We have all heard terms like “risky business” and “risk reward”… but just how important is it to take risks in your business?
Dean says:
James and I were discussing this recently, and we both feel it is extremely important to take risks… for example, I was extremely afraid of public speaking, I felt that I may pass out on stage, say something stupid, be laughed at etc… but I decided to take a risk, and I have since spoken at the biggest events around the world.
They say that people regret the things they DON´T do the most, so even if you take a risk and it fails, at least you can learn from the experience and have no regrets.
With my personal brand I take huge risks by injecting humour, and often an edgy angle into my marketing, most people use what I call “cliché marketing”, which involves being safe and doing the same as everyone else, and they wonder why they get no interest or attention to their products and services.
So next time you are faced with a risk, don´t be afraid of going for it.
Money is Where the Fear Is
Some of the best advice I ever got was “Money is where the fear is”, and it is so true… what´s more, by being open to doing the things that your competitors are scared of, you have a huge market advantage.
James says:
I just arranged a live event for more than 200 people and decided it would be a great idea to invite not one but FIVE non-public speakers to share the stage with me. I’m sure for normal people they would consider that a huge risk. In my case it just had to be done. Luckily the event was an incredible success because it stood out. The overwhelming feedback on the non-speakers related to terms such as ‘genuine’ and ‘integrity.
Risk v reward
In business there is such a thing as a ‘risk versus reward ratio’. The more risk the higher the potential reward. Conversely the lower the risk the lower the reward. Lets give a practical example: If I were selling ‘hamburgers’ at a restaurant (such a strong word for plastic food served by clowns!) I am pretty certain I will make a sale each day. The risk of stocking that burger is low and so is the reward upon sale. If on the other hand I was selling a luxury boat, the risk of holding that stock is high. If I sell the boat I can make a huge profit. make sure you are taking bigger risks if you want bigger rewards.
Quitting your job is risky?
I would argue it’s the exact opposite. When you retain a full time you are accepting a low risk role and low rewards. The better option for you may well be to become an entrepreneur instead and run your own business. Once you run your own business you have a little more risk yes, however you have a much greater opportunity. As it turns out, by staying in your job you are risking losing that opportunity!
Failing is not something to be ashamed of…
The biggest risk is to do nothing. In this case you fail because you never gave it a go. What are you going to implement today to avoid the risk of losing and gaining nothing?
Leave your comment below.
James & Dean
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{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
You guys gave got it right! I f you are looking to succeed then you need to take risks. Life would be pretty boring if we were not taking risks on a daily basis.
Nice Post Gents,
FWF could only have happened if you took that risk (thanks btw)
I quit my J.O.B 5 weeks ago to take IM seriously. What i’ve learned and achieved in 5 weeks i couldnt do in 5 months while holding on to “so called security” of a full time job.
Love the style of this blog, James & Dean,
blank areas with promises,
risk & reward,
great examples for “me” to follow,
this looks like a fun site,
I’ll be back often.
Gregory Luke.
Can’t wait to see what you blokes get up to.
This site is filled with potential!
Taking risk is excellent, but not any risk, it has to make sense, even if the sense appears only afterwards.
Rather than avoiding risks, I am escaping ahead ( is it the right translation ? ), and sometimes it is just to escape.
– Vincent Leleux
Very true! I have always said that if you don’t take risks in business, the internet or investing then you are losing out BIG time.
Risks are gold mines and money trees!
Great Blog James and Dean, looking forward to more!
Thanks guys
Tyler Leese
I heard a great quote from Robin Sharma the other day…..”out at the end of a branch is the riskiest place to be…it also happens to be where all the fruit is!”
James, your hamburger eg wasn’t a good way to illustrate your point. Owners of micky-d franchises get huge rewards for earlier in their business lives risking the farm/house/whatever. As for those of the well-heeled who bought the luxury boats instead, well we know what happened to them… and the boats during the GFC.
And there’s risk and there’s stupidity when it comes to giving advice about leaving your day job. Only when you know what it feels like to be backed into a corner with no answers can you discern the true difference.
Stew,
My hamburger point refers to risk versus reward. In particular the salesperson (not the store owner). It was a perfectly good point to demonstrate that anything with a guaranteed low price point sale is going to have less scope for reward. The luxury boat example was again highlighting the risk aspect – which I guess you are agreeing with.
When I was backed into a corner I could see the real problem with having a job. I’m not telling people to leave their day job, I am offering them the perspective that it is often no where near as secure as they think. From my perspective, having a job IS being backed into a corner……
Great topic. I like how this post is tagged ‘nervous nellie’.
Yes, I think that some people confuse “risk taker” and “reckless”. James you are, of course, a good example of a positive outcome from risk. You didn’t leave your job until you knew that you could take care of your family, etc. with what you were making with IM, and you have different business models that you follow. If one thing tanks, you don’t go down with that ship.
If only we could use a time machine for the ultimate split testing of the results of one decision over another in life.
It’s easy to think, “I should have done x instead of y back then” when the truth is that *maybe* y wouldn’t have worked out at that specific time either, or maybe something even better would have come out of the *failure* of y than the failure of x.
The unknown is both fascinating and infuriating, so we have to step in and do the best we can to be smart about decisions and fail fast so we can get to what actually works and will be the tipping point so success continues.
I also wonder if it’s possible that some of the *most* successful people in business are also processing in a way that not everyone can. It has been speculated that the true psychics in the world are these people, not the people who claim to be psychic, yet they don’t see themselves that way. They don’t have the classic ‘woo-woo’ stuff swirling in their head, they are practical with their thoughts, but they sense an undercurrent or whatever you want to call it that gives them that extra edge that they can’t really define on top of having the appropriate skills and know-how about business. For example, it’s been said that George Soros gets back pain that spurs him to make decisions that work out for him financially. This could be his imagination, or when he mentally processes he tenses in a certain way that generates pain, or it’s truly a form of body dowsing. Who knows. Interesting though.
Fascinating spin on it Lillea!
The business psychic
Love it.
Hi James. Thank you.
Sometimes when I hear you talk about certain things, I wonder what’s going on for you in that ‘realm’ for lack of a better word.
It can also be argued that at that super elite level of success (the billionaires who don’t simply inherit it all), there is a genetic component at play/work. Who knows, there truly might be ‘money making genes’ (governing the kind of supercharged attunement needed to do *extraordinarily* well).
oh, I just realised that I mixed up the x and y in my example. That’s what I get for being a mathematician’s daughter who isn’t very good at math. lol