Do you know how many applicants respond to a job post?
118.
Of the 118 applicants, the company will hire only one. Anyone who can overcome rejection will continue their job search.
And the search could be a challenge.
Research indicates that it may take between 32 and 200 job applications before a person gets hired.
It’s frustrating… so you decide to become an entrepreneur.
“Ha! Now, I don’t have to worry about getting a job!”
Entrepreneurs go through the same grind.
You’re trying to land more clients, win projects, retain existing customers, or acquire new ones.
In a competitive world, there will always be winners and losers.
You could comply with the requirements and provide better qualifications, but still lose clients and projects to the competition.
You can source the best materials, hire the right people, tightly oversee production, offer competitive pricing, and develop an efficient delivery system, but still lose existing customers and potential new ones to other brands.
We’re certain several of you are nodding in agreement.
You know the frustration; the pain of losing… of failing.
And here’s the harsh reality about failure…
It’s not a zero-sum game.
For every project or job post, only one will succeed. The rest will fail.
However, failure isn’t the end of the world…
… if you won’t let it.
7 Ways To Overcome Business Failure
If you don’t overcome failure, it will consume you.
Follow our seven tips below, and you’ll emerge from this failed experience a stronger and improved version of yourself.
1. Accept It…Then, Move On
If you go into business thinking you won’t fail, you will. And when it happens, you might not recover.
Failure is a reality in business and every endeavor because there’s nothing guaranteed in life.
If you don’t accept the reality of failure, you won’t be ready when you do fail.
What do we mean by “you won’t be ready?”
You won’t have any Plan B. No alternative course of action. No escape hatch.
Likewise, because you’ve diminished the impact of failure, you won’t be focused on doing your best.
In business, if you fail, accept that it happened, then move on.
Yes, it’s easier said than done. However, if you wallow in self-pity for a long time, the damage caused by the failure may increase in magnitude and worsen your situation.
For example, you got hacked because you neglected cybersecurity and treated fortifying website defenses as an afterthought.
You can’t access your website, Google has suspended your email, and customers are threatening a class-action lawsuit.
What can you do?
Recognize that your negligence led to the website hack, then take steps to mitigate the damage.
- Take your website offline.
- Reset all passwords.
- Scan and delete all malware.
- Restore the backup site.
- Inform the website host provider.
- Inform customers and regulators of the situation.
- Sign up for monthly website maintenance services.
By addressing failure, you quickly regain your footing on the path to recovery.
2. Change Your Mindset
If you’ve failed recently, you’re in good company.
Michael Jordan, Walt Disney, Steven Spielberg, JK Rowling, Howard Schultz, Sir Richard Branson… the list goes on of people who failed multiple times before they found success.
They eventually found success because they refused to let failure define them.
Rather than succumbing to despair and self-pity, failure strengthened their resolve and confidence.
When you experience failure, flip the switch and change your mindset.
- Failure isn’t the end. It’s a continuation of your journey toward success. Failure is a valuable learning experience that highlights your flaws and weaknesses, allowing you to address them promptly.
- Failure isn’t a one-time thing. You have to accept the reality that you will continue to experience failure throughout your lifetime. If you can’t overcome it now, how can you master it in the future?
- Failure is your best teacher or friend. Failure won’t tell you what you want to hear. You’ll learn the truth, and it will hurt. However, if you choose to learn from it, you’ll grow, improve, and become a better person.
💡Bottom Line: Failing now makes you appreciate future success. You’ll realize there are no such things as small and big victories.
They are all WINS.
3. Address the Reason(s) You Failed
Okay, so now you’ve accepted the fact that you failed.
What’s next?
Learn from it by addressing the reason(s) why you failed.
There are various approaches you can take to accomplish this.
- Reach out to the group or organization that selected the winner. Find out how and why you lost.
If you didn’t win the project, contact the client. If you didn’t get hired, contact HR.
Ask for their feedback and learn from them. Use their inputs to improve your next bid or job application. - If possible, analyze how the other person won. In a public bidding process, the winning bid is typically disclosed. Study the winning bid and compare it with your proposal.
If a client decides to select a different freelancer, be sure to visit the online profile of the chosen winner. - Review your approach. Honesty is essential for conducting an effective self-assessment.
Do you lack specific skills? Did you forget to include key details in your bid? Were your documents in order? Did you misunderstand the instructions?
Can you honestly say that you were thoroughly prepared for the interview or the sales presentation?
Take the necessary steps to address the problems.
- If you lack specific skills, work on them. Sign up for courses or hire experts to help you get better. Find a mentor who can guide you accordingly.
- Dedicate additional practice time for your sales presentation and interviews. Research potential questions and objections, then prepare your responses accordingly.
- Put more time into your preparation. The probability of making costly mistakes is higher if you rush the process.
Starting the preparation process early will give you time to review and address potential flaws in your approach.
💡Pro Tip: Always find ways to improve. If you succeed, don’t fall into complacency and think that you’ve figured it out. The circumstances might be harder the next time.
4. Use Healthy Failure-Coping Practices
When you feel pain, the usual response is to numb it.
For some people, the pain of failure can become so overbearing that they seek to minimize the experience by indulging in unhealthy practices.
They resort to alcohol, unhealthy food, and other vices to help them cope with failure. Vices only provide temporary relief, and they can impair your judgment.
Surrounded by enablers, you may make regrettable decisions that worsen your situation.
