Perspectives on Risk-Taking

There is a wealth of academic research that suggests that differences in risk appetite are at the heart of differences in career and business trajectories. We wanted to go beyond the theory and ask real people from the community about their perspectives and experiences with risk and risk taking.

Barton Damer | Owner and Founding Artist of Alreadybeenchewed.tv

Risk taking is a scary thing and it’s actually a tough battle to determine.. am I being irresponsible with this risk I’m about to take? Quitting your job to start something new.. risky! Whether you’re hiring… or firing, there’s a lot of risk in entrepreneurship. It can be just as scary to get comfortable in business as it is to push forward and take risks. There are many times I look back at decisions I was terrified to make, but had I not made them… at the very moment I made them. it could’ve changed the trajectory of the studio all together.. in a bad way. But at that time, it was more comfortable to feel like I didn’t need to grow, hire, etc. Read more>>

Shante Graham | Founder of Serenity Mentoring

As a woman whose continuing to evolve in the better version of herself day by day taking risk plays a huge part in my life. Honestly, once I realized that I have my own sparkle of talents that God have bless me with. Instead of just sitting on my sparkle of talents I was eager to start the first step of turning my dreams into a reality. With that in mind, I begin to network with likeminded people who taught me things that assist me achieving my goals. Read more>>

Oliver Powell | Insurance Agent & Financial Advisor

Taking risk has played a HUGE role in my life/career thus far. For me, I wanted to excel financially, physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. None of that could’ve happened without taking risks. Taking risks isn’t always some crazy “jumping off the cliff” activity either. Read more>>

Sophia Stevens | Business Owner

They say there are two certainties in life: death and taxes. I would add risk as a third. When you drive to work, you risk getting into a car accident. When you cook, you risk either cutting a finger or burning yourself on the stove. When you go to sleep, you risk not waking up the next morning! The degree of risk and, an individual’s comfort level with that degree are the variables associated with decision making. Read more>>

Stephanie Lopez | Permanent makeup artist

It’s all about how you look at the word “risk”. The word itself can give people a feeling of uncertainty. But to me, I see it as an opportunity. I’ve been taking risks my whole life, i’ve learned and grown through every risky decision i’ve made. About 5 years ago I invested all of my money into a course to learn microblading. Some people saw it as impulsive and careless. I saw it as an opportunity to become a business owner. With drive and determination, I turned that “risky decision” into a successful business in DFW. Read more>>

Chef Ericka | Meal prep, Event catering.

Risk takers in my opinion we are unique strong minded winners. Simple as that! If you don’t take risk your playing it safe and playing it safe only makes you average “lol” most people that are afraid to take risk fail to realize they’re taking risk just by driving on the highway eating sushi or betting against the Cowboys lol. Read more>>

Jordan Smelley | Mental Health Peer Specialist

For me risk is weighing out the pros and cons of a decision. If a decision has the potential for more risk than beneift then it’s something that I think really hard about because I also realize that if I don’t take risks then I won’t get very far in life. This is especially true in my line of work. I work as a Mental Health Peer Specialist here in Texas which more or less bascially means that I help support others with Mental Health issues and one of the requirements to be a Mental Health Peer Specialist in Texas is being willing to share parts your personal story knowing there’s always the risk of being automatically judged just because you identify as having a mental health struggles. Read more>>

Bryan + Roxi Delgado | Co-Owners + founders of The Social Production, DFW Flower Wall, and Party with Roxi

When we think about risk taking we think about all the investments we have made. We have grown from photo-booth rentals to dallas rentals in general. We never imagined we would be renting out marquees or creating props for our clients. Its thanks to those risks we have taken that we are now making balloon decor for some of the biggest companies in dallas. Including Dior, Facebook, and Choctaw. We came from working a 9-5 job in corporate america to building a company we can one day consider a well known design + rental company. Read more>>

Jacoby Armstrong | Author. Motivational Speaker. Pro Basketball Player. Podcast Host.

How do I think about risk? Risk is a component in life that is needed. You have to take risk in life, in order to achieve your goals. Ask any successful person you know and I guarantee you that they had to take some type of risk. However, you have to understand that when you take that risk; it could fail or backfire. Some people are okay with failing and some people are not. Taking risks has been a big part of my life just because I’m a person that constantly wants to learn, grow and live outside my comfort zone. Read more>>

Dominique Deon | Owner & Fitness Coach at YouNiqueBodies

Risk has gotten my Personal Training business YouNiqueBodies to where it is today. I made a plan at the beginning of 2019 to be a fitness coach starting January 2020. I was extremely excited, yet scared of failure at the same time. I could feel that the timing was perfect, but then COVID hit and the pandemic started. I started to give up because of all the disadvantages of being on lockdown during the pandemic. Read more>>