A few days before Christmas I was at my company’s party at a high-end restaurant in the city. I was dressed to-the-t in a full glen-plaid suit and was feeling a bit loose from a few blackberry mojitos I had knocked down. It wasn’t yet a sloshed or grogy feeling haze, I was still in more of an enlightened point of reflection phase of inebriation. It was in this state that I had an idea. When I say “it was in this state” — it was actually on the way to the big boy’s room before the main-course arrived.

I’m constantly looking for ways to test my mettle, to see what I’m made of, to better myself.

At this time it came in the form of an entrepreneurial betterment — a test of risk. In my mind the most essential thing any freelancer, entrepreneur or business person in general has to be comfortable with in any situation is risk. We have to be able to throw caution to the wind and act — and get something out of it. We have to be comfortable doing the un-comfortable things; the key to this though is that the un-comfortability has to reap reward.

So, back to my idea. As I was walking towards the boy’s room I reflected on my recent trip to NYC, and how every single bathroom I visited had a “wash man” within that would turn on the sink, spray soap on my hands and hand me a towel — I’d then hand him a couple bucks or a fiver and head about my business. This is when a light went off in my head.

There are no “wash men” in Sarasota, FL — surely not at the restaurant I was at, but who knew that other than natives? This is a really fine restaurant anyways, it isn’t “beyond the scope of reason” to believe they might have one. So I made a commitment to myself upon entering the restroom.

Experiment #1: The “Wash Man”

If someone came in as I was washing my hands I would act as a wash man for the restaurant.

I would put a dollop of soap in their hands, turn on the faucet, and hand them a towel. The key point was I would see if they gave me a tip. (if they didn’t I’d throw soap on them.. ok not really, but it was all an idea at this point — so why not?)

This is a very simple experiment but it ultimately nails the experience every entrepreneur will undoubtably face and needs to be comfortable with.

1. Commit to an un-familiar (or otherwise risky) experience.
2. Hustle — using the resources available to you.
3. Use your own process as you see fit, find out your own way using prior observation.
4. Engage with a customer you have never met before.
5. Earn money in real time for the service (or product) you offer.
6. Face possible rejection, as the person could have easily worked at the restaurant and called you out on it immediately.
7. Succeed or fail, receive feedback to improve processes.

So as it turned out, no one entered the restroom while I was there. I just stood at the sink washing my hands and dazing off into the cascading water in deep thought for a good few minutes. I actually got kind of annoyed that no one came in so I decided to stand next to the sink for another 3 minutes (literally) and still no one came in.

Eventually I left the restroom, but as I was standing there in that agonizingly anxious 3 minutes I thought of a couple more experiments I could partake in to test my mettle under the same basic principles:

1. Resources I had.
2. Processes I needed to put in place.
3. Hustle to make it happen.

So here are the other 2 of the 3 experiments you can use to really test your risk-to-comfort ratio and maybe earn a penny in reward.

Experiment #2: Give someone a ride using “Lyft”

Yepp, Lyft.

If you’re unfamiliar with this app, it’s essentially an “Uber” but you are the black car. You sign up and you can either give people a “Lyft” or you can get a “Lyft” from someone else. You just use the app just as you would Uber and find people to give rides to or get a ride from someone in your area.

The best part about it is you get paid for the people you cart around (and maybe make a new friend? Business contact? You get it).

Just sign up to be a driver and go cart someone around. It’s going to be odd for you, even uncomfortable — that’s the point. Offer a service using the resources you already have available to you (your car) and earn a reward. It’s the fastest way to tell if you’re cut out for the business.

Who knows, if you’re lucky something like this could even happen!

That would be worth every damned penny.

Experiment #3: Host your pad on “AirBnb”

Oh AirBnb, the darling child of the startup world. You beautiful “sharing-is-caring” love-child, you.

Set up a profile on AirBnb and host your location while you go on vacation, or just host a “private room” of your house. This is a very simple “Resource to Reward” experiment. It will undoubtably test your stomach though, as most would be very uncomfortable giving away access to all of their worldly possessions to a complete stranger for a set amount of time. It’s really very safe and secure though.

It’s another classic risk & reward situation.

If you want to grow as an entrepreneur or business person — or just someone who wants to open up and come out of their comfort zone more often (while gaining a buck) these are all experiments that you can use to better yourself.

No one is forcing you to do these, but no one is forcing you to become an entrepreneur. You need to be able to start something yourself, define something that you can offer — whether it be a service or product — and be able to be compensated for it. You will have to face risk, you will have to be comfortable in the face of total strangers, you will have to hustle and define your own processes. These are the building blocks for any business, and all of these are easily within your reach.

Test yourself, see if you can do it. I know you can — you just need to commit. Get your foot out of the door & start making your own way.

Success after risk of failure is addicting. If you commit to doing one of these 3 experiments (or find one of your own) — and succeed, you will not be as afraid to act on future ventures. You will happily stride into the unknown and emerge with self-confidence and the drive to keep testing your boundaries, to push higher, for more, and be comfortable doing so.

It all starts with a simple hunch, “what if I” this is where brilliance starts. Where it ends is up to you.