How to Overcome Failure | Ep 048

 So this is kind of part two of failing forward for your business. And so we talked about all the reasons why business fail, and then this episode, we're going to talk about ways to avoid failure or how to get up and. Dust off them britches and keep on going. Yes.

The Business Project Podcast. Business can be complicated. We break it down to regular people like us. Who can understand and find success. I'm John Crespo, Accountant and Consultant. I'm Casey Bryant, Marketer and Event Planner. If you run a business, Or want to run a business, Welcome to the show.

What's up everybody? Thank you so much for joining us for another episode of the business project podcast you miss us. I bet they didn't I missed us Okay, so last week we had a really really great conversation about why businesses fail And five, we had five points, five points, five points about why businesses fail.

And it went a little bit longer. We wanted to include this episode in the one episode, but we just were, we had some really good information. So we just kept on going and we're going to break it into two. So this is kind of part two of failing forward for your business. And so we talked about all the reasons why business fail.

And then this episode, we're going to talk about ways to avoid failure or how to get up. And. Dust off them britches and keep on going. Yes. I love it So do you want to just hit on real quick what we spoke about last? Yeah, let's do it real quick We're just gonna hit on the topics the reasons why businesses fail This is what we spoke about last week real quick and then we're gonna go into the whole conversation here So the top five are money running out being in the wrong market a lack of research bad partnerships ineffective marketing And not being an expert in the industry.

Is that six? I think that's six. No, that's five. No, that's five. I can't count. One, two, three, four. That's six. It is six. Well, we just added an extra bonus. So we went into the details of all of those in the last episode, so if you haven't listened to that one yet, either listen after this or pause this, go back and listen and then come back, because it's some really good information leading, leading into, Okay, it's gloomy.

We're frowning. Yep. We... My, we want to avoid failure. These are the reasons that we're failure, but let's put a smile on her face and figure out how to not let that impact us in our business. Yes. I love it. I would say you want to start off on just steps on what not to do. Yeah, let's do it. Right. Yeah. Um, first step is don't rush into a business.

The first step to fail forward is don't rush into the business. And I'm not talking about analysis paralysis either where you're doing way too much research. Like you're finding excuses why you shouldn't start a business. I mean, good to come, you know, have opposing views, but. You know, don't just rush into it either.

I'm glad that you mentioned that because I think that that is, I feel like there's one of two types of people. There's people that are like, this is the best idea ever. It's going to change the world. I don't need a business plan because I'm going to open it up and everybody's going to love it and I'm going to be successful and we're gonna, it's all wonderland.

And then there's the other type of person that's like, I, Worry so much about every single detail. It's not perfect. It's almost like having a baby. Those of you that have kids There's never a good time to have a baby You will never be exactly financially stable with the perfect house and all the education that you need.

It just doesn't happen But you prepare You prepare the best that you can and you just jump in. Like the only way you're going to learn is if you just jump in. So you got to kind of find that happy medium between both. Which one are you guys? You let us know in the comments. Are you the one that just jumps right into them a hundred percent?

Let's go. Or are you the one that's like never has to have everything in line. Perfect. Before you start. That's right. I think that ties into, for me, I would say also is don't take yourself so serious. Yeah. Have some grace. Have some grace that you're going to make mistakes, but be willing to learn from those mistakes because in the process of implementing a business, you're going to make the wrong decision.

You're going to purchase the wrong product or you're going to buy the wrong subscription programs for whatever. You're going to put money into the wrong marketing. You're going to listen to advice of the wrong person. You're going to spend time with the wrong people. It's going to happen, but have grace on yourself and be quick.

Yes, and another one I think that we can add that goes along with that is don't be afraid to ask for help. There are people around you and if there's not people around you, you need to find people to surround yourself with by going to networking groups or things like that. But that can help you recognize because we do, we get so emotionally attached to these things and we're so in the middle of it that it's really hard to see somebody brand new fresh eyes on your business.

It's hard to see what they see because we're not there. We're, you know, years into it and we are excited about what we do and we know our product and so don't be afraid to. Reach out and get some consultation on things and and then on top of that don't be afraid to Hear like listen to the negativity also don't use the negativity to To fuel you or to get you down But sometimes you need that person that's gonna look at you and say you look fat in that dress You know, I mean you got Spinach in your teeth.

She told me that last week.

You need that kind of friend in your life. That's going to kind of speak some truth because don't surround yourself with yes. People. Oh, you're awesome. It's great. You're going to do good. You do need those people. Yeah. But you also need the people that are going to tell you the truth. Yes. Yeah, you need cheerleaders.

