There are a few important things to realize about the concept of risk taking. Most everyone has some tendency to overthink the potential for failure and underestimate their capacity to react effectively when things go wrong. This can generally be chalked up to fear, and the fact is that it is often crippling. The other side of the coin is that sitting back and taking no action is often just as harmful to your enterprise as taking careless chances and unnecessary risk. The key is to strive for balance. Have the courage to take measured leaps when you can, even if you go a little past your comfort zone.
Articulate your objectives and contemplate opportunities that have come your way. Perhaps you are interested in boosting efficiency in your enterprise or expand your customer base. Perhaps there are trends within your industry sector of which you could take advantage or step into a void that you have identified and add strength in that way.
Assess the true risk associated with each of the possibilities you find and weigh the pros and cons, how likely each is to succeed, and what is the worst thing that could happen if failure occurs. Discuss the situation with trusted partners and stakeholders such as your lawyer, your accountant, and your insurance professionals to hear their thoughts on the ideas. Once you have sufficient research and have looked at things from all angles, you will be better able to take savvy risks that are well-founded.
Only Risk what you can Afford to Lose
Determine how much you are willing to lose and remain within that framework. Keep things small at first, if necessary. Achieving success from smaller risks can help raise your willingness to go even bigger the next time around. The converse consideration is that even if you end up losing out on the risk, you will not have suffered a setback from which you cannot recover. Gamblers find that this can be an issue in both business and gaming or betting. Always make sure you are able to lose what you may lose. This is the case for IDN poker, the stock market or purchasing a second hand car.
Go into the situation with a well-mapped plan for how you will proceed. Included everything from funding sources, to marketing, to employee ramp-up. Then, you will be ready to jump in. Follow the plan to the letter and see what unfolds.
Results Matter
Evaluate the results and allow yourself room to make tweaks to the plan as needed. No matter what happens, the experience will put you in a better position to assess the next opportunity that presents itself.
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Do not fear failure. It is often the case that the lessons learned from a mistake are what form the foundation for ultimate success. Every business requires a bit of trial and error, and therefore it is necessary to take chances in order to grow.
