The Best Part Of Failing Is Trying Again!

I doubt I know a single successful person who hasn't experienced their share of failures. Some "lucky" people rack up more fails on their resume than others. Entrepreneurs, small business owners, startup addicts... you know who you are. The good thing is that once you achieve some success, the redemption story of how you went from failure to success becomes something you can talk about. Brag about, even! The bigger the failure, the more epic, the better! (Best to do it in a humble brag way to not come off as totally obnoxious.) And why not brag? Failure, which can be pretty embarrassing, isn't necessarily something to be ashamed of. It's practically an unavoidable, inevitable part of the process of trying. If you've failed at something, it means you were trying to do something in the first place. So if you've got a good failure story, brag away!

So confession time: My big failure story doesn't involve a spectacularly failed business idea. It's more the story of an aha moment arrived at in stages, like a frustrating dream happening in slo mo. I hate those! My failure was revealed as I peeled back the layers of my supposed success. And let me tell you, when I got to the last layer of that stinky onion, it was a doozy. Tears, shock and a big dose of "WTF are you doing with your business?" had me questioning everything I did. And – most insulting of all – it forced me to face the fact that business-savvy, smarty pants me still had a lot to learn.

Failure To Success: Everyone Loves A Happy Ending!!

If you've read my blogs before, you've probably heard the story. I was busier than busy, working my young butt off on fab events with fab clients, making money hand over fist. Or so I thought... Once I began delving into my finances and examining all my expenses – something I'd avoided doing for too long – it gradually became clear that my hard work wasn't netting me any profit. Um, excuse me? What do you mean I'm not rich? That was a hard pill to swallow and I felt like a big fat loser. Good times!

But since I like happy endings, here's where the story goes from failure to success. I worked my butt off again to get a handle on the financial side of my business. I developed a system for coding all my expenses and revenue. Finally, I had a way to figure out how much I was actually making. In case you're wondering: not enough (at first). Despite my business degree from Georgetown, I had to teach myself a lot about running a small business, which is very different from being just one person in a large corporation. I had to adopt a new way of thinking about my time and how much it was worth. Plus, I had to learn how to competently run every aspect of my business, not just a niche job in one department.

Trust me, it wasn't fun in the beginning. In fact, it was pretty damn tedious! But once I started to figure it out and saw how my new methods were good for my business, it was awesome! I began to feel like the real-deal, successful entrepreneur I wanted to be, not just a creative who doesn't "do" numbers.

What's Your Story?

I'm sure you have your own tales of unsuccessfulness (is that a word?). When it happens again – and it WILL! – feel free to lick your wounds and hide out for a while. Go through a few boxes of kleenex. Emote to friends at happy/unhappy hour and generally feel sorry for yourself. Just don't do it for too long! There's only so much shoulder crying your friends (and their clothing) can take. At a certain point, you have to just get over yourself and move forward. Moving forward is a decision, not a feeling. So if you want to get past a failure, decide that's what you're going to do and then, like Nike says, just do it. Dammit! (Nike doesn't say that part, but I do.) Learn what you can from the experience and use that as a tool for your next move. This will involve work – a combo of introspection, analysis, planning, and some saving, too, since you'll probably have lost money in the process. Isn't failure fun?! Examine what went wrong and right; which factors were in your control and which weren't; how you could have done things differently, responded better to various situations or anticipated problems. Then get to work planning your next move using all your hard-earned, newfound knowledge and experience. With the right mindset, you can approach your next project with an air of detachment – not like someone who doesn't care about what they're doing, but like a seasoned pro who doesn't take failure and setbacks personally. Like someone who understands that this is all part of the process and that in order to succeed, you must first try. And maybe try again!

Be Oh So Quotable This Week!

Speaking of success, are you in desperate need of simple and easy steps to attract clients you love, create a pricing strategy and ditch the door knockers? Then you've come to the right place! Get it here for FREE!

I always say running a business means the work never ends! Ain't that the truth? I bet your to-do list is a mile long! Make sure that the items at the top of your list are the things that relate to being more profitable. Everyone is so proud of being so "busy"...But Are You Making Any Money? Don't be too busy to focus!

Check out the summary of last week's business tips and motivational quotes from my Instagram page which you hopefully got to see in real time! If not, let's make sure we're following each other on Instagram!! So...here is this week's roundup of Instagram images of My Top Business Tips and Motivational Quotes.

Failure To Success – Tip #1:

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"There's something the same about success and defeat... both should make you want to work harder." – Lori Greiner

Failure To Success – Tip #2:

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"Failure is a blessing because it makes you stop and look at the analytics." – Holly Homer

Failure To Success – Tip #3:

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"I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times I've been trusted to take the game's winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life and that's why I succeed." – Michael Jordan

Failure To Success – Tip #4:

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"Fail often so you can succeed sooner." – Tom Kelley

Failure To Success – Tip #5:

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"Success is how high you bounce after you hit bottom." – General George Patton

Let's talk! I'd love to hear about your journey from failure to success!

Do you have any war stories from your past that go from failure to success? I would LOVE to hear from you! Anyhoo...I publish these business tips and motivational quotes to get you fired up for your work week!

Oh by the way, do you feel like you're too busy? Or like you're always working but not much is getting done? Your solution is right here and it's FREE!

And, if you want more business tips, get my book, But Are You Making Any Money? or contact me to really take your business to the next level!

xoxo M

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