Written by: Amelia Harshfield, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Opportunities often require you to step outside your comfort zone. They can be stressful as you probably don’t know exactly what they entail. You might not be familiar with that line of work. You could be uncertain if it will work out. It will probably involve an investment of your time, energy, and money. If you know ways to reduce the risk while pursuing opportunities, it can help you feel more confident stepping forward with it. Here are three ways you can reduce the unknowns as you pursue opportunities.
The first way is to proceed with opportunities that are somewhat within your skill set. That does not mean doing the same thing as you are currently doing. But if you have some transferrable skills, that can lessen the learning curve. It can also help you feel more comfortable in the new space. You’ll spend less time learning and more time knowing what the opportunity needs to succeed. That means fewer mistakes and things going wrong. For example, if you are proficient in marketing, you will already know how to get the opportunity out there. That one transferrable skill is incredibly helpful if the opportunity requires that talent. You can learn the others while leaning on your ability to understand the customer's wants and needs.
The second way to minimize risk is to see if you can start small with the opportunity. If you can begin on a smaller scale, the learning lessons will be less burdensome, the potential failure will be less catastrophic, and it will be easier to begin. Investing $10,000 in a new project is less risky than investing $100,000. Someone once told me that if he were to set up his laundromat business again he would start with a small unattended laundromat. It’s fewer moving parts than having one with staff members, delivery, and wash and fold services.
The third way to minimize risk is to talk to others who are currently doing what you are considering. There are many learning lessons from people who have gone where you are looking to go. What was their biggest failure? What would they do differently? How would they begin if they had to do it again? What is their biggest frustration with the industry? Would they do this again? If you can gather some insider knowledge this can help you understand what mistakes to avoid.
If you can learn how to lessen some of the unknown factors of opportunities, you can be far more likely to succeed. But if you know how to minimize risk by starting with ones that you have some knowledge in already it can save you energy from having to learn everything. If you can find ways to start smaller, this can help you make less costly mistakes. If you can learn from others who have done similar things, you can help avoid what mistakes they have done to save you frustrations and pitfalls. All three of these can help protect you. Then acting on the opportunity will be more comfortable.
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Amelia Harshfield, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Amelia Harshfield is fascinated and motivated by what impact makers can achieve as they become more resilient. With a solid education and a master’s degree in economics, she has been creating passive income in Real Estate investing for over 5 years. Her key foundational work is The Overcoming Anxiety Method™, a powerful 4-step formula for playing a bigger game without being crushed by fear. This process is paramount to finding an authentic version of freedom and wealth. Mentoring and educating high-level operators is her passion, her work has been featured in magazines, podcasts, conferences, and she has been a trainer on Sir Richard Branson's Necker Island.
