This is the eighth in a set of posts designed as a series to complement the initial post… Strengths in your business The aim being to provide a simple “How to” guide for people daunted by the prospect of “how to” as it can be too easy to read and say “Oh yeah that’s it, I need to do that”, and then forget it and let it go.

Risk taking (all business is this, the further you go the more risks seem to ‘pop up’)

These days there is a lot of talk about risk management to ensure your business is not exposing itself to too many risks that could undermine it. In this article I wanted to point out that being a risk taker is often a useful device in starting a business, without the ability to take a risk we might never start one and spend the rest of our lives wondering what would have happened if we had…

• Do your business research to ensure the risks you are taking on is minimised where possible.
• Know how far you can go with the risk you are undertaking, if you pull out at any stage, will there be “something in reserve” or will the project finish you?
• Explore the unknown, often great ideas come from the strangest places or mishaps in scientific research, sure there are risks involved but the ‘pay off’ can be worth it.
• Making mistakes often leads to learning opportunities, far too often we are risk adverse and fail to give things a try. When you or an employee make a mistake, are you ridiculed by others for the mistake or is it seen as an opportunity to learn and grow?

Its not all risk taking but hopefully when the challenges arise you can be ready to accept the challenge and not merely dismiss it.

Stumble it!