There is a hype for entrepreneurial success and failure isn’t something people want to deal with. Many people may think entrepreneurial success is easy without considering that failure is a part of it. However, the truth is, many successful entrepreneurs have failed many times before they got where they are.
While failure may not be as popular as the success, there are honest truths about it that an entrepreneur should accept in order to thrive as an entrepreneur.
Here are 8 Honest Truths About Failure that Every Entrepreneur Need to Accept
1. Failure is Inevitable
In business, failure can never be avoided. There are many elements that an entrepreneur can never control which may result in failure. Mistakes can also be unavoidable, and even the most seasoned entrepreneurs still commit mistakes. If you are a hardworking entrepreneur, expect to fail at one point in time. Failing as an entrepreneur doesn’t mean that you are a failure, it just means you are trying and doing your best, and sometimes, some things do not work out as you expected.
As an entrepreneur, you have to be OK with failure. If you’re not failing, you’re likely not pushing yourself hard enough. – Alexa Von Tobel
2. Failure is part of Success
Failure is an integral part of success. Failures may not seem to add up to success, but without failure, it may take more time to achieve it. Even the most successful entrepreneur’s credit failure as an essential part of their success.
My best successes came on the heels of failures. – Barbara Corcoran
3. Failures are lessons
A failure can become costly, but it doesn’t mean that it has no purpose. Think of failures as opportunities to learn, and consider these costs as “tuition fees” of your entrepreneurial venture.
It’s fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure. – Bill Gates
4. Failure takes off the pressure
Failures lift off the pressures of working on a business venture. While winning is the goal, failing once in a while reminds us to assess our business decisions and allows us to pause for a moment to think of what we need to do next in our entrepreneurial journey.
Don’t worry about failure, you only have to be right once. – Drew Houston
5. Failure means you have the grit.
Grit is probably the most important character an entrepreneur must have, and overcoming failures helps strengthen grit. Without grit, one may easily give up on the many challenges of the business, and without failure, one may take his business too easy.
I knew that if I failed I wouldn’t regret that, but I know one thing I might regret is not trying. – Jeff Bezos
6. Failure is not intentional
Nobody ever wants to fail, and nobody wants you to fail. Most, if not all, successful entrepreneurs have failed at one point or another, due to uncontrollable circumstances and changes. You need to accept that it is not intentional and there is no need to put the blame on anyone, especially yourself when the business fails.
Learn from failure. If you are an entrepreneur and your first venture wasn’t a success, welcome to the club. – Richard Branson
7. Failure is not final.
In a season of failures, one may want to give up. However, entrepreneurs need to see beyond failure and keep in mind that failure is not final. With a string of failures comes success, and we just need to keep pushing in order to achieve our goals.
Never give up. Today is hard, tomorrow will be worse, but the day after tomorrow will be sunshine. – Jack Ma
8. Every failure becomes easier to deal with.
Every failure becomes easier to deal with as we learn from each one and know better along the way. Failures should not be taken as disappointments but should give you more wisdom for your entrepreneurial journey. When you are wiser, each failure becomes easier to overcome.
Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently. – Henry Ford
Failure is an entrepreneur’s friend more than an adversary. It is an integral part of the success that is the avenue to reaching your goals. Failure is not about the entrepreneur, it’s about the lessons learned along the way.
