Risk
Risk is the final ingredient in the savvy entrepreneurism dish. We want to say upfront that it isnât necessary in all situations. We also want to acknowledge that risk is more accessible to some demographics than others.
We took a sizable amount of risk when we started our venture from scratch. Weâre very happy that we did. Quitting our jobs to focus all our time and energy on our business allowed us to create a competitive, successful company that grossed millions within a matter of years.
Being in our twenties made the risks we took more feasible. If we had started HMB in our thirties, when we had families and mortgages, the unfolding of our venture would have been quite different. That doesnât mean we wouldnât have been successful. We simply would have needed to devise a more drawn-out plan to build our venture.
Starting a business doesnât necessarily mean you have to quit your current job right away or engage in other high-risk activity. Our friend Richâs storyâhe established Laugh Your Grits Off while working a full-time day jobâis a great example of this. Successful entrepreneurship almost always requires a degree of risk. There is variation in how much risk the situation requires and how much risk one is able to take. Weigh your limitations and your goals realistically before taking action.
If you are able to take a sizable risk, thatâs great. Go for it. Jumping into projects and business ideas with both feet enables you to build and realize them far more rapidly. If taking big risks isnât an option for you right now, donât sweat it. Risk is icing on the cake: Itâs sweet, and complements the creation nicely, but even without icing, your cake is still going to rise. The same is true for your idea.
In short, entrepreneurship = idea generation + initiative + a pinch (or heaping tablespoon) of risk.
Itâs okay if these qualities donât come naturally to you. The strategies youâre about to read in the following chapters are stepping stones to building them.
Remember, entrepreneurship is a set of learned skills and habits that are accessible to everyone. Itâs not just for the big players. And who says youâre not a big player anyway? Times are changing.
This article is an excerpt from the book âThe Whiteboard: Go from Blank Canvas to a Productive, Leveraged, & Highly-Profitable Businessâ by Chris Haddon and Jason Balin. Please click here to see more.
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Awesome article!
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