You need people to, you need people to help and enjoy your success with you, right? That's the kind of cheerleader you want. Someone that's gonna celebrate your success and, um, every, every success that you have, but you also want, like you're saying, those that can also... Give you a different point of view because we're sometimes we're in our silo.

We're too busy in our mix behind the computer or in Something that's related to our business that we don't take the time to really step out and kind of look at the outside So when you have someone that's that's doing that that's able to do that and give you that different perspective Accept that it's okay.

Yeah, especially somebody with experience that knows what they're talking about like a good mentor Yes, because that can save you years I mean having a good mentor that gives you one Sound piece of advice could potentially save you get you two years ahead in your business I guess that's another point seek out a good mentor.

Mm hmm Yeah, don't be afraid to ask someone who's ahead of you in the same industry. Hey, can I can I have Some advice. Can I, can we sit down and have a conversation? I'm, I'm, we're in the same industry. We're not necessarily competitors. I'm not trying to compete with you. I think there's enough for everybody, but I'd like to learn from you.

Some people out there are willing to share. Yeah, and I think our ego gets in the way too much. Sometimes it's harder Are they gonna have enough time for me or are they gonna like me or whatever ego gets in the way we get scared To ask for help, but man, that's just so important to be able and don't I would say too though don't um, because I know I know that there are people also that will Can you meet with me?

Can you meet with me? Can you meet with me? Can you meet with me? But you haven't built that relationship. Like you reach out to that one person in your community where their heads all over the billboard, but you haven't taken the time to build the relationship first. So I will say on the other end, that's a really important point too is you have to build a relationship.

You can't just jump in and ask for help from some random person that has no idea who you are. Yes. Yes. Because it's a two way street. You should be providing some type of value back, right? You know, you should want to provide some type of value back, you know, because there's something that's working for you that can help someone in their business as well.

So as you're building the relationship, you know, uh, I think I said this in a podcast a couple weeks back or a month back. I don't remember which one, but, um, you know, God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason is to listen more than we speak. So part of building their relationship is taking the time.

To listen and seeing how you can provide value. Yeah, that's really good And I think being respectful of the person that's giving you their time I've i've mentored a lot of businesses, especially those that are getting started and nothing drives me more crazy when they're 15 minutes late And then they take a phone call in the middle of our conversation Or they've got a screaming baby like I love kids and but It's also like, okay, I'm taking time out of my day to sit here and, you know, give you some things that has taken me years and years and years to learn and you're not respecting my time.

So bring a notebook, take some notes, be on time, be respectful, ask questions and make sure that you thank them for taking time out to help you. For sure. That's huge. Yeah. Take it serious. Yeah, exactly. Okay. So those are, that's good. Those are some ways to avoid failure. What's some other ways to avoid failure?

Well, we spoke about it in the last one, is making sure you've had the proper plan and structure in place, right? Take the time to make sure you have the plan, the proper plan and structure for your business in place, because that will allow you to make decisions in a timely manner and it'll allow you to make adjustments.

And understand when it's time to get out and when it's time not to. Yeah. So important. That ties back, when we talked last week, we said that that ties back into all six of the points that we had. You gave a bonus last week. Yes. Was that, it's all, it all honestly comes down to proper planning and being able to pivot and...

Make sure that you're measuring your results and things like that. So, so let's talk about when you do fail, because you are going to fail. I got newsflash like dudududududu. Is that the news thing? That wasn't it. That was a bird. We need sign of sound effects buttons. Um, you are going to fail. That's where I was getting at.

It's, it's not going to be fun and game, smooth sailing, yellow brick road. Like you are gonna. You are going to fail. So, um, but how do you take that and, and fail, fail forward versus wallowing in your failure, failure, or doing the same thing over and over again and getting the same results and wondering why you're not successful?

Oh, well, we can use COVID as an example, right? On businesses that failed forward and businesses that did not. You have to be number one, let's say this. You have to be ready, willing, and able to make adjustments. You're gonna fail forward, you have to be able to make those adjustments and document. Alright, document your processes and make adjustments as necessary.

Also, be, don't be so rigid that you, when, um, tragedy strikes, you

have nothing to, to pivot to. Don't be so rigid you have nothing to pivot to. So. Failing forward, I would say create the blueprint, create your document, your processes, so that if something does not work, you have something to go back to. To make the adjustments to, to try again. I think we get stuck on things that we're passionate about even though it's not working.

So, you might have a product or service that, you know, say you have a cookie recipe that was passed down from your great grandmother and so you're emotionally attached to it and this is the cookie recipe that you use to start your business. And so you're making these cookies and you're selling these cookies and then you're well on your way and then you're like, okay, I'm going to introduce donuts.

