To the risk-adverse entrepreneur

To all my fellow risk-adverse, never thought you’d own a business but now you do people… you’re not alone. There are many of us who stepped into the world of entrepreneurship after or during covid. We were happy with our jobs. Liked working for an established organization. And had ZERO intention of building our own businesses.

But here we are. Over two years later, and somewhere in that timeframe, we gained a new title: business owner.

February 1, 2022 was the day everything changed for me. I was working at a startup that I joined right out of college, 5 years prior. The team felt like a little family, and I grew really close to them. I also LOVED the work I was doing. In a nutshell, I helped organizations build healthy business cultures through strengths coaching and team workshops. I develop culture growth plans for clients and created an internship program so that our team could continue attracting the best and brightest.

Eventually, I worked my way to becoming the Director of Learning & Development and had my eyes set on a VP position.

But when 2020 came, like many other small companies, we were hit hard. The company did its best to stay afloat. But even after two years things were still tough. On February 1st, the entire culture team was laid off.

The good news: my non-compete was nullified. I was given the option to continue working with current clients and gained rights to the programs I helped develop.

I was both devastated and excited.

I had a choice to make. Go find another job or use this as an opportunity to explore entrepreneurship.

I chose entrepreneurship.

Now I know what you’re thinking. Why would I choose to take a failed business and try to make it work on my own?

Great question.

The main reason: I liked the work I did too much to give it up without a fight. And for the previous five years, I saw the effect this work had on teams, individual employees, and leaders.

Not many people can say they have a job that inspires, challenges, and excites them at 26. But I did. So, I wanted to find a way to keep doing it.

And that’s exactly what I’ve done. Now, a year later, I have the privilege of working with clients across various industry verticals that span from government to mom-and-pop shops. And I’m doing what I love.

There have been several changes along the way, and I am still figuring things out as I go. But I’m learning to be ok with not having the full picture.

For a while, I doubted I had the “personality” to be a business owner. Everyone says, to be a successful entrepreneur you have to be willing to take big risks and fail (two things I hate).  

But here’s the thing… I’m doing it. And you can too.

Here are a few things I’ve learned as a relatively “risk-adverse” entrepreneur:

1.       Know when it’s your gut versus your inclination talking to you. The safe path has always been my inclination. However, that inclination can get me in trouble and result in lost opportunities. My gut is different. Unlike inclination, it’s a much more trusted leader. Think of your inclination as an old, comfortable habit. Your gut is like a GPS though. It somehow has the ability to keep you safe but still on the cutting edge. Trust it.

2.       Ask others for help. One of the biggest things I’ve had to learn is that entrepreneurship takes humility. Quite frankly, you’re gonna need help. There’s just no way you can get it done on your own (especially if you’re risk adverse). You’ll need someone to tell you to take the leap when you don’t want to. Surround yourself with people you can ask for help.

3.       Certainty is rare. That’s life and unfortunately there’s no getting around it. We simply don’t know what the future holds. We can plan and set goals. But there’s no telling what the world will look like next year. So why would I run a business on certainty? Probability… sure. But not certainty.

Those are just a couple of tips, but they’ve been good reminders this past year. Let me know what’s helped you along in your journey of owning a business.

Here’s to building healthy teams and wholesome company cultures! It’s been a wild ride and we’re just getting started.