Today’s email is about gambling.

Because business is a gamble at the end of the day, isn’t it?

When we begin our entrepreneurial journey, we are relying on our own skill and ability. And we often place our money, time and energy on the line with the intention of getting a higher return than we have invested.

But here’s what tends to happen as we go along.

We might bet big at the beginning.

Even if that bet isn’t a lot by someone elses standards, it might be big by your standards when you are starting up.

And then we have a few wins… we win a few clients… and our business gets up and running.

But here’s what happens once we get a few runs on the board.

We start to get scared to take risks.

Why?

Because we’ll do more to avoid pain than to gain pleasure.

Same as people will do more to save $1000 than they will to gain $1000.

So we stop taking risks.

We build our business up to a stage where it’s earning us a decent income and then we rest on our laurels.

That sucks. And it holds us back.

For instance, I spoke with a woman the other day who wanted to grow a big business… had a great idea… but was scared to  spend money on strategy and good copywriting.

I’ve met other people who have a fantastic money making system (i.e. for every $1 they spend on advertising, they are getting $5
back) which they just need to roll out.

But they don’t.

And I myself have been guilty of not taking more risks to grow…grow… grow.

This all came to me when I was reading a book by Keith McFarland the other day called The Breakthrough Company.

And I saw a quote by Frederick Wilcox which stated:

“Progress always involves risk; you can’t steal second base and keep your foot on first base.”

And that’s oh so true.

Then I started to think of everyone I have worked with who is ultra successful.

And do you know what they all had in common?

They were risk takers.

They would spend the money on a full page advertisement.

And by doing so, they actually became a safer company.

You see, when you play it safe, it’s very hard to get ahead.

But when you take a risk and it comes off then you have an exponential advantage when you take your next risk.

For instance, let’s say you make a decision to put up a web site and get some killer copy done for it.

And it starts to work… you start to make money… and then you are safer than you were before.

So then you take another risk of investing more money on promoting that web site to drive more traffic.

You are leveraging off the risk you took before and getting an exponential advantage.

Of course, this goes against conventional wisdom.

We’ve all been told -

play it safe

don’t go out in the rain or you might catch a cold

be careful of strangers

etc. etc.

Of course, that’s great advice from a parent trying to keep their child safe. But terrible advice for running a business.

Of course, your risks need to be calculated. And you must have a good sense they are going to pay off.

And the best way to take calculated risks is to make sure you have done your research and have the right information at hand to ensure you get
the results you’re after.

For instance…

If you’re going to run an advertising campaign, make sure you find out how to write great ads and measure them by getting your hands on
http://www.copywritingthatsells.com.au/cashflow

And if you’re looking to get more new customers, make sure you get educated about the most cost effective and proven ways to do it first by getting
your hands on http://www.morecustomersmadeeasy.com

And then bite the bullet and do it.