And so you start cooking doughnuts, and then people go crazy over your doughnuts. They're like, these are the best things ever, and they come to your restaurant to get the doughnuts. But then you're like, pushing these cookies still. Like, you know, baking cookies, and giving them away, and advertising for cookies.

But when people come there, they want the doughnuts. So, I think that's one thing to consider too, is we can't get... We're not serving ourself. We're serving our customers and sometimes you have to listen to your customers and you have to let go of products or services that they are not exactly wanting. So good.

So good. Listen to your customers. I like that. That's huge. Um, most businesses that have failed that sell a product or service are because. I mean, that was probably on the, on the thing they didn't listen to their, their customers. They didn't do the proper market research. Um, I was going to say something you were talking about emotion, right?

People are so emotionally invested into what they're doing. If you want to fail forward, balance your emotion with logic. Yeah, because emotion is important. That's what makes you a local business owner. That what makes you special. That's what makes you special Versus some corporation, you know, you think of a corporation and there's no emotion It's like these people that are all just in it for money and shareholders and capital and bottom line and all of that So that is one thing that makes you special is that you you have a personality in your business.

Your business is your personality So that is something you don't want to lose. You don't want to become a robot. But on the other hand, yeah, you want to make sure that you're making decisions also based on logic. That's a good point. Yeah. I think another thing is, um, let's say we put our plan in place, we're implementing our business, but it just something we're missing a piece, right?

And we're understanding, okay, without this piece, I'm not going to be successful. So you stop. Right. You stop your business. You make the decision to stop. It's okay to seek out that missing piece, whether it's a partnership, someone, cause we spoke about reasons why businesses fail is partnership, but also there's a good reason why businesses are successful is having the right partnership, right?

So it can work both ways. So maybe you seek out a partner that can bring that missing piece and you document everything, make sure everything's black and white and then implement it again, but be willing to look at what you're missing. And find a way to put that piece there. Yeah, it is. Running a business is you're always having to analyze and change the my staff always laugh because we're in an industry that is very, I mean, it's like up and down.

And every time we turn around, there's a change. We do social media, a lot of social media stuff and marketing and advertising and business coaching and things like that. And man, Uh, the key people on my team have all had like 15 different positions. I don't even give them a title. Our titles are local business specialists because it's like we feel like we get into a good rhythm and we have something going and then this huge change happens and we have to pivot and then their title change and their position changes and what they're doing in our packages, like everything changes.

And, and so I think we've gotten really good at. We don't get attached to any of our ideas anymore. We're like, we're going to throw this out, we're going to try this, we're going to see if it works. If it doesn't, if it doesn't work, we're going to throw it out and then we're going to keep on moving. Um, but also don't throw out the baby with the bath water.

You know, if you're, if you start on something and it might not be that the entire idea is a bad idea. It might just be. Be that a little piece, just like you said, with the bigger picture and the smaller picture, a little piece might need to be adjusted and it would be a good product or service. But you have to be getting good consulting and mentorship.

You have to be analyzing the numbers. You have to be stepping back and looking at your business with the bird's eye view in order to be able to recognize those little tiny pieces that need to be adjusted. And adjust it. I mean, that's how inventors, right? Like they create this thing and it doesn't work and then they're like, okay, I'm going to take this little piece out and I'm going to put this little piece in there.

Okay, that's good, but it's still not working. So I'm going to, you know, make this bulb and I'm going to make it straight. And then you get to a point to where you just like fine tune and tweak and then you end up with a great product. Yeah, I love it. That's some good stuff. Wow. What are we missing? I think, like we had mentioned at the beginning of the podcast, you're going to fail.

And so I think attitude, I think we need to talk about attitude because attitude is a really big, it's a really big piece of it too. You can, you can just sulk and pout and blame it on. Um, the external things around you, I, that's one of the things that I think irritates me the most in some businesses that I counsel is it's never their fault.

It's always the, you know, my customers didn't understand me or the prices of things went up or it's, it's always. It's somebody else's fault and I don't think that that helps anything. I think it's your job as a business owner to figure out how to, how to be successful. Like what are your customers looking for?

How can you make your marketing successful? Um, because it's your responsibility. Nobody else is going to do it if, and that's like the whole. Part the hard part of running a business is trying to figure out all of those things So I think I think your attitude plays a big role in your success as a business owner So true and then that goes into mindset There's two types of mindset.

You have the fixed mindset and you have your growth mindset And you know, people with a fixed mindset are the ones that are very, they kind of are too hard on myself and are unwilling to accept change and kind of cast blame when something's not working right because they feel their way is the right way, right?

