you have to be willing to take risks and fail. You need to learn from these failures and learn to try again and again until you get what you want. I’ve traveled to the same spot almost everyday for one year just to capture a single moment. Sometimes in life you get lucky and you succeed. Read more>>

Idalis Richardson | Videographer, Photographer, Graphic Designer, CO-CEO of The Basik Company

Risk Taking to me is extremely important, it’s one of the major keys to success in my opinion. I look it all as a mental game. You first have to mentally prepare yourself for the risk your going to take, once you have master the mental part, the actual action of risk tasking becomes extremely easy and sometimes you may even find beauty in the risking your comfortable for growth or unknown change. Some of my greatest opportunities came in the form of not being afraid to get out of my comfort zone. There’s beauty in the struggle, embrace it. Read more>>