We’ve all heard the stories of billionaire entrepreneurs who risked it all but ended up on top. Those stories can be totally invigorating… or completely terrifying. And, unfortunately, I bet those kinds of stories have kept a lot of people from taking the leap and starting their own businesses.
Today we are talking about my version of that story. The ending is the same, but the difference is I never risked it all. In fact, I risked very little when I started my business. I had back up plans for my back up plans. I risked only what I knew I could afford. I made sure I was sure of my success before I completely jumped off the cliff. And yet, here I am, a successful entrepreneur despite my aversion to risk.
I don’t believe entrepreneurs- at least good entrepreneurs- have a huge appetite for risk. I think they have an appetite for success, and that sometimes requires calculated risks. Listen to this week’s podcast to hear stories of entrepreneurs who did it right and some that lost it all because they risked too much. Don’t believe what you’ve heard- you don’t have to be a dare-devil to succeed as an entrepreneur.

Do you want to keep being an underachiever, or are you willing to do what it takes to go pro? Most entrepreneurs are constantly looking for the next best thing, the new traffic source, or the latest sales tactic, but that approach isn’t going to get you to your goal. It has the opposite effect. It leaves you stuck on the sideline watching everyone else play the game. It’s time to go pro and step onto the field.
Hey, everybody. What’s going on? Um, I got something- I was just having this conversation, um, with some- uh, a buddy of mine who is not an entrepreneur, doesn’t run his own business. He, uh, has been employed for, for a while. Um, I’m 31 now. He’s the same age. So he’s been employed ever since we both got out of school, like nine years.
Um, and one of the things he said is- it reminded me of probably a, a common assumption that most people make, uh, either beginning entrepreneurs or kind of aspiring entrepreneurs. They’re just people who, you know, wish they could be a quote, unquote entrepreneur, work for themselves, but think that they can’t because they think they need to take a bunch of risk.
Uh, and it- something that he said to me, basically along the lines of, you know, “Look,” you know, “I, I wish I could do what you did, I just, uh, I’m not … I don’t have a huge appetite for risk. I can’t … ,” you know? He’s got a family and kids now. He can’t put his family at risk. You know, he, uh, he just doesn’t have that, that gene.
And I tried to explain to him, you know, I’m, I’m not sure how much he believed me, uh, but I tried to explain to him that I actually think it’s the opposite. I do not thing good entrepreneurs take risks. Um, i- and, and let me … I’ll clarify that in a second, but, uh, I don’t think they do. Um, eh, and from my own personal experience, when I was, uh, I graduated college, I was 22, was newly engaged. I had gotten a, a great, um, you know, steady job, with, you know, a, a great salary and good healthcare and all that stuff.
And I started my online business, and I found a strategy, uh, where I could, for very little lost, I did not have to put a ton of money down, maybe a couple hundred bucks to get up a website. You know, I created my own products. I wrote a couple baseball e-books, recorded a couple videos on a flip camera that I already had. So I didn’t invest a lot in this business outside of time. I r- I risked my time.
Um, an- an- and I knew I’d figure out a way. And even, you know, fast forward a year and a half after that, two years after that, when I was making good money, making more than I was making at work by a long shot, and I still didn’t quit my job, because I wasn’t ready to accept the risk. I didn’t believe that my business was stable yet. I wanted to kind of see it, you know, succeed for a little while longer. Um, so I was, you know, pretty risk averse. You know, I didn’t want to, you know take that plunge and go full-time, until I really knew that this was, was legit.
Um, you know, and on the flip side, I’ve told you guys this story on this podcast before. I forget how many episodes ago, but I talked about our, our local … um, we had a barber shop come in in our neighborhood, uh, and this lady, uh, that opened up the shop, you know, had great intentions, had a great idea for this high-end, male barber shop where they served beer and they took, you know, very long time, meticulously, you know, i- precise on their cuts, um, gave great haircuts. And, it- it’s in a, a wealthy neighborhood. It- it’s a great product/market fit.
But she made a critical mistake that she assumed, you know, uh, uh, wealthy guys will want to spend an hour and a half in a chair getting their haircut, and I don’t know many guys that, that do. Uh, they exist, but I don’t think there’s many in this neighborhood. We’re busy. We want to get in and out.
And she made that critical flaw and she risked everything and she lost everything. She put in 150 grand of her own money. I had a conversation with her first time I went in there. I was asking her about her business, and she risked it all and sh- eh, she lost it all. I- and she’s no longer an entrepreneur is my guess. Um, eh, and I, I don’t think that was smart.
Like, you know, l- look, any time I start a new business, um, you know, take SamCart, for example. Like, number one, we started building SamCart when we already had a multimillion-dollar business that was already serving those same customers. So my risk was very low. I put money into this product that I knew, even if it didn’t sell as a product, I knew I would use it, and I knew it would help me make a ton of extra revenue in my current business.
So I limited my risk there. I limited my risk by not … you know, we didn’t take on venture capital. I didn’t go risk the entire ownership stake of the business. I didn’t go put in half a million or a million dollars upfront. We built it in stages. We got a, a minimum viable product, a very lightweight version of it done for probably 15 grand. And to me, back then, 15 grand w- you know, was, was nothing. That was not a risk. We would make that every day.
Um, so we just didn’t risk a whole lot. So anyway, long story short is, I don’t believe, um, entrepreneurs are … i- some of them risk everything. I mean, you hear crazy stories of, you know, these billionaires that put it all on the line. I think those are very few and far between. If you’re a aspiring entrepreneur and you’re struggling thinking you need to like risk more, and like the reason you’re not succeeding is because you’re not risking enough, I think that’s bullshit, to be completely honest.
Um, most entrepreneurs I know are very calculated. They have back-up plans. They know that if this fails, they’ll be fine because of X, Y, and Z. Uh, they think things through, and yes, in the end, they will take a small risk, but they’re not taking huge risk and putting it all on the line and putting their family or their livelihood in jeopardy. So, anyway. That’s all I got for you guys. Uh, hopefully that helps get rid of that myth, and, uh, … yeah. Anyway, for what it’s worth. Hopefully that helps. But, anyway, I hope you guys are having a great week and I will talk to you all soon.
Do you want to take your life and business to the next level? Then get my new book, The Going Pro Manifesto. Inside this new book, you’ll discover the secrets that most entrepreneurs overlook that will help you scale your business to the seven-figure level and beyond. You can grab your copy at brianmoran.com/pro. [/expand]
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