Astonishing Reasons Why First Time Entrepreneurs Fail
Failure is a terrible feeling! Forget the talk about rising up again, being optimistic, and learning from experience , failure is a really bad thing!. It leaves a bad taste in the mouth of anyone who experiences it and does a number on the confidence of the person affected.
 |
| Photo Credit: enevada.org |
First time entrepreneurs are the ones most vulnerable to this experience and irrespective of the amount of preparation and planning, leadership skills and books read, people still fail. Some fail for predictable reasons, others, not so predictable.
Today, we'll be shining a light on the unpredictable reasons
1. Ignoring The Basics :
Being an entrepreneur means there is a sense of freedom ( pseudo or not ) in the way you go about your business activities. This freedom is not always a good thing. Here's a scenario :
You have worked most of your life under a supervisor that put you on a short leash and seldom let you express yourself. You want freedom to do your own thing, but you never get that freedom.
Eventually, you start your business and employ your own staff which in turn makes you a supervisor, their boss. You hated that you weren't afforded the freedom to do things your way as an employee, so you decide to 'empower' your staff to think independently and confidently solve problems.
What you failed to do that could hurt your business was provide them with multiple systems and responses of what to do in any situation they might encounter. You ignored the fact that systems prevent chaos in times of crisis and keeps people organized. You might feel like you are empowering your workers but teams without systems often look and feel like no one is in charge .
2. Sometimes Wait.... And Think
More than anything, you should never let yourself be propelled by the dancing feet of a victory from a deal you closed, or the profits you made or anything of that sort. Victory is good, celebrating is even better, but you should learn how not to let that joy cloud your decision making.
Maybe by a bit of luck, a business decision turned out to be the right one and you feel there will always be that luck so you are free to make rash decisions that weren't carefully thought out. You will ultimately find out that luck runs out, and rash decisions kill businesses.
Sometimes pause, take a step back, refocus and keep working with the valuable lessons and skills that made the business grow in the first place.
The recipe for disaster in business includes ignoring red flags and obvious warning signs.
Learn to slow everything down and lean on your mentors for guidance. Focus on your foundation, accept that failure is essential for growth. Look for what you did right and/or wrong, learn from it and never ignore the fundamentals of success you have known all along.
3. Failing To Carry Everyone Along
Firstly, until your dream is clearly communicated to you team, you will not get the results you expect from them. Your dream can be as clear as day to you, but it is bound for failure if you let miscommunication or the total absence of communication with your staff get in the way.
Effective managers, in no unclear terms, ensure that their team understand the vision before it is implemented. Training the staff and providing them with the requisite skill set to make this vision a reality should be top priority.
Don't just communicate this vision, clearly communicate it, word after word, letter after letter.
4. Realist is NOT Pessimist
Mindset is a key component in determining the failure or success of a business. Sometimes self doubt sneaks in and you question yourself. You ask if you are in the right business and if you are strong enough to make it as an entrepreneur. You eventually come to the conclusion that failure is only normal and convince yourself that start-ups from time to time. You see this failure as a phase and imagine a bright future.
The problem with this kind of mindset is that real, actual problems tend to be written off as paranoia and pessimism. We ignore glaring cracks in our systems and explain them away as mindset problems. This approach can take a business and burn it to the ground.
Realism is not pessimism. Think positive, but face reality
1. Ignoring The Basics :
Being an entrepreneur means there is a sense of freedom ( pseudo or not ) in the way you go about your business activities. This freedom is not always a good thing. Here's a scenario :
You have worked most of your life under a supervisor that put you on a short leash and seldom let you express yourself. You want freedom to do your own thing, but you never get that freedom.
Eventually, you start your business and employ your own staff which in turn makes you a supervisor, their boss. You hated that you weren't afforded the freedom to do things your way as an employee, so you decide to 'empower' your staff to think independently and confidently solve problems.
What you failed to do that could hurt your business was provide them with multiple systems and responses of what to do in any situation they might encounter. You ignored the fact that systems prevent chaos in times of crisis and keeps people organized. You might feel like you are empowering your workers but teams without systems often look and feel like no one is in charge .
2. Sometimes Wait.... And Think
More than anything, you should never let yourself be propelled by the dancing feet of a victory from a deal you closed, or the profits you made or anything of that sort. Victory is good, celebrating is even better, but you should learn how not to let that joy cloud your decision making.
Maybe by a bit of luck, a business decision turned out to be the right one and you feel there will always be that luck so you are free to make rash decisions that weren't carefully thought out. You will ultimately find out that luck runs out, and rash decisions kill businesses.
Sometimes pause, take a step back, refocus and keep working with the valuable lessons and skills that made the business grow in the first place.
The recipe for disaster in business includes ignoring red flags and obvious warning signs.
Learn to slow everything down and lean on your mentors for guidance. Focus on your foundation, accept that failure is essential for growth. Look for what you did right and/or wrong, learn from it and never ignore the fundamentals of success you have known all along.
3. Failing To Carry Everyone Along
Firstly, until your dream is clearly communicated to you team, you will not get the results you expect from them. Your dream can be as clear as day to you, but it is bound for failure if you let miscommunication or the total absence of communication with your staff get in the way.
Effective managers, in no unclear terms, ensure that their team understand the vision before it is implemented. Training the staff and providing them with the requisite skill set to make this vision a reality should be top priority.
Don't just communicate this vision, clearly communicate it, word after word, letter after letter.
4. Realist is NOT Pessimist
Mindset is a key component in determining the failure or success of a business. Sometimes self doubt sneaks in and you question yourself. You ask if you are in the right business and if you are strong enough to make it as an entrepreneur. You eventually come to the conclusion that failure is only normal and convince yourself that start-ups from time to time. You see this failure as a phase and imagine a bright future.
The problem with this kind of mindset is that real, actual problems tend to be written off as paranoia and pessimism. We ignore glaring cracks in our systems and explain them away as mindset problems. This approach can take a business and burn it to the ground.
Realism is not pessimism. Think positive, but face reality
Comments
Post a Comment