Business ownership includes taking a business risk. The question that you must answer is what is your level of business risk your should take. Little risk has less chance of failure but less reward. A bigger risk has an increased chance of failure but a bigger reward.  By Gary Shotton #000380-EN

Click Here to download in audio (.mp3 format); right click on link and select “save as”

Click Here to download in video (.mp4 format); right click on link and select “save as”

Taking Business Risk

By Gary Shotton

Hello I’m Gary Shotton and I’m here as a part of inspiring better business, I had sold a moving and storage company effective the very last year of two thousand and for six years. I did a little substitute at school teaching the high schools around, I had rental properties and I had owned this building when I sold the business, I kept the building so I had a nice income not an abundant income but sufficient for six years that I really started what is now ibb talks. It didn’t have that name at that time but through a very subtle but distinct leading of God no voice no prophecy I knew that I should own a business of my own. Again I was not complete at that time I sold the moving business when I was 49 years old in the year last day of 2000 and I bought this business in the year 2006 so I was 55 years old and I did the unheard of at age 55. I leveraged everything I had I signed papers and borrowed virtually 100 of the money to buy a business that was two and three-quarter million dollars virtually 100 percent was borrowed money basically through two SBA loans and so I   took a risk at age 55, when I could have easily tailed on into the horizon and played it safe.

Now keep in mind this business I bought was at the same size and scale as the other business I sold in other words, I was used to having more than 50 employees when I bought this it only had 41 employees I was used to having trucks and had dealt with trucks and people gone all over some on the other parts of the united states and some in other parts of Tulsa working away and managing that with some teamwork and some sales people and this had everybody on the same piece of property so the point of the lesson that there’s going to be a time that you’ve got to decide can I take the risk now my advice is that you take the risk at the same or very small step up in your based on your previous history in other words if you’re  climbing stairs you don’t have one giant leap to the top of the stairs that all the way through your business development you’re going step by step this was a natural step for me but the unusual thing would be to take that risk that far in life because it could fail I knew that if it failed and I went bankrupt that by that time I would be 60 years old and I would be starting over that’s a little bit late to start over soy I encourage you as those that are here aspiring to be entrepreneurs that would employ people continue step by step learn what you can on each step go step by step by step challenge yourself don’t coast I could have coasted into this where I’m at now it’s now uh 14 years later since I bought this uh it’s basically uh July of 2 2020 and so but I don’t want to coast I don’t want to spend my life coasting on I don’t want to I want to take the calculated risk that’s within my skill set to press and push myself on and I encourage you to do the same if you’re called to be an entrepreneur if you’re not other right other callings are being uh gifts of administration be the best at administrating their skill sets that are called gifts of skills and uh and the ability to fix things computer programming websites welding uh machining there’s people that are very gifted in metals here so be smart in your step but don’t be afraid to take risk at the right size and level thank you