Brace for Impact: How to Recover from Small Business Failure
1“We couldn’t have anticipated this … brilliant startup founder leaves (Widgets Inc.) to …”
It sounds interesting. Yet, the story behind “the story” is often not: things get tough, founder jumps ship.
(Groundbreaking) … and not so glamorous.
Inevitably you’ll face tough challenges in business. And while it’s always easier to retreat, abandon ship or simply sink — the path less traveled is full of possibility.
Therefore, I would be remiss if I didn’t share the one most important and overlooked fact about entrepreneurship — every successful entrepreneur has experienced “startup system failure.”
It’s comparable to experiencing a Sad Mac moment or witnessing complete computer failure — your system freezes, reboots, or stop functioning altogether. For a moment, time and space ceases to exist …!
It is a position in business where either, life happens or business doesn’t quite go as we had planned. Challenges invariably present themselves in many forms – direct or indirect.
Unfortunately, when some entrepreneurs hit troubled waters they choose to abort or sink their ship altogether. Fortunately, you’re reading this cautionary tale and are now equipped to embrace your God-given ability to brace for impact, pivot and move forward more intelligently.
What Happened?
When you look back at challenges you’ve faced in business have you considered the proximate cause? Whether you acknowledge it or not, every entrepreneur has severe deficiencies and business blind spots. To mitigate these areas, troubleshoot frequently and:
1. Rid your business of deficiencies. Be honest with yourself. Write down your weaknesses and then hold a brainstorming session where “only solutions are allowed.”
2. Obtain third-party, qualified perspective. Business blind spots aren’t so easily located. Tell your ego to take a coffee break, put your big girl (or boy) pants on and seek wise counsel.
Taking a closer look at your business deficiencies and blind spots will ultimately reveal underlying issues … wrinkles in the plan that no amount of Botox can fix. But once you’ve uncovered the “root issues” affecting your business you can fix them.
For example, a “root issue” that plagues many small businesses is poor execution and systems. A larger problem that results – inability to scale when you hit pay day with a new customer, growing too fast and bringing on the wrong hires, etc. The aftermath always delivers a crushing blow.
What Should I Do Next?
Before you abandon your ship and crew at the next sign of a major challenge or drawback, here are 5 things you should consider:
Erica Nicole is the Founder and CEO of YFS Magazine: Young, Fabulous & Self-Employed. She is an accomplished serial entrepreneur, acclaimed small business expert, dynamic speaker, syndicated columnist, philanthropist and Christian thought leader. She has been featured in Forbes, Fox Business, The Huffington Post, Mashable, AOL.com, Examiner.com and many other national media outlets.