That's the fixed mindset. Um, the most, most of the successful businesses are run by people with a growth mindset. They're willing to make adjustments. They're willing to accept responsibility and they're willing to make, to, to seek advice. To help make their self, their business better. So, attitude in, the mindset is going to control your attitude.

Right? Or we can even say vice versa, your attitude will control your mindset. So be willing to stand in the mirror and hold yourself accountable. But also have grace. Have grace while you're doing it. And say, I know I'm going to mess up. Or say, hey, you messed up but... You can fix it and you can do better.

Here's how we can do it. Like have that conversation with yourself because that will control your attitude, which will then put you in the right mindset to help your business move to the next level. I think the biggest point in this entire episode is in order to fail forward You need to be willing to say to get up and dust your pants off and continue to step take step forward Even if it's painful, and if you're gonna do that if you decide to do that Then you might as well do it with a good attitude Most definitely having a bad attitude doesn't make it any better.

No, it doesn't make the fail go away. Yeah It'll fester the fail Yeah. And then it starts stankin Stanky. Stanky. And then you get burnt out. Yeah. You don't want to do that. That's another reason why businesses fail is burnout. Yeah. You know, because you're, you're number one, your mindset, you're having the wrong approach to your, to your situation.

Business is a journey. It's like, uh, when I was in the military, I did air assault school over here in Fort Campbell. And at the end of air assault school, you have this. Was it a 12 mile ruck march? It's like a 12 mile ruck march. And a ruck is a sack that you carry, right? Yeah, that backpack, um, filled with all your stuff.

So it's like a hundred pounds on your back. You do 12 miles in a, in a certain time frame. It's a hard journey. You, to make it to the end, people, once you hit the finish line, you have some people falling over, you know, just because they Tired, but the relief of making it to the finish line, being able to accomplish that mission is, uh, just the driving factor of, you know, why people are successful in aerosol school business is the same way you're going to be carrying a load on your shoulders for a journey and you're going to get tired.

Sometimes you're gonna need a buddy to come and help you along the way to make it to the finish line. So you have to approach in that way approach business in that way. Yeah So good. I have one more before we close out. Can I add one more? I mean, I think we could keep on going forever, but, um, I think that this is a good one that we need to make sure we include.

And I forgot what it was. Oh yeah. Balancing, having a good work life balance too. Cause you talked about burn burnout. And I think that that is so important. That's one thing that took us a long time to learn as business owners, my first business. That's one of the reasons I think that I, I was so miserable after six years is because I just was, I didn't have a great life balance.

I, in the process of me building this new business, I had two kids. I would literally take my kids with me to the office and like have my staff watch them while I did things. I don't remember the first two years of their life, which is so sad because I was so focused on building my business. And I think that if I would have, Had a better balance then I could still be doing that I don't know because I I would have enjoyed I would have been able to have both I would have been able to enjoy running my business and enjoy my family and my personal time Yeah so I think that's a something I see personally that businesses do a lot is they They think that if I don't do it all or I don't get it done then it's never gonna get done and I'm gonna fail but You're gonna fail anyways because you're burning yourself out.

Yeah. Yeah, because you know There's a lot of videos out there saying if you're if you're gonna be successful You got to be ready to work 16 18 hours a day 7 days a week No If you do the proper Stuff in the beginning the proper planning before you even launch a business like don't even quit your job until you know that you Have a viable business that you can start it as a side hustle and build it that way so that you can make sure You're taking the steps in the right way.

You you're creating that proper balance. I think that's that's so important I like to live life by five pillars five pillars. What are they faith? fitness family finance and fun I love that. Those are my five pillars. Those are good. Those are good five pillars. Yeah, if you if you focus on those things You'll have a good work life balance.

Yeah, that's great healthy Good stuff. Cool So so pick one. Yes one of those things that if you're going through a hard time right now in your business Or you, if you're not right now, you're going to, sorry to say, you're going to make a bad decision. You're going to have a team member come in and fall apart.

I mean, you're going to have things happen. And, but I think the bigger, you know, idea is, you know, accept the blame, accept that that's failure, and then figure out how to pick yourself up and learn from it and move forward. Yeah. Have grace. Yeah. Hope you enjoyed it. Definitely share this because so many people are going to go through this, um, that are wanting to start a business.

And it just helps get the word out. We're looking to... Grow the, grow the business community the right way. So the more you share this, the more we're able to get the right information out in front of people. Yeah, we're getting people out of fantasy land. Cause I think when you go to social media and you look at a lot of these experts, it's fantasy land.

And so let's get out of fantasy land. Not that fantasy land is bad, but let's get a little bit more realistic on how to be successful. Let's go. Alright, y'all have a good rest of your week. We will catch you next week. Take care.