Yesterday I took a risk.
I am an aspiring entrepreneur hoping to create a business (follow me to learn more) that changes the way that young people (18-22) live their lives.
My personality is one that is incredibly visionary! I love to see the big picture, to dream about what something could be and I am very good at seeing the potential of an idea. This contributes to my ability to lead. Everyone wants to see where they are going and believe in that vision. This is a huge strength of mine! However, being Mr. Vision is a double-edged sword at times. While I can see the future clearly, getting there becomes more muddled and challenging.
Don’t get me wrong, I am a very hard worker when I am moving towards something, but sometimes it is challenging for me to get that motion started. So I’ve been sitting on this business idea for the last few weeks without anything really being set in motion. Well, a few days ago a happenstance meeting pushed me into action.
I was out on a run – which I highly recommend for anyone who feels like they are stagnant in their lives – and I happened to see a friend of mine walking down the street. I ran over and started talking with her, and while we were catching up she told me about her new job at a brand new multi-dimensional eatery and more importantly about the woman who owned the place.
“She’s amazing. She was the CEO of two fortune 500 companies and has her MBA from Harvard. But you’d never know! She seems just like any other person!”
This caught my attention.
There is a person in a mid-sized town like mine that has a resume like that? I’m sure that there are many that I just don’t know about, but this got me thinking. “I need to meet this lady and learn from her,” before my reply left my mouth my brain was already racing thinking about what this could lead to, Mr. Vision.
So I hatched a plan. As I played it out in my head it felt almost like a movie scene:
The young ambitious entrepreneur walks into the business of his hero, the successful person they are aspiring to be with one mission, and nothing will stop him. He walks straight up to the receptionist and requests a meeting with Mr. Johnson. He calmly and confidently provides the receptionist when asked with who he is, a well-thought out alias that gives him far more credit than he actually has. After a brief call, the receptionist motions for him to enter Mr. J’s office. Heart pounding, excited, nervous.. but wait, he must be confident. Shoulder’s squared, deep breath, he opens the door.
“What can I do for you?” – Mr J.
“Everything.” -our hero.
With a brief explanation that he isn’t who he says he is, our hero shares how he started at the bottom and has fought for where he is here and now, and all the hardships he’s endured have lead him to this courageous and ballsy act of getting in front of Mr. J and asking for him to teach him everything he knows. He will do anything, just let him be around to learn. The scene cuts just as we see a reflective expression come over Mr J’s mug, and a half, corner-of-the-mouth kind of smile.
The following opens with our hero charging out of the building and racing home to tell anyone of his victory! He took a risk, and it payed off!
But this is just a movie. Back to reality.
As I’m sharing my infallible plan with my roommates to do much the same as our aforementioned hero, I am abruptly stopped with the truth of the situation. The woman I am hoping to meet is right in the middle of a soft-opening of the business the city has been anticipating for months. She is going to be BUSY. Why would she have time for me? I share my idea of coming up with a fake alias to acquire more credit, again my roommates smack me with reality. People don’t want fake. Honesty is the best policy. “Whatever you do, don’t lie about who you are.”
Alright – not quite the dramatic movie scene scenario I had envisioned. I still felt like I needed to try though. I weighed the best and worse case scenarios.
Best case: She recognizes my effort and is so impressed that she offers me a job as her assistant that very moment, vowing to make me the best businessperson the world has ever seen. In fact, the timing is perfect, as her old assistant just quit out of the blue. Very realistic.
Worst case: She won’t see me. She has no time for someone as unqualified. Or, she does see me and thinks I’m an idiot and tells me my business plan won’t ever work. She even comments on how I need to get a haircut.
I decided that I can take a suggestion about my hair from her if thats what it came to. My mother has plenty of them.
I put my best “businessy” clothes on, a button-up collared shirt and skinny khaki pants all wrapped up with a black belt and black dressy boots. I couldn’t do much about the hair. I hopped in my car and drove to the establishment. I sat in my car for at least a minute before I got out. “Confidence, confidence, confidence, smile, confidence, don’t talk too much, confidence.” I had reached the end of my personal pep talk and got out. A short jaunt across the street and I was at the door.
Smile. Open the door. Immediately met by a hostess I politely decline a seat for lunch and share my intent to speak with Mrs. Johnson. (for privacy, not her real name)
“She is actually not in right now, but we can take down your information and get back to you.”
Worst case scenario #1 is already happening and I’ve been inside for less than 2 minutes. As I was writing my name and number down on a pad of paper with countless other names and numbers I realized the chance of her getting back to me was next to nothing. Before I accepted complete defeat I decided I would at least take a look around the place since I was there.
As I’m walking around I recognize a woman who was featured in the newspaper as the head chef of the establishment. She was showing another visitor part of the building structure. I asked if I could listen in and she graciously allowed me to. When the other visitor walked away I asked if she was the Deb the chef I saw in the newspaper and she confirmed she was. I asked questions and she answered them. Then she started asking her own. “What are you doing here since you aren’t eating?”. I explained my plan to speak to Mrs. Johnson and why I wanted to speak to her. She was all about it. With a friendly smile, she offered to give me a tour of the whole facility. I think she liked me. For the next 20 minutes we walked and talked. She explained to me that she had been Mrs. Johnson’s personal chef for 10 years and was very close to her. Finally as our tour was coming to a close, just getting back to where we started, something amazing happened. Mrs. Johnson walked in and guess who introduced me to her with enthusiasm, Deb the head chef.
This was my moment. Here comes the heart-felt speech about all I had overcome to be here and now.
But Deb was already giving her half my spiel! I had to interrupt as she was explaining that I was an entrepreneur and I had done some research and wished to meet her.
“I know who you are and I recognize how valuable a person you are to be around and learn from. I would love for the opportunity to do that.” is basically what I got out. I’m sure not word for word, but that was the message. As I was speaking, a line was forming of people who needed to speak to her about the operation of the business.
I recognized my moment had come, and was now coming to an end. But as it did…
“Deb, find Kate (her assistant-like person) and get her his information so we can set up coffee together.”
and then to me,
“That was very courageous of you to do! It was very nice to meet you.” and we shook hands and she turned her attention to the next person.
We had spoken for maybe 34 seconds.. there wasn’t an elaborate speech, there was barely a conversation. She didn’t say anything about my hair. She said I was courageous. And I got a coffee meeting!
I left about 10 minutes later after speaking to Kate. I held my composure together until I got into the car and then I released my victory cry! I had ACTUALLY done it! I went in with a purpose. I didn’t give up when I was rejected originally – unintentionally, but it still counts. I networked in to another person with influence. Then I got my chance and I performed!
Most of all, I took a risk. I acted.
This time, it payed off! I haven’t had that coffee meeting yet, so I don’t know what will come from it, but I know that what I have gained through this experience no matter what happens is valuable beyond comparison. This has taught me that taking risks is always worth it. I now have the confidence to take other risks in the future and whether they work out or not, I simply carry on and grow.
People are always afraid of the negative things that COULD happen from taking risks, but when you really take a step back and think about what those are, you see that the risk of permanently affecting your life are slim to none. The temporary effects of these consequences only cause you to learn, grow, and adapt.
I am a firm believer of the concept that at the end of your days you will look back on your life and regret the things you didn’t do – not the things you did. So take risks!
You know that thing you’ve been thinking about doing but is too risky? Or there are too many negative consequences? Really, what do you have to lose? Nothing that will ruin your life!
Risk and act.