Balancing Risk and Caution! ⚠️

In this insightful discussion, Matt Haycox delves into the delicate balance between risk-taking and caution in entrepreneurship, drawing from his own experiences to offer valuable guidance. He acknowledges the evolving nature of risk tolerance based on individual temperament and life stage, emphasizing the importance of having the skill set to navigate setbacks. Reflecting on his own journey, Matt shares how early successes and subsequent failures shaped his approach to risk, highlighting the necessity of learning from past experiences. He underscores the need for entrepreneurs to strike a balance between risk and caution, acknowledging the inherent challenges of simultaneously embodying both qualities. Ultimately, Matt advocates for embracing calculated risks while maintaining a level of caution, with a keen awareness of one's ability to recover from setbacks. Through his insights, Matt provides entrepreneurs with a nuanced perspective on managing risk and pursuing growth opportunities.

Timestamps
0:00 - Intro
0:05 - Its a Fine Balance
0:22 - Matt's Anecdote
1:08 - You Need Skillsets
2:01 - Find a Balance with Caution
2:24 - Conclusion

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▶ Website: https://matt-haycox.com/podcasts/
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I’m Matt Haycox—entrepreneur, investor, mentor, and your go-to guy for no-bollocks advice on business and personal growth.

With over 25 years of experience building and funding businesses across industries, I’ve faced it all—wins, losses, and the ultimate comeback story. Through my podcasts, No Bollocks with Matt Haycox and Stripping Off with Matt Haycox, I cut through the bullshit to bring you real, actionable strategies and raw conversations with entrepreneurs, celebrities, and industry leaders.

Whether you’re looking to scale your business, secure funding, or avoid the mistakes I’ve learned the hard way, my goal is simple: to help YOU create YOUR success story.

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Chapters

• 0:00 Intro
• 0:05 It's a Fine Balance
• 0:22 Matt's Anecdote
• 1:08 You Need Skillsets
• 2:01 Find a Balance with Caution
• 2:24 Conclusion

Transcript

risk versus caution.

How do I walk that tightrope or how should you walk that tightrope?

It's a very good question, and it's a balance that's very difficult, I think, to strike. I think

the answer depends very much on

on what is your temperament and where are you in life.

But I do think there's certain factors that can

probably make you more confident to be a risk taker.

I mean, I look back at my early days, you know, in my twenties,

I would take extraordinary risks.

And I think I did that probably because I thought I was invincible.

And I guess I only thought I was invincible

because I had never really had a downfall.

Now, you know, when I was, you know, 27, 28 years old,

having risen very high, having made a lot of money,

I lost it all pretty much overnight.

You know, my

my invincible attitude, you know, had ultimately led me to build

a business on that on a bed of sand. It was a deck of cards that you know, ultimately collapsed.

And I lost everything pretty much overnight.

But when I started up again the second time round,

what I learnt very quickly was it was

much easier for me to build second time around than it was first time

because I already had knowledge, I already had skill sets that I didn't have from five years ago.

So I guess what that has done is taught me that

I can have a skill set

that will give me the confidence to be able to take risks if that makes sense.

now I'm older,

I guess I am acutely aware of the fact I don't have as many years left in me as I had 20 years ago,

so I might not take some of the super wild risks that I would have taken back then.

I guess, you know, back, back, back in my twenties,

I was not afraid to lose everything

because I probably didn't have that much to lose.

you know, now I'm in my early forties.

I don't want to lose everything I've got now. I'm not saying I'm not prepared to lose a lot of it, and I am,

I’m always prepared to take risks.

I'm always prepared to go backwards before I go forwards.

But, you know, I don't want to lose everything.

So I think as you as you build more wealth, you can then take a personal view of how much you are prepared to risk. But I think the thing for me that will always keep me relaxed at risk taking

is that I know I've got the skill set

to to be able to make it back if things go wrong.

I'm not saying caution is a bad is a bad thing. I think you need to have a nice balance of caution with risk.

And sometimes it's very difficult for an individual to be simultaneously, you know, a risk taker

and somebody who's good with caution.

And that's why often it's good to have whether that's a business partner, whether it's a mentor or a sounding board, you know, a team of directors who can maybe bring different viewpoints to things.

But I think ultimately, as an entrepreneur, we're always going to be risk takers and we're always going to put risk ahead of caution.

But that doesn't you know, that doesn't mean that we need to go wild.

So I think, you know, for you guys, where are you in life?

that will dictate

what the balance between risk and caution is

But you can't grow without taking risk.

But I think the way that you'll get comfortable with that risk taking

is knowing that if you do fall backwards, you can get forwards again.

And the best way to have that confidence

is to have money making skill sets, to have skill sets that you know can produce income for you

in a time of need.