Taking Risks
In all of the competing definitions of entrepreneurship, most agree on 3 key elements: being innovative, taking risks and creating value. Some won’t even dip a toe in the entrepreneurial world because of the inevitable risks. Others can tolerate certain types of risk, but recoil from others.
How much risk are you comfortable with in each of the following categories? There is no right or wrong answer here; just factors to consider as you build your business. Rate your interest in each of the following items, from 1 (sounds horrid) to 5 (bring it on). Add of your score for each category.
A. Financial
1. Putting chunks of my savings towards an exciting but uncertain venture.
2. Investing a significant portion of my parents’ retirement savings into my new business idea.
3. Giving up a steady paycheque to dive full-time into a business that is starting to make money.
4. Taking out sizeable loans to grow my business.
5. Investing more money in a business that looks promising, but that has lost quite a bit of cash over the last year.
Total Category score: /25
B. Intellectual
6. Working on a radical new idea that has never been tried before.
7. Trying to convince skeptics on the merits of an idea they think is crazy.
8. Publicly questioning the status quo ‘truths’ in my field.
9. Being the first to tackle an old problem in a new way.
10. Designing practical experiments to test my new hypotheses.
Total Category score: /25
C. Social
11. Cold-calling strangers to sell them on my business.
12. Approaching intact groups of power people to engage them in conversation.
13. Getting up to talk in front of large groups of people.
14. Following up with people who seem reluctant to talk to me.
15. Standing out in social situations where people are particularly critical or judgmental.
Total Category score: /25
D. Physical
16. Doing need for speed activities – racing, riding, skiing quickly.
17. Bungee jumping, paragliding, parachuting – flying through the air.
18. Hiking on narrow cliffs with no guardrail and a precipitous drop-off.
19. Riding the scariest roller-coasters possible.
20. Taking a test run on a skeleton or luge track.
Total Category score: /25
E. Cultural
21. Being alone in a city where I don’t speak the language.
22. Going to a meeting in a country where I’m not sure of intricate business etiquette rules.
23. Being at an important formal business dinner where I don’t recognize the food or drinks.
24. Negotiating supplier deals with savvy business people in their country.
25. Dealing with unpredictable or unreliable partners in foreign countries.
Total Category score: /25
Total Risk Taking Score
/100 = 125
i. What advantages do your Risk Taking scores here indicate if you venture into entrepreneurship?
ii. Given your Risk-Taking scores here, what precautions should you take if you venture into entrepreneurship?
iii. When you think about your overall Risk Taking profile – from your scores here and your general life experiences – what are some big picture implications for how you shape your entrepreneurial path?