Small Business Stories: Risk Taking in Business
In early December, I launched my YouTube Channel because I wanted to place to share stories from all different types of Small Businesses. I feel like every different small business owner has a little bit of magic to share, and what better way to share than to get them to tell their stories.
My First Small Business Story on Taking Risks in Business
I had my first conversation with small business owner Emily Oriold, the Co-Founder and Artistic Producer of The Norm Foster Theatre Festival. I started with Emily because for as long as I have known her and watched her move through various different businesses, one thing that always stood out to me was how much of a risk-taker she is in business. As entrepreneurs, we are all risk-takers, that is the nature of being an entrepreneur. And with Emily, she seems to do it with such ease. When I asked her about taking big risks, she talked a lot about instinct and trusting your gut. Which is something that I also firmly believe. Nobody knows your business like you do, so even with all of the advice out there, you need to trust yourself.
Here are some of my favourite quotes from this interview.
“There's a lot that I believe in and in taking risks, I think you have to trust your gut, or whatever you believe in that you're hearing…And there were some things that I knew, and some, a lot, of things I didn't know but I trusted that it was time to follow this instinct that I always had.”
“I just kept asking questions. “What's the next step?” It was huge for me. Um, I built this entire company on me - a huge learning curve for me - but it was all questions. And seeking out the people who had the expertise in each area”
“…there will always be people who are critical of your brand, I'm going to say brand because it is a brand, um there will be people who are critical of it. There will be people who don't connect with it. But, there - if you stay true to who you are as an organization, which does stem from the person running it, you know it is an extension of yourself often, and so if you stay true to that more people - and the right people - will connect with your business and your brand.”
“…it's not being rigid. It's not sticking inside a box, or feeling comfortable and staying where you're comfortable. It's, it's knowing you have to break through that resistance of wanting to stay comfortable, and knowing that in order to keep moving forward you have to try some things that are new to you. And there were no rules exactly…”
“I don't see failure. I don't often go by the word failure, I call it experience. It's an experience, it's not a failure. It's an experience and I get to learn from that experience.”
I asked Emily to share her final two thoughts for other small business owners on the topic of taking risks, she shared the following:
“When things start to feel overwhelming - because you know you got to take the risks - is to pause. Truly just be patient and pause. There are times in your business where you need to stop the go, go, go, and you need to pause and you need to really listen to what you need most. And when you stay grounded in that, it can only support your business.”
“The second piece of advice I really believe in is, that practice makes confidence. And so just keep moving forward as best you can. Sometimes you have to pause to figure out what the best way forward is. But don't let fear dictate your momentum.”
Watch the full story below, and don’t forget to Subscribe to my YouTube Channel for more Small Business Stories.
