Business Perspective: Risk taking is an intergral part of business

The most successful business owners will tell you that if they had not been risk takers they would not be where they are today. Some had little money to be taken serious when they were going to business while others quit their well paying jobs to follow their dreams-and this is what is called risk taking. While risk taking is an integral part of business, some people relate this word to danger, tension and even possible loss in business. While it is true that risk taking can catapult a business into flourishing, sometimes if the risk is plain dumb one stands a chance to lose all what they have. A story is being told of a man who gambled all his fortune in one second and he knew that if he made a right move then he was going to triple his fortune-but a wrong move all his dreams would go down the drain, but all the same he went on to risk everything he had. This man had two business people sit in one hotel but in different rooms. One of these men was buying a company from him and the other was selling a company to him. So he started with the one who was selling him his company. He negotiated a buying price with the first businessman who was selling him a company; they agreed and signed an agreement and issued a post dated cheque, knowing very well that he dint have that kind of money in his account but all the same he had hope he would get the money to pay. After buying the company the businessman immediately went on to negotiate a selling price for the same company that he had just bought, all the while he was not sure whether he was going to recover his money or not. He made quite a deal and walked away with almost two hundred percent. This man had taken a huge risk in buying something he was not sure was going to sell, but he went ahead, took the risks and won in the end without having to use any money of his own. To be honest very few people will ever consider taking such a risk, but then it is said that risk takers are ice breakers. These are people who are known to succeed in life, because they do not fear to take risks, they go where people fear to go and do things out of ordinary.Donald Trump, for example, is known to be a businessman per excellence. He took the world of property development by storm when the economy was not doing very well. He purchased properties that people thought were worthless and developed them. He took a huge risk of investing all his money and even borrowing huge loans from the banks to buy the properties, he knew that he was playing a dangerous game, but all the same he took the risk. Years later the dividends paid and his properties were selling like hot cake. We all know it’s generally a bad idea to take dumb risks, where your expected outcome is negative and the potential upside is very limited. But guess what? It’s equally stupid to pass up an intelligent risk, where your expected outcome is positive and the potential downside is very limited. Remember, the greatest achiever is the one who took the risk, tried and failed, not the one who never tried. Kayitesius@yahoo.com