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.

Nikki Frezza | Business Mentor for Virtual Assistants

I think it’s very natural to be afraid of taking risks and not wanting to take big scary actions in life. We shy away from making big moves because we’re afraid and we let that fear paralyze us and close the door on many opportunities without actually questioning that fear and understanding it. An exercise I like to do with my clients is getting clarity on what that fear really is. Grab a pen and journal and write down, “What’s the worst that could happen if I do [insert scary thing here]?” And then just journal on what those could be. Read more>>

Isaiah Fernandez | Creative Director

Risk is always something I consider whenever I’m ready to make the next jump into my future. It’s like flipping a coin of faith, but I’m always certain that whatever happens I will make sure that it was worth it at the end of day. Taking risks has brought me to a very comfortable spot in my life right now, I’ve risked school, time, and family events in order to lay the foundation out for my future. It’s been very successful so far and I’m willing to take more risks in order to keep moving forward. Read more>>

Hai Truong | Urban Freshwater Guide

Taking risks is always uncharted territory, especially for a small business. But, no risk. No reward. Some businesses gamble on advertising & marketing. They hire social media managers & influencers. Some collaborate with other professionals in their field. Although these are great avenues depending on your company or brand. They all have risks involved. Read more>>

Jacquelyn Roesch-Sanchez | Fiber Artist/Entrepeneur

Without my ability to take risks, I would have never had a career! From the start, when an interesting opportunity presented itself, I instinctively looked into the possibilities at hand. I’ve been fortunate to see when there was potential for creating a business and knowing that by acting swiftly and surely, I could achieve an amazing result. The excitement of developing an idea into a working entity has been a part of my adult life since my early years in New York City. My first business was Express Yourself, a craft gallery in the West Village from 1970-1972. Read more>>

Jennifer Mercado | Realtor, Content Creator & Boss Talks Chief Chapter Director

Risk is what you do when you listen to your heart. I think taking risks is healthy, and necessary for growth to occur within ourselves. I was a product of chaos so for a long time I equated taking risks as doing complete 180 degree changes, and burning all previous options to the ground. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned that risks are the whispers of your heart. They are pointing you in the direction that you need when you ask for it, but it’s call is shrouded by fear from our previous experiences and perceptions. Read more>>

Marlenn Solano | CEO of The Blueprint Company

Risk has always been a part of life for me. I very much believe in the familiar quote “with no risk no reward” . I can be very bold and confident about how I demonstrate a level of expertise in business and how I can master anything through my own research and self educating processes . For many years I have come across opportunities from not being afraid to approach people and situations that have some sort of risk involved, whether it was from the expectation or interest of respective individuals or situations and being able to provide solutions and repeatedly executing a plan to completion has always been incredibly rewarding for me. Read more>>

Charles Fernandes | Filmmaker

Risk taking is essential in filmmaking. You can’t have originality without some sort of risk involved. What’s scary about it is that you’ll have no idea if what you’re doing will work until it does. In highschool, I made a high concept/experimental short film called “A Tip on Torment”. It was a story told from two different perspectives, but playing side-by-side at the same time. All the character dialogue was overlapping with each other, and there were a lot of complex split-screen visuals happening. Read more>>

Mary Young | Founder & Designer

Risk taking is inevitable in life so instead of avoiding it, the key is to calculate your risks and assess what you’re willing to risk. Nothing is a sure shot but taking a calculated risk is more likely than not to pay off. When I launched MARY YOUNG I spent a few weeks intensely researching the lingerie industry and marketplace to determine if there was space for a new brand like mine. After writing a very in-depth business plan I was able to identify the gap in the market that MARY YOUNG would fill and that risk of starting a business felt less like a risk but more of a calculated decision. Read more>>

Ilan Arboleda | Film Producer, Managing Partner CreativeChaos vmg

Risk is the critical element in what we do at CreativeChaos vmg. Without risk, there is no creative process. Without risk there is no entrepreneurship. What makes my work so exciting is that every day is a venture into the unknown armed only with the confidence (false or not) that we will somehow figure it out. It’s what has made my career worthwhile. Read more>>

Bonito Thompson | Jamaican AR artist fusing art with culture and technology.