It would be better to engage in healthy practices to cope with the pain of failure.
Exercise
Go to your local gym and have a quick workout. Exercise releases mood-enhancing endorphins that can make you feel better.
If you don’t have a gym membership, do a Warren Buffett and take a long walk around your neighborhood.
How about a night out for some dancing?
An Australian study showed that dancing was the best exercise to cure depression, beating out walking, running, and lifting.
Choose Healthy Food and Drinks
Eating a half-pound, charbroiled hamburger with fries, and washing it down with an ice-cold beer feels good!
The aftermath is a different story, especially if you can’t stop at one beer.
Opt for healthy options such as salads, light pasta, lean meats, and fresh fruits, and choose water or fresh fruit juices to drink. You’ll stay healthy and feel better after.
Sleep On It
Don’t force yourself to make decisions immediately. It’s hard to think straight when you’re overwhelmed with emotion. Rest your mind by getting eight hours of good quality sleep.
The following day, have a nice cup of hot coffee, a healthy breakfast, and plan your next move.
Talk to Select Family and Friends
Not all friends and family are alike. Throughout your life, you have identified friends and family members on whom you can rely for good advice.
Invite them for coffee or dinner and share your situation with them. They might not always give you the right advice, but talking to them will make you feel better.
Shopping
Psychologists suggest that retail therapy can help people overcome depression by restoring a sense of control and power.
When you fail, you might feel inadequate and incapable of regaining control of your situation. However, purchasing puts you back in control. You make the call, and you reap the benefits or the positive outcomes of your decision.
And yes, shopping makes you happy.
Meditate
Go to a quiet place and take a few minutes to breathe and relax. Meditation and prayer are great ways to clear the mind.
Sometimes it’s in these quiet moments that we find clarity and answers.
Good Natured Fun
Feeling bad and sorry for yourself won’t change a thing, so why not get into some good-natured fun?
Watch a funny movie on Netflix, read comic books, or invite friends to play pickleball.
Do you love music? Call friends over and listen to classic vinyl records. If you play musical instruments, schedule a jam session.
5. Reset Your Goals
We often hear the advice, “The worst thing that can happen is you get rejected. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Go for it!”
That’s true, but frequent rejection can harm your confidence and lower your self-worth.
The “swing for the fences” mentality can end up wasting your valuable time. You’re better off allocating resources to activities that can yield better PROTI – Potential Return On Time Invested.
- Did you lose the job because it required specific skills, experiences, certifications, and other qualifications that you didn’t have?
- Did your proposal get declined because you didn’t meet the minimum qualifying standards of the prospective client?
- Are you stuck with massive inventory at a leased 1,000-foot warehouse because you overestimated the demand for a niche product?
Ambition is good, but it’s better to moderate expectations to improve your chances of success.
Reset your goals and go for it again!
6. Reset… Period.
After experiencing failure, some people can’t wait to get another shot. They’re fueled by emotion and not guided by rational thought.
They rush back into action without a game plan or strategy.
Same result… or worse.
If you haven’t considered all aspects, emotional motivation alone can lead to worse consequences from repeated failures.
Instead of climbing back inside the ring and taking another swing, reset.
Take a short rest. Go on a vacation and relax. Get your mind right. Think things through.
Approach your next course of action with a clear mind and strategy.
You won’t get many chances, so make the most of them.
7. Don’t Go About Failure Alone
You’re not the only one feeling the loss.
Your employees or team members are also reeling from failure.
They supported you from the start, each playing a crucial role in helping your business achieve success.
Like you, they had high hopes of victory because they put in the work.
And like you, if the business fails, they’ll also feel its pain.
They have their ways of dealing with failure; perhaps using the tips we discuss in this article, but there’s one person they’d surely like to hear from.
You.
Don’t go about failure alone. Share your thoughts and feelings with your employees.
- Provide a summary of the events.
- Explain what you believe led to failure.
- Maintain an optimistic tone, but not an overly optimistic one.
- Give a rundown of possible courses of action.
- Solicit their feedback.
- Allow them to speak their minds.
You might be faced with questions such as, “Will we still have our jobs?” or “How about our pay and benefits?”
Avoid giving false assurances.
If you’re uncertain about the future, let your employees know that you are assessing the current situation and will update them when you’re ready to share your next steps.
Helping your team overcome the burden of failure also lightens your load.
💡Pro Tip: Host a lunch at a nearby restaurant and treat your team to lunch and coffee. For privacy, reserve a function room.
It’s an excellent way to show that you value their effort.
Conclusion
“Success is not final. Failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts.”
Sir Winston Churchill
Failure brings about a mix of emotions: Sadness, anger, embarrassment, shame, anxiety, frustration, and other feelings that erode your confidence, self-esteem, and motivation.
We hear stories of people locking themselves indoors for days, even weeks, trying to shut out the world.
In time, they come out of the room ready to insert themselves back into the world. But for others, the room becomes a metaphysical prison, where there’s no escape.
The good news is, you don’t have to lock yourself in your room for days to get over failure.
Okay, maybe for a day. Or a few hours. You’ll need time for reflection and meditation.
Follow the tips we shared in this article, and you’ll no longer fear failure…
… you’ll embrace it!
Protect your business from failure by investing in a website. If you don’t have one or if you aren’t satisfied with your current website, book time for a free consultation.
