Lessons That Entrepreneurs Can Learn From Failure

by | May 1, 2019 | Business Excellence

A chalkboard with a green frame displays the words "Failure is success in progress" written in white chalk. Emphasizing the importance of learning from failure, the chalkboard sits on a wooden surface with a piece of white chalk lying beside it.

For every budding entrepreneur, it is no secret that we find solace in success stories. It’s the equivalent of fairy stories where we live out our fantasies through the tales of those that have made it in the corporate world. However, success stories offer us a huge disservice because they only show one side of the coin. They leave out the struggles, defeats and the tough breaks that made way to the big win. For this reason, we should also focus on failure and see what we can learn from it. Here are some lessons we can glean from failure cases:

Don’t dwell on the failure

For first-timers, it’s easy to get caught up in your failure. You might view the failure as a sign that you’re not cut out for this. However, failure is a call to come out of your comfort zone and realize your full potential. You won’t get it right in the first attempt. Far from it. For this reason, don’t result to your comfort zone. It is through pressure and discomfort that you will unleash your potential to come up with solutions and find ways to make it work.

Not every idea is to be pursued.

In your attempts to make it work in the business world, you will come across numerous ideas. However, you will also learn that not all ideas work for you even if they sound good. For this reason, go for ideas that are in line with your business purpose and goals and those that are realistic, that is, achievable.

Give it your all

There’s no way you’ll go into business half-heartedly and expect huge returns. Managing a small business into something big will demand your full dedication and attention. What you sow is definitely what you will reap. This is why people who run their businesses as side hustles and maintain a full-time job experience little growth in their businesses.

Don’t give up

When one faces failure along the way, it is easy to lose one’s drive. However, always believe that any failure you face will lead to success. All you have to do is to look at the failure as a learning opportunity. It doesn’t matter whether you lose it all. It doesn’t mean that you’ll never achieve your goals in the long end. In fact, most successful business people view failure as a stepping stone to greater success.