7 answers
Karen
Student
Greenfield, California
1
Question
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How do you stop thinking of failure when opening your own building ?
How, do you stop thinking of failure when having a business?
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7 answers
david kirk
Retired Computing Manager
480
Answers
Syracuse, New York
Updated
david’s Answer
You don't. Most businesses fail in the first year. Use that awareness to heighten your resolve to be a success. This is a healthy stress factor that reaffirms your awareness of the challenges. Use this energy to focus on your success factors, the reasons you wanted the business, and the steps in your plan to assure success. Let the awareness of not succeeding be your strength. Talk to any business owner, regardless of size, and you will find they are always sensitive to the bottom line and the forecast of future business. The successful business owner thrives on this feedback in continually reviewing and adjusting what the business does. I admire that you are wanting to face this issue up front, so accept that it is a real issue and that you know what lies ahead. To ignore the possibility of failure is assurance that you will fail. I wish you the best in your success.
Bob Moore
Supply Chain, Energy. Oil & Gas, Leadership, Management, Careers Overseas
52
Answers
The Woodlands, Texas
Updated
Bob’s Answer
Change your mindset in all that you do - flip it to ‘can not stop thinking about how successful the business will be’.
To support that notion
1. Write a simple business case - mission, vision, goals and objectives - laying out what success will look like. Identify the risks and describe mitigation steps the manage the risks. This will give you confidence.
2. Network the case with business partners, other stakeholders, peers, friends and ask for advise and feedback - update the case - and share again for endorsement. This will give more confidence.
3. As your plan evolves celebratevquick wins. To build confidence.
4. As you work your plan new issues will evolve that you did not think about - prioritize these in terms of urgency, just ensure you have plans in place.
5. Modern leadership encourages failure - using the mantra to ‘fail fast’ ( Elon Musk). Try - fail - learn - try - fail - learn fast - try, etc.
Do not be afraid of failure - but have a mindset of succeeding and when you do fail then fail fast.
Best wishes
Bob
To support that notion
1. Write a simple business case - mission, vision, goals and objectives - laying out what success will look like. Identify the risks and describe mitigation steps the manage the risks. This will give you confidence.
2. Network the case with business partners, other stakeholders, peers, friends and ask for advise and feedback - update the case - and share again for endorsement. This will give more confidence.
3. As your plan evolves celebratevquick wins. To build confidence.
4. As you work your plan new issues will evolve that you did not think about - prioritize these in terms of urgency, just ensure you have plans in place.
5. Modern leadership encourages failure - using the mantra to ‘fail fast’ ( Elon Musk). Try - fail - learn - try - fail - learn fast - try, etc.
Do not be afraid of failure - but have a mindset of succeeding and when you do fail then fail fast.
Best wishes
Bob
deborah kania, bfa, mba
Marketing
65
Answers
New Bern, North Carolina
Updated
deborah’s Answer
Hello Karen! Great question. Fear of failure can be negative or positive. If it is a healthy fear, it can be motivating. To reduce the negative aspects of fear, you can put business preparation and planning to work for you. You WILL make mistakes when starting and growing a business, so understanding and embracing this will also reduce fear.
Doing your homework (research) about market opportunity, operations and start-up costs, etc., and preparing a first business plan before opening the business is important. Then, continuing to adjust plan toward success as the business grows and changes.
I recommend you speak with experienced business owners, as well as find mentor to help you along the way.
Doing your homework (research) about market opportunity, operations and start-up costs, etc., and preparing a first business plan before opening the business is important. Then, continuing to adjust plan toward success as the business grows and changes.
I recommend you speak with experienced business owners, as well as find mentor to help you along the way.
Bob Burton
Consultant
74
Answers
Austin, Texas
Updated
Bob’s Answer
David, Deborah and Bob offer great advice. I have founded, purchased, successfully grown, taken global/domestic businesses public and sold businesses. I can relate experiences to you. We begin, with what Bob Moore and deborah suggest, in terms of planning, networking and rapidly adjusting to meet changing needs. Certainly, as David indicates, sensitivity to customer input is very important.
I have found that the best approach, during the planning cycle, is to PLAN FOR SUCCESS AS WELL AS FAILURE
Every company investor wants to know your expectations, plans and milestones you have focused upon. Milestones that when reached will allow a prudent investor (or you) to be satisfied with your progress and be comfortable releasing additional funding to grow your business to profitability. At the same time, every prudent investor wants to know your plans should you fail to meet milestones for revenue and profitability. The FOCUS AT EACH STEP OF THE BUILDING PROCESS IS TO CREATE SIGNIFICANT VALUE. So, even though the business does not move forward, you have created enough value to return to investors (or yourself) invested capital.
One can add value in each step of the investment process. For example, have you patented, copy written, software protected your work? If so, you have added value that can be sold. Have you demonstrated an actual product or service that can be, not only protected with intellectual property, but be sold to another company in the same business? Is your product, software or service of such value that if sold to another company, they will hire you to continue to develop it?
Every decision you make is focused upon adding value at each step of the business building process. Although planning for success is key, planning for failure is required as well.
