Starting a business is optimism incarnate and we have all had that moment when the question” what are you working on now?” seems to be an indictment of our failure as an entrepreneur. I’ve noticed that there are some silver linings when warm leads dry up and you have to roll your sleeves up to stay in business.
You learn what you are made of
Failure isn’t for everybody and only the most faithful entrepreneurs believe that they are not going to fail. That faith in yourself starts to wean after your first dry spell and you start to question your ability. I recently met a very successful government contractor and she told me when she first started, she went 3 years without a client and sucked her savings dry. Now she has more clients than she knows what to do with, and if she had let the beginning define her she would be nowhere near the success she is today.
Strategies can and should change
When your successful people automatically assume that you know what you’re doing and customers come from everywhere. When you are trying to establish yourself, no one wants to take your calls and no one believes in your ability. The silver lining in this is that you get to create a new strategy before you do something that ruins your business. Strategy should be fluid and that flexibility is the key to creating something wonderful. Failure isn’t a death sentence; it’s a reprieve giving you a second chance.
If you’re not billing, you shouldn’t be buying
Now I say this a little tongue in cheek, because at some level we will always be spending money on our business. What I have noticed is that when you start a business there are no shortage of people who want to sell you something. If you haven’t built up a clientele, then you shouldn’t be purchasing items that provide your business with no tangible value.
By faith alone should be every entrepreneurs motto, but realistically there are some things that we can learn. By paying attention to our failures we learn more than any business school can teach us. Belief in our abilities is paramount, but so is a little common sense.
