The biggest risk is not taking any risk

I was faced last week with one of my biggest fears 'that no-one would turn up' and of course, 400 people did and the rest is history. Had I not taken the risk of hosting a not-for-profit event that was solely built on my reputation in a regional town where I know few people, I wouldn't have the sense of satisfaction I have today nor the belief that I can now do it over and over again with equally as much success.

As the host of the North Queensland Entrepreneurs Conference for my not-for-profit The World Incubator, I was riddled with insecurities as to whether or not it would be successful enough. I had the right speaker lineup but I feared that their lives would be too removed from that of the audience, and perhaps they couldn't relate. 

How wrong was I?

With a billionaire Canadian/Australian entrepreneur as the keynote, and humanitarian television personality Tania Nugent as the speaker up my sleeve that I knew would floor any audience, everything came together perfectly and the crowd was inspired beyond belief.

But it was my own belief that was hindering my ability to think straight and enjoy the moments leading up to the conference - which I should have basked in as I had given my heart and soul to people I didn't know six months ago, who benefited from my donations of money, the community manager that I paid for to facilitate getting their businesses off the ground, and free marketing including the conference which was funded primarily by myself to give them a platform to tell their stories.

As an entrepreneur, we know that fear is not good. To be scared of taking risks only leaves you wondering 'what if'. Without risk there is no reward, and if you take measured risk, you ultimately end up with a positive result.

We also learn from our mistakes and that is so important when growing a business. If we don't make mistakes, then the world will one day come crashing down.

I've often challenged myself but always with things that I believe I can be successful in. My benchmark has always been reasonably low by my standards, but perhaps not by others. Life is short and we have to push ourselves out of our comfort zones to get the most out of life. 

I always planned to be an all-round marketing company, focused as much on our media side as the consulting business, and building technology to revolutionise the industry taking our business and brand to the forefront. Cleverly, we are quiet achievers other than through our blog and have grown at a rapid pace without too much effort. 

Diversifying our portfolio and capturing a need in the market for quality outsourced marketing services by people who understand the various disciplines is critical to our growth. We will continue to learn and grow our capabilities and never rest on what we know, but use our thirst for what we don't know to build the incredible company we believe is possible.

I aim to risk more, but never risk the farm - because that would be stupid particularly at my age.