I never thought I was much of a risk taker until my DH and I decided to leave Maryland and buy a photography studio. We sold our house right before the housing market crashed, and was able to use the money to move, put a downpayment on a house in MN, and buy the studio.
What a mistake that was!
We had absolutely no experience with being self-employed, and it was a nightmare. Sure, we met some really really nice people, but there was no money in it. We would spend an hour with a family or a child getting some really nice portraits, but most people would only spend $100 or less. Can't pay the rent of $3000+ with that kind of business.
The misconception is that being self-employed means you set your own schedule, you can take vacation whenever you want. The truth is you work all the time - 10 to 12 hour days 7 days a week. We hardly ever took any time off, and never made a profit.
But it was worth the risk and the resulting failure because we both learned a lot from the experience. I learned I am stronger than I think, that I can do anything I set my mind to, that taking a risk and failing is okay, because we tried our best.
Of course now we are bankrupt and only one of us is employed but it's a new day and a new chapter of our life! Moving forward is the only option!
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