My Secret to Being Less Risk Averse
Sigrun Gudjonsdottir
I help women start and scale their online business to 7 figures and beyond ?? | Award Winning Business Coach | International Speaker | Bestselling Author | Top Podcaster | Angel Investor
Women are more risk averse than men.?
According to the Harvard Business Review, Women start 30% of businesses but because women tend to be risk averse their businesses tend to stay small.?
Businesses started by men are more likely to fail because men take more risks. This means the ratio of women to men businesses ends up being about 40%.?
On the other hand because of the risks men are willing to take, their businesses are more likely to grow faster and become bigger.?
Under stress women become even more risk averse whereas men are inclined to take even bigger risks. Overall this leads to an imbalance in terms of the size of businesses men and women own and the impact these businesses can have in the world.?
Only 2% of women owned businesses make more than $1M in annual revenue whereas men owned businesses are 3.5% more likely to cross the $1M mark.?
When it comes to having employees, only 10% of women owned businesses have employees.
The secret to stepping out of your comfort zone
You’ve already taken a risk by becoming an entrepreneur, although some might argue that being an employee is even riskier.?
In order to grow your business you need to train yourself to take calculated risks. Calculated risks are risks that you can calculate upfront which means you can carefully weigh the pro’s and con’s of the risk before you take it.?
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Every time you make a decision that involves growing your business, whether it is hiring a new contractor or employee or investing into paid advertisement or continuous education, you are taking a calculated risk.?
When you do your due diligence the risk is more likely going to pay off than not but there will always be times when a risk doesn’t pay off. That is just a part of life and business that you need to accept.
Calculate decisions are the secret to being less risk averse
When I first got the idea for a retreat in Iceland, my number one worry was that I would book everything and then no one would buy. To make it feel less risky I decided to first do a one day event at my home. 8 women signed up and I declared the event a success. I decided to go ahead with the retreat planning but when booking the venue and everything else I needed to book, I did hedge my bets and made sure I would not incur any financial loss in case I wouldn’t be able to sell the retreat. My worries were unsubstantiated, the retreat sold out.?
That’s an example of calculated risk. I knew that in case I wouldn’t sell any spots, I could withdraw from all contracts and not have to pay anything.?
Risks come in all sizes and shapes. What feels risky for one person is a piece of cake for another person.?
If you’re in an online business and are ready to step out of your comfort zone, I can help. Send me a private message by letting me know your revenue goal for 2022 and I’ll let you know how I can help you get there.
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