Failure is Key to Becoming an Entrepreneur
Starting a small business is like riding a rollercoaster. It has a lot of ups and downs, twists and turns but it can also be a lot of fun. Not everyone is can ride a rollercoaster, some people don’t meet the height requirements and some just can stomach the ride itself. The same can be said about becoming an entrepreneur. If you’re considering implementing a small business idea or you have already started and wondered if you should keep going, it may seem counterintuitive, but failure really is the key to becoming an entrepreneur.
What happens if you fail?
Instead of quitting as an entrepreneur, search for solutions to problems, and treat every failure as a lesson in what doesn’t work for your next attempt. Every mistake, fumble, or failure are lessons in what will not work that will help you to learn and bounce back from it. Entrepreneurship is a mental game. You need a positive mindset to face adversity that will happen.
Make lists of what you are grateful for instead of focusing on what you don’t have or what is not going well in your business. Keep an inventory of your strengths that will help you focus on how you can leverage them for your business.
Find a community that supports you. You can look to family, friends, or other entrepreneurs. Often the best source for support and encouragement in your entrepreneurial journey will come from other entrepreneurs. Which makes sense because they understand what you are going through and when they give you advice it is coming from their experience or the experience of their business mentor.
When to Try Again?
In business, failure and success go hand in hand, so try not to be too discouraged when something you try doesn’t work out. These things happen and sometimes they are unavoidable.
You have to be willing to take some risks. Think about it. Thomas Edison is remembered as one of the most famous and successful entrepreneurs of his time despite failing thousands of times with one of his most famous inventions the light-bulb filaments.
If you want to be an entrepreneur, you must realize that half of all businesses fail. Most often due to poor planning. That’s why it is crucial to have a great business idea, plan, enough funding, evaluate frequently and be prepared to pivot to succeed. There may be rough times, but that doesn’t mean you should give up. Lastly, if your business doesn’t succeed that doesn’t mean you should give up your dream of being an entrepreneur. If you are wondering if you should try again, the answer is yes. Be patient. Keep trying and success will come.
When to Pivot
Use past failures to better understand how to run your business better and what to avoid. This way you become a better entrepreneur with each failure. As an entrepreneur, you should always be learning. Sometimes you will need to pivot or change your positioning strategy in order to achieve success. If you believe in your small business idea. It is worth doing some research to see if some tweaks will help you achieve success.
Do a regular analysis of your business to evaluate what is working and what isn’t working.
Here are several questions to ask when evaluating your business:
Has your business stopped growing or is it growing really slowly?
Do you have a lot of competition?
Are you having trouble getting one or more aspects of your business to be successful?
Has your business vision changed?
What are your customers saying?
Is your business still relevant?
Establish goals and objectives and consider changing strategies when your current methods aren’t helping you reach your goal and objectives.
