Stronger Than Ever: 5 Lessons for Dealing with Business Failure.
I started my first business somewhat bravely but rather naively when I was 23-years-old. It was a wholesale fashion agency selling emerging and designer brands to boutiques around Australia, and what I had in passion for brands and hustle to sell I matched with minimal cash-flow knowledge or ability to confront the tough stuff (like icky overdue invoice conversations). Predictably, it failed miserably 2 years later when I, of course, couldn’t pay the bills, the rent or much less myself. I was young and luckily it was more my pride that was hit rather than any large, long-lasting financial implications. The lessons I learned from the whole experience were hard but they were huge and long-standing. It’s a cliche, I know. The one thing no one in the thick of business failure wants to really hear, but there it is: There’s no such thing as failure, only lessons.
In one form or another, failure does happen. It’s an inevitable part of being a business owner we have to face. Not every idea is going to succeed, not everything we do will last forever. Part of what I took from my failed first venture pushed me to learn the financial aspects of business so thoroughly that future creative endeavours could flourish, not flail. Within a couple of years I was successfully managing multi-million dollar budgets and knew my P&L inside out. And while I’ve had other business ideas, projects and partnerships go wrong, some small and some large, each has delivered a valuable learning that I’m more than willing to share in the hope that it may help you, too – to either avoid them (!) or learn from them if you’ve found yourself in tricky waters.
Find your support system
Navigating mistakes and failures on your own is a recipe for an even bigger disaster. You are going to need a network of support that spans friends, family and professional peers (ideally, someone who has more experience than you who can lend the needed expertise to the matter). This way you’ll receive both the emotional and professional support you need to keep spirits high as you work your way out of tricky waters.
2. Separate your emotions
Easier said than done, of course, but it’s paramount that you step out of the emotional spiral thinking your business dream may be over to zoom in on what’s not working. All is likely not lost. Thinking rationally will help you pinpoint exactly what needs to be dealt with and what your options are. Unless you’re 100% at the point where you know it’s time to call it quits, accept that this is a phase of the business and get to work cleaning up the mess with a clear mindset.
3. Take pause
Where possible, stop for a moment before making any big decisions. There’s a fine line between pivoting and doing things too quickly in a reactionary state and simply running around in circles. Give yourself a moment to make sure you’re not making emotional or hasty band-aid choices that will only create more of a mess. In saying that, I’ll also emphasise “pause” – time is critical and steps do need to be taken, so take pause but don’t procrastinate.
4. Seek the opportunity
When things are going well, it’s all too easy to carry on as business as usual and become complacent. Failure, on the other hand, is a great opportunity to reevaluate your business and its many facets. Don’t just discover what went wrong, look at what else could be better. Laying in wait could be a creative opportunity that helps you pivot out of failure and into a new and unsuspecting direction. You might surprise yourself with newfound motivation.
5. Be kind to yourself
One of the hardest parts of working through failure is blaming it on yourself. There’s a difference between taking responsibility and letting it take over you. Attaching yourself to the failure will make it near impossible to work through. Instead, work on separating the problem from you as a person to focus on the progress you’re making as the problem-solver. If you don’t put it behind you, those feelings of insecurity will follow every single decision you make well into the future.
Anything we put our heart and soul (not to mention time and money) into that doesn’t work, hurts. Big time. But it never means the end. Artificial intelligence researcher Eliezer Yudkowsky said, "If you never fail, you’re only trying things that are too easy and playing far below your level.” Of course, that isn’t to say you should go out and throw caution to the wind, but do give yourself some credit – failures are a sign of experience and all great long-term success stories are built on experience. Keep your chin up, your head clear, and find the power in how you respond to the challenging moments of failure.
To finish, I’ll leave you with some wise words on why failure is actually so important for creatives from one of my favourite (and highly recommended) reads, “Life After Art’ by Matt Appling.
“If you feel like a failure, don’t worry. That’s a good thing. It means you're in the game and experiencing conflict. You’re telling a great story that will be told one day to future generations.
Just don’t stop writing before the story is over.”
-- -
If you’re in need of someone to help navigate you through difficult decisions, please reach out for a free consultation.