Failure
Ah, failure. What a tough topic! No one likes to talk about it, and yet, what is more universal than failure? Every small business owner has experienced failure, rejection, and disappointment. If you’re reading this blog, you’ve failed at something along your entrepreneurial journey. Actually, if you have a pulse, you’ve failed at something in your life.
But, it’s when we get vulnerable and share our failures, we feel most connected. Why? Because we can relate! According to researcher, author and speaker, Brene Brown, “There is no innovation and creativity without failure. Period.”
“There is no innovation and creativity without failure. Period.”
Here’s a fresh spin on failure, and why it’s not the end of the world:
When you fail, you’re forced to stop.
When you stop and regroup, you take a look around and start over. This forced pause can spark new ideas and fresh creativity. The view from a valley looks a lot different than the view from a mountain top. You’re essentially looking at the same scenery, but when you’re that valley, you have a very different perspective.
When you fail, you’re forced to stay humble.
Unless you’re a skilled actor, it’s hard not for your ego to take a hit when you fail. Whether your failure was small or large, you quickly find your bearings with a new, humble attitude. A humble attitude creates a new perspective and opens your mind to new ideas. With a humble attitude, you bring a different approach to the
When you fail, you’re forced to make a decision.
Let’s use a boutique as an example. You’re a successful small business with a steady customer base. You’ve recently invested in a new line of shirts and you’ve gone so far as to invest in new signage, and marketing efforts for the specific shirts. After several months, you haven’t sold a single shirt. So you call it a failure and now you’re faced with a decision. What’s your next step? How are you going to handle this failure? No matter what is next, the decision is key. You don’t stay stuck in your failure, you take action. You move forward, you become better from the failure experience.
Our team recently heard Jia Jiang speak about rejection. He said, “rejection isn’t so bad when you realize it’s numbers game, rejection can lead to growth.” We’d like to suggest the same is true with failure. Don’t let your failures define you, keep going. Failure is a numbers game, the more you try, the greater your chances to succeed. And that’s where you’re heading as a small business owner. Success.
“Rejection isn’t so bad when you realize it’s numbers game, rejection can lead to growth.”
At Larison Media, we love working with small business owners. Your success is our success. We would love to learn about you and work together to create a custom plan that will help you achieve your goals.