Failing is a major part of life, especially within the business world. Lord knows we could not count the amount of times we made a mistake on a project, did not finish something on time, or just didn’t give our full effort on something.
BUT failing is what leads to learning.
Failing is what ultimately led to the success of Sidebiz SMART and is why we’re here today.
Some of the folks who have been around for awhile might remember that SideBiz SMART wasn’t the original business. When I first started out in entrepreneurship, I created an Interior Design firm as my side hustle. But issues arose and suddenly this thing that I loved very much became a burden.
Which came one of the best lessons of entrepreneurship i’ve learned: just because you love something, doesn’t mean it will work out as a business.
And that’s not meant to discourage anyone from starting entrepreneurship, it is meant to be a realistic reminder. One of the reasons that my first biz failed was because I didn’t fully understand the entire process of Interior Design.
I had this incredible problem I wanted to solve (and a spot on solution), but I hated all the steps and checkpoints I needed to accomplish in order to get there.
Here are some of the key lessons I learned after my first biz failed that kept me going:
- Clarity is KEY –> Having a full understanding of the foundation of your business. The ins and outs and everything between. Ask yourself what it takes to run this business? Do you enjoy every single part of that solution to the problem you want to fix?
If not, then don’t worry. PIVOTS are WELCOME.
- It’s okay if/when you realize the solution you’re offering isn’t the right one.
- Change it up and be honest with your people.
- Stop worrying about what your followers will think. You’re building a community to support your end business. If they fall off, they weren’t going to buy from you. We didn’t want them around.
Pivots are your way of learning from your failures. I had a mentor tell us once that I wasn’t failing fast enough. I proceeded to write all my failures down on an index card and on the back I wrote the lesson I learned from those failures.
The main thing I found was how little these failures actually were when looking at the big picture. I was a perfectionist to a fault that I started getting scared of failing. The things you consider to be failure are probably not even registering on other people’s radar.
So, on the one hand, it is important to take the time to learn from your failures. On the other, be really honest if its a true failure or your perfectionism showing. And if it is a true failure, embrace it and don’t be afraid to fail fast in order to reach success.
Wanna listen to the full episode? Grab it on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Looking for entrepreneurial tips and biz advice? Follow us @sidebizsmart.
Want to follow the host? Find Janelle here: @heyjnicole on Tik Tok or Instagram,
Interested in programs and pivot advice, take a look at our website https://sidebizsmart.com/.
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