I have found that the best approach, during the planning cycle, is to PLAN FOR SUCCESS AS WELL AS FAILURE
Every company investor wants to know your expectations, plans and milestones you have focused upon. Milestones that when reached will allow a prudent investor (or you) to be satisfied with your progress and be comfortable releasing additional funding to grow your business to profitability. At the same time, every prudent investor wants to know your plans should you fail to meet milestones for revenue and profitability. The FOCUS AT EACH STEP OF THE BUILDING PROCESS IS TO CREATE SIGNIFICANT VALUE. So, even though the business does not move forward, you have created enough value to return to investors (or yourself) invested capital.
One can add value in each step of the investment process. For example, have you patented, copy written, software protected your work? If so, you have added value that can be sold. Have you demonstrated an actual product or service that can be, not only protected with intellectual property, but be sold to another company in the same business? Is your product, software or service of such value that if sold to another company, they will hire you to continue to develop it?
Every decision you make is focused upon adding value at each step of the business building process. Although planning for success is key, planning for failure is required as well.
James Constantine Frangos
Consultant Dietitian & Software Developer since 1972 => Nutrition Education => Health & Longevity => Self-Actualization.
6193
Answers
Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
Updated
James Constantine’s Answer
Hi Karen!
Here's a friendly guide on how to overcome the fear of failure when starting your own venture, be it a building or a business.
It's completely normal to worry about failing when you're about to start something new. But don't worry, there are ways to shift your focus from fearing failure to embracing success.
Set Achievable Goals: Start by setting goals that you can realistically achieve. These can be short-term or long-term. This way, you can concentrate on making progress rather than worry about failing. Breaking down big goals into smaller tasks can help you build confidence and momentum towards success.
Adopt a Growth Mindset: See challenges as stepping stones to learning and growing, not as roadblocks. If you view setbacks as valuable lessons, you'll be less afraid of failure and more resilient when facing challenges.
Find Support and Mentorship: Build a network of mentors, peers, and advisors who can guide and encourage you. Their experiences can give you reassurance and perspective as you start your own journey.
Focus on Solutions: Don't dwell on potential problems. Instead, use your energy to find creative solutions and strategies to overcome any challenges that might come your way. This forward-thinking approach can help you succeed.
Celebrate Small Victories: Celebrate every achievement, no matter how small. This can boost your confidence and motivation. Remember, every bit of progress is a step towards success.
Visualize Success: Imagine yourself achieving your goals. This can be a powerful way to overcome your fear of failure. By visualizing success, you can foster a positive mindset and lessen your worries about setbacks.
Keep Learning and Adapting: Be open to learning and adapting. This is key in navigating the unpredictable world of entrepreneurship. Embrace change and look for growth opportunities. This way, you can effectively respond to challenges and lessen the impact of potential setbacks.
By using these strategies, you can address your fears about failure when starting new ventures like opening your own building or starting a business.
The information provided is based on authoritative references such as Harvard Business Review, Entrepreneur, and Forbes.
Wishing you all the best!
James.
Here's a friendly guide on how to overcome the fear of failure when starting your own venture, be it a building or a business.
It's completely normal to worry about failing when you're about to start something new. But don't worry, there are ways to shift your focus from fearing failure to embracing success.
Set Achievable Goals: Start by setting goals that you can realistically achieve. These can be short-term or long-term. This way, you can concentrate on making progress rather than worry about failing. Breaking down big goals into smaller tasks can help you build confidence and momentum towards success.
Adopt a Growth Mindset: See challenges as stepping stones to learning and growing, not as roadblocks. If you view setbacks as valuable lessons, you'll be less afraid of failure and more resilient when facing challenges.
Find Support and Mentorship: Build a network of mentors, peers, and advisors who can guide and encourage you. Their experiences can give you reassurance and perspective as you start your own journey.
Focus on Solutions: Don't dwell on potential problems. Instead, use your energy to find creative solutions and strategies to overcome any challenges that might come your way. This forward-thinking approach can help you succeed.
Celebrate Small Victories: Celebrate every achievement, no matter how small. This can boost your confidence and motivation. Remember, every bit of progress is a step towards success.
Visualize Success: Imagine yourself achieving your goals. This can be a powerful way to overcome your fear of failure. By visualizing success, you can foster a positive mindset and lessen your worries about setbacks.
Keep Learning and Adapting: Be open to learning and adapting. This is key in navigating the unpredictable world of entrepreneurship. Embrace change and look for growth opportunities. This way, you can effectively respond to challenges and lessen the impact of potential setbacks.
By using these strategies, you can address your fears about failure when starting new ventures like opening your own building or starting a business.
The information provided is based on authoritative references such as Harvard Business Review, Entrepreneur, and Forbes.
Wishing you all the best!
James.
Daniel Brennan
84
Answers
Updated
Daniel’s Answer
Try to stay as busy as possible while also taking care of yourself. Working on marketing via social media, product ideas, expanding your business and still taking time to work out and eat healthy and maintain your relationships will leave the body with no energy for negative thoughts!
Katherine Avery
Run a music studio and teach private music lessons; teach college-level religion classes
350
Answers
Spanish Fork, Utah
Updated
Katherine’s Answer
Learning some good rules of thumb to have in mind can make you feel better and more grounded, like "Every workday try to connect with five potential clients," or, "Businesses don't do things that don't make good money sense, to make more money--don't let warm fuzzies or the fact that you want to build good business relationships make you do something that doesn't make good profitable sense." Check out books like EntreLeadership by Dave Ramsey or books about success like the ones by Brian Tracy, to learn some of what businessmen like them know.