Taking Risks in Business


On October 22nd, I announced the first in a series of videos that I did for UPS and provided a bit of the backstory behind the filming of the videos.

Today, I’m pleased to announce the second video.  It’s about taking risks in business.

Even the most wildly successful entrepreneurs do not have 100% wins.  They sometimes win — but they also fail.   It’s just that the world remembers the wins which  soon overshadow the failures.

If you’re like most rest of us, you too have had some business experience that did not go as well as you planned.   But I am a glass-half-full person and look for the silver lining.  I find that the experience gained from failures leads to success.  In other words, it’s the lessons we learn from failure that help propel us eventually toward success.

“Next time it will be different,” I say to myself after something that does not go well.

The thing to remember is to have courage.  Resist the temptation to curl up in a little ball.   Instead — go out and try something new.  To overcome failure you have to take risks.

That’s the focus of this second video, “Taking Risks in Business”:

Again, I would like to thank United Parcel Service (UPS) whose sponsorship made it possible for me to do the videos.  I’d like to point out that several other people created videos in this series. You can find them all in a YouTube channel put together by PopURLS.  The videos include:

  • “The Economics of Abundance” featuring Mike Masnick of TechDirt;
  • “Over-Communication” and “Think Local” featuring Matt Marshall of VentureBeat;
  • “Monitoring Your Industry” and “Social Networking” featuring Adam Ostrow of Mashable;
  • and last but not least, yours truly, Anita Campbell, in 2 videos releases so far, including “Partnering With Suppliers” and this latest video, “Taking Risks in Business.”
6 Comments ▼

Anita Campbell Anita Campbell is the Founder, CEO and Publisher of Small Business Trends and has been following trends in small businesses since 2003. She is the owner of BizSugar, a social media site for small businesses.

6 Reactions
  1. I knew it would only be a matter of time until you launched into video. Great job, great message.

  2. Anita,

    I went to the YouTube channel and voted. It is a great series of business video clips. I have said the same thing: “Next time it will be different.” I wrote about taking risks in business and learning from my mistakes in my post, Five Lessons Learned from my Start-up — And why I’d Do it Again, on Open Forum.

    I will add your video clip on my Posterous page. I am a fan of Edison. He was a true “prime mover” (book title by Edwin A. Locke).

  3. Hi Steve, thanks a lot for the well wishes.

    Hi Martin, yes, there’s always … “next time”.

    – Anita

  4. Failures are expected in any kind of niche, and in order for one to become truly successful, you have to take 100% Responsibility for your failures, accept the feedback, and pursue other strategies. Only when you know what you are doing wrong can you make them right!

  5. Anita, this is awesome. All of us, your regular and devoted readers, always gain wisdom and inspiration from your posts and messages. This video is a powerful reminder of how you lead by example.

    Like Martin, I’m a huge fan of Edison. Wasn’t it Edison who had his lab literally go up in flames and said something like, “well, there go all my mistakes and failures up in flames, now I can start again fresh…” I know I don’t have the exact quote right, but the idea is there.

    I keep doing the same thing you advise on my Sales Rescue Team initiative – by reviewing and studying others businesses and offering free ideas and tips from our expert team, we learn as well and can use that learning in our own ventures. I’m always glad I spend time here on your site. Thanks for leading the charge for all of us entrepreneurs to fail, learn, get up, and succeed.

  6. RedHot, I totally agree about owning up to your failures so you can change them!

    TJ, you are definitely doing things right. Stick with it and don’t give up — keep learning and refining each day, each week.

    – Anita