Written by Kodie Axelson
The thing I love about money, business and investing is that the data doesn’t lie. It’s there in black and white. Once you learn how to read it, you can then begin to make informed decisions about your next move.
I will always remember the greatest piece of business advice I learned from my old bosses working at an organic barramundi farm in Adelaide, “always take calculated risks.” Some people may read that as “always take risks” and get scared of that statement, but the key word is “calculated.” Take your data, take your statistics, do your numbers, and make sure your goal is close enough that you’re willing to take the risk. That is a personal thing. Not everyone is willing to stick their neck out the exact same length as their friend, their neighbour, or their work colleague etc. And that’s OK. The point is to ascertain what level of risk you’re willing to take and can you mitigate as much as possible to make the move feasible.
Above that, you always want to trust your gut. You can do as much groundwork as possible but if the move doesn’t feel right then go with your gut feeling. I have always crunched my numbers and calculated my risk, but above all I have listened to whether I feel the deal is right for me. It has never steered me wrong in an investing and business perspective. This isn’t to say some things may not go to plan but in the hiccups is where our lessons lie. To take that lesson and apply it to your next move ups your game. It levels you up for the next decision you need to make, and you now have that experience under your belt to know better next time or tweak what you did last time to get a more favourable outcome.
Your perspective is also at play here. It is easy to be stomped on and feel sorry for yourself when something doesn’t go to plan. We’ve all heard the old “don’t buy an investment property this happened to me horror story,” but that’s just that person’s experience and their perspective on it. If they bought better, rented better, and learned from their lessons they’d not repeat the same mistake on their next property. They’d then have a different story to tell and also a more valuable one. Listen to advice but take what you need from it. Get so knowledgeable on your subject that the only thing you have left to do is take action. Only your lived experience will push you to grow. Your gut will guide you when making bigger moves.
Be smart.
Take calculated risks.
Trust your gut.
You only live once.