Taking risks, especially in business, can be one of the scariest things you ever do. In fact, a large majority of people in the world would run as far away from many risks as possible, but as entrepreneurs we tend to run toward the risks as fast as we possibly can. We’re willing to do some of the scary stuff in order to reap all of the rewards that come with being an entrepreneur.
Wondering what kinds of risks I’m referring to?
Things like leaving a good job that provides a steady paycheck. Or, investing the last of your savings in a business plan that has the possibility to go no where.
Scary, right?!
But, I bet there were some of you reading this, thinking– Show me where to sign up!
Betting On Yourself
When you start out as an entrepreneur, you often only have yourself to rely on. You have your skills, your time and your health. You may not be making enough capital to use to hire people who can lend a hand, so you need to bet solely on you and your skills.
Anthony Trucks, a recent guest of Success Unfiltered, knew that when he was finished in the NFL, he wanted to open a gym in his home town. He took the interests he already possessed and planned on utilizing them, by creating a giant gym. He liked athletics, enjoyed working out and had a degree in kinesiology, he felt that opening his dream gym was a no-brainer.
He took what he knew, the skills he had and all of his money to outfit the gym with the best equipment. He took a risk on himself!
This risk became a bit more scary when after 9 months in business he received an eviction notice from his landlord because he hadn’t been able to pay rent for the last 3 months and only had 2 weeks to come up with the money.
Anthony had to take a good hard look at what he was going to do to turn his whole situation around. He had a couple of options, stay in business and find a solution or go into bankruptcy and find a job. It was a pivotal moment for him.
After taking some time to think about it, Anthony quickly realized he needed to swallow his ego, an ego that he fully admits was pretty massive, and ask for help. He had only $4K left to his name, but he used that $4K to hire a consultant that would fix the problem, and turn his business into a success.
Asking For Help
Yes, typically when you start out in business you are alone on your journey, but once you begin, there will come a time when you need to begin asking for help. There may be things you aren’t sure how to do, so you hire an expert, or there will be things that you don’t enjoy doing, so you’ll hire someone who does enjoy it, and is good at it.
Your ego may not be massive, but trying to manage everything on your own for the duration of your business is not a risk you should take.
Shortly after hiring the consultant, Anthony had to make a list of individuals that he could reach out to. Some were people that loved his business and would talk about it everywhere, basically becoming ambassadors, then a list of people who knew about the gym, but had never experienced it, and finally people who had never heard of or worked out in Anthony’s gym. He was then advised to call every single one.
Anthony did exactly that, and within 3 months he was bringing $27K a month. He was able to pay off the landlord and expand his business further than he had hoped for at that time.
Two things to remember, if Anthony hadn’t taken the risk and started his business in the first place, he never would have achieved this success. And, secondly, without taking the HUGE risk of asking for help, by hiring a consultant with his last $4K, he never would have been able to pay off the landlord and actually GROW his business.
Pull something from what Anthony is showing us here, take risks, even if you have no idea if they’ll turn out, or how– Take the risk!
Find a Solution
Alright, so you’ve started your business or you are a few years in, and you’ve taken a couple low key risks. Nothing TOO scary. But, you’re thinking it may be time to make a big leap and actually tackle something that you’ve been putting off and has scared the pants off of you for a long time. (Perhaps, approaching a major company about starting a partnership between the two of you?)
Let’s say you approach the company, and they reject you. It’s likely that you’ll feel pretty devastated. You might even begin wondering what steps you can take to get the company to reconsider working with with you.
This is the point where you’ll need to face the rejection head-on and find a solution!
Anthony shared how HE handles rejection when a solution must be found. He follows a 95% to 5% concept– Typically, people spend 95% of their time thinking about the problem. How bad it is, how they’re going to handle it and they sit stagnant in one spot. They refuse to move or make any progress, which ends up leaving them in the same place for quite awhile.
Anthony does the opposite! He spends 95% of his time working to get the solution he wants, and only 5% dwelling and stewing on the rejection. It comes down to simply wanting your success enough.
Once again, taking action saves the day!
In Conclusion
Take risks!
Don’t be afraid of risks, and do not let them hold you back from achieving the business you want to create. However, if you do manage to get caught up along the way, take a moment to step back and realize how amazing you are and start believing in yourself and what you are capable of. And, of course, ask for help when needed. There are so many people in the world who want to help you, all you need to do is ask.
