I don’t think many business people will have much of an option if we don’t take any chances over this next year.

What is taking a chance versus a risk? What does it mean to you, and why will 2024 be any different to the past?

It is probably the same thing when it comes down to buying the basics if you have a shop: we aim to buy cheap and sell it at a higher price; that’s what the retail business is all about, and not forgetting with excellent customer service thrown in for free.

So, I would be taking a chance if I were to buy out-of-the-ordinary lines that I don’t usually stock in my shop, where a risk would be for me to buy an enormous amount of regular selling stock and not sell it fast enough before it goes out of date.

For me, taking a chance has an element of fear associated with the decision to go down a new road instead of staying on a familiar one; although the rewards could be very different, which do we go down?

The decision has got to be weighed up with the rewards or the downfalls, which none of us wants to be associated with any transaction relating to downfalls. Still, all successful people have had more downfalls than any other because they are the ones who continually take chances over and over again.

Are you the type of person to take a chance? I think we all take chances every day, even if we don’t leave the house, because everyone knows there is more chance of having an accident at home than in the workplace.

Yet three years ago, when many people were sent home to work, their employers and insurance companies did not even do any risk assessments, and it’s still the same today; nothing has changed, and now that’s what I call a risk.

So, why do we hear people saying I’m not taking any chances? But what chances? I, for one, wouldn’t jump out of a plane as I would be sceptical of the chute not opening, although I am not afraid of dying; I don’t want to pass over that way.

I am also sceptical about everyone in our Government as they should all apply for the job, pass the test and be accountable for their actions.

I have found that when I have taken a chance, my circumstances have mainly changed into something much better.

Will you take a chance in 24 or leave it until 25 when you don’t know if you will still be alive?

If you want things to improve over 24, then start with the person you see in the mirror.

Welcome everyone, bringing you new opportunities because one of them just might be the right one that will make you a fortune.

I quickly learned in business some 49 years ago that if you don’t have an appetite for risk, you definitely won’t take a chance.