My whole life right now is a risk. I quit my 9-5 to be a full time artist. That’s very risky. This pandemic shows me how unpredictable life can be. And so I’m committed to living life on my terms and actualizing my dreams/goals. I don’t think you can take risk out of life so you might as well embrace it and move forward with a plan. Read more>>

Byron Cordero | Agency Owner | Liaison

By definition, risk is to pose (someone or something valued) to danger, harm, or loss. The foundation of the word is derived from a fear mentality. I shift my frame of thought from one of loss to one of abundance. I see risks as opportunities; opportunities for growth, opportunities for education; opportunities for success. Read more>>

Danna Gleizer | Realtor & Writer

Life is all about risks– calculated risks that is. In my own personal experience, that factor is no exception. It is safe –ironically– to say that I wouldn’t be here, where I am today, without taking several risks of my own. I managed to graduate with a Master of Science in Mass Communication by the age of 21. Simultaneously, I also was developing my Real Estate career, and trying to live like a regular 21 year old. Did I play it safe to accomplish that? It would be a lie to state that everything was set and guaranteed. Read more>>

Ana Luisa Monis-Enriquez | Founder of Jolly Hour

I actually feel comfortable about taking risks. I always think there are unlimited opportunities and you never know where they will take you, unless you take them. I like to think that I am not the rule but the exception to the rule, and maybe it’s my optimism that keeps me going even when things don’t go as “perfect” as I want them to. I think this is because I know there are always bigger things in the picture, even if I can’t see them in the moment.
Three years ago, I was in a bad accident. Read more>>

Mike Raz | Artist

Life is all about risk. That’s the attitude I have going into any project. Hitting the streets with my art paid off by showcasing my art to millions of people. This led to business relationships, galleries, shows, and sales. Read more>>

Flavia Fogli | CEO of BLQ Miami LLC

Risk is everything. My whole business was mainly started because I took the risk to move to the US, I completely invented this company on my own and I had to work from the ground up to build it. I took the risk to start my own company, and many risks along the road to make it grow, without risk, I wouldn’t be here today doing this interview. It has had a big impact on my life and my career, but, looking, I would do it all over again because seeing my own creation grow over the years brings me a lot of pride and joy. Read more>>

Bakyalakshmi Nisha Ravichandran | Electrical & Electronics Engineer with an MBA & a film producer

I want to hold your hand and walk you through the tunnels in my memory lane. It’s a tunnel and not an alley because it’s enclosed except for the entrance and the exit. It’s dark and everybody’s scared of this place. Fear of the unknown and the dark stems from the basic survival instinct of humankind. And yet we have an insatiable curiosity to explore the unknown and the dark. I am one of those starry eyed souls whose curiosity outpaces one’s fear by a nose. I grew up being shielded from everything vile, foul and ghoul by my parents. My dad’s a farmer in India and my mom’s a housewife, a proud bourgeois family that revels in it’s proletariat simplicity. Read more>>

Chris Levett | Filmmaker and Artist

Taking risks can never be underestimated when it comes to the art & film world. Taking risks is crucial to learning, and growing. I’ve always felt like the arts is the best place to push the limits of comfort and our ideologies. Crossing boundaries and rules, drawing over the lines when we colour as kids. Before I take a risk I will always weigh the risk vs reward, Its a pretty simple way of guiding myself through decision making if I’m struggling to make a decision. Read more>>

Julie Conway | Glass Artist & Lighting Designer

Risk — it is fundamental in a glass artist’s career. Risk is craved, essential, and why we (as an industry) are thrill-seekers. 
 The material: alchemical results of boiling sand, adding minerals for color, and creating a chemical balance of expanding and contracting material that is all a gas, liquid and solid in its various stages. Glass can break at anytime. It also brings incredible awe and wonder to the human experience. Read more>>

William Alonso | Plastic artist and art historian

I would like to share my experience not only as a professional artist but also from my studio as an art historian. I consider that these are two elements that allow me to have a background to speak about the capacity for risk that has characterized human beings, but especially artists, regardless of the discipline or languages ​​that have determined their work, their style and their purposes versus creation. Read more>>

Sophee Dukas | DJ & Producer

After years of staying in my comfort zone I’ve learned staying in it only hurts you. Taking a risk is the best way to learn more and grow. I recently took the risk to move to Miami from Tampa with very little money and already have had and am attracting more opportunities. We can never grow from our comfort zone or stay in one place our whole lives. Taking a risk could potentially lead to incredible opportunities or give you knowledge. TAKE THE RISK. Read more>>