Lessons from failed businesses #entrepreneurship
While it’s tempting to think that each tale of entrepreneurial woe would be unique, that’s not the case. As a failed American dreamer myself, I saw in all the books, chapters, and posts the same core set of “mistakes”:
- I didn’t have enough experience—now I know.
- I thought I knew everything—I did not.
- I thought it (selling toasters, watering lawns) was going to be easy—it was extremely hard.
- People (customers, employees, partners, investors) are reluctant to change what they’re used to—I didn’t sell anyone anything.
- I forgot to try to make money.
From all these examples, in print and online, the message is clear: Failure happens; it’s what you take from it that makes the difference between a fall and a stumble. With one, you hit the ground and stay there; with the other, you regain your footing and keep running. Or, to quote from an executive who has overcome adversity, Soichiro Honda, founder of Honda Motor Company, “Success is 99% failure.”
via hbr.org
