Business Risk

The last project "Crash and Burn" and the speaker at the PSNE meeting last Thursday, got me thinking about the smallest possible risk you could have in a real world setting.
The business venture I undertook had zero risk essentially. This was because, my goal was to get as many orders as possible before I actually paid for the product. In the course of getting these orders, I came across a customer who actually suggested that I buy more of the product and that he would buy the remainder that I couldnt sell at my Cost Price.

At that point, that was a great deal. I was pretty much increasing my profit and taking a lower risk (zero risk) at the same time. So now, I'm wondering if this is really possible in the real world. My guess is that it is not, but if anyone knows of how this is possible, I am ready to listen. I figure that the risk for different businesses would vary by the industry. A Medical device business probably would have a greater risk than, say a facebook type company. So my question really is, are there any measures that can be taken to reduce the financial risk involved in any business venture?