“You’ll only regret what you don’t do.” – Brad Lea

Time and time again, this quote from Brad Lea is a favorite life-lesson quote. A business owner that doesn’t take risks will only end up giving way to the ‘other’ guy — and thus, unable to make it to the top of the top.

We don’t intend to encourage others to blindly take risks for the sake of quick growth. We only want to advise other business owners to learn how to successfully learn which risks to take in order to achieve success!

Once learned, we claim that the benefits are uncountable, which include:

1. Taking risks induces learning

(“Learn” photograph from @kellysikkema)

One of the most important benefits we believe in risk-taking has is the fact that, even if you fail, you can still learn from your mistakes.

In the business world, it’s expected that one suffers both gains and losses throughout the course of their lifetime. The winner, then, is the person who isn’t afraid of losing and instead welcomes it in order to obtain further gains by learning from what they did wrong previously and changing their strategies accordingly.

2. Taking risks results in a competitive advantage

(“Race Track” photograph from @slelham)

As was stated in the introduction, we wholeheartedly believe that the person willing to take risks is the one who will come out on top. We can say that someone constantly playing safe has no choice but to bow down to their competitors — who have probably already shot far ahead of them by pushing forward perseveringly.

It should also be noted that the further ahead you are, the less competition there will be. And in that state where you’re so much more ahead than everyone else, the only one to reap the rewards will be you!

3. Taking risks leads to higher job satisfaction

Although risk-taking is often seen as a stressful thing, there’s no denying the thrill of a challenge — which is what most business owners thrive on. 

Conversely, there’s also the peace of mind that comes with knowing that you’ve taken the leap of faith. As in, you won’t have to constantly look back thinking “what-if” scenarios because you were too scared to grasp the opportunity in your hands.

4. Without taking risks, your business will grow stagnant

(“Blocked Door” photograph from @Tim Mossholder)

Stagnation is a curse for a lot of businesses. While some business owners may prefer to keep their business small and manageable, it is undeniable that this position is very limiting and can potentially lead to great losses should emergencies arise in the future.

In any case, by refusing to grow your business through risks, your business will remain locked in place. And, sooner or later, it will be more and more difficult to remain afloat amongst even some of your smaller competitors.

5. Taking risks inspires a better work environment

Closely related to the previous benefit, taking risks can help inspire both you and the people around you to think more creatively. In this way, while you’re working on your business’s growth, you can also continue to test the mettle of your employees and teach them lessons directly through personal experience.

This benefit, of course, should also loop back and help push your company forward even more by helping you increase the effectiveness of all your team members.

(“Happy at Work” photograph from @priscilladupreez)

The Bottom Line: Don’t Regret! Just Do!

Always consider yourself as a natural risk-taker. Of course, you also knows better than anyone else the costs of some risks. Rather than seeing you failure as a loss, took it as an opportunity to learn and do better in the future.

Now, we encourage our fellow business owners to do the same. Only cautioning that they measure the benefits themselves so that they don’t end up regretting what they don’t do.