You’ve decided to close your business. This is the worst!
Or maybe it’s not. How should you deal with closing a business? Can you bounce back and have a successful business or career?
Yes, you can! But it’s going to take some work. Here are three steps to overcoming a business failure.
- Take a break.
Sure, you’ve seen billions of positive quote memes on social media — shake it off, don’t look back, never give up, etc.
Persistence is a good thing, but just be honest with yourself. It’s okay to feel disappointed, sad, worried, and even angry when your business idea doesn’t work out.
So, take some time off. Talk to people you trust, and those who supported you while you worked on your business. This can include your parents, one of your teachers, friends, etc.
- Take a look back.
“Keep on moving. Don’t look back.”
This is well-meaning advice. It works for walking, running and other exercises. But this doesn’t always work for running a business or walking away from a business idea.
You need to look back and spend some time thinking about why your business didn’t succeed. This is how you learn.
Some successful business people, like online marketing guru Neil Patel, talk openly about their past failed businesses, and what they learned from those attempts. The reason they learned anything from those failed ideas is that they took the time to look back on the past to see where, when and how things went wrong.
This is also a good time to talk to your parents, a mentor or a teacher so they can give you advice on why your business closed and how you can learn from your mistakes.
- Take action.
Learning leads to confidence. You can now think about the next steps you want to take.
Should you start another business? The answer is up to you. It’s okay if your answer is “No.”
If you don’t want to start another business, take the time to learn about what you want to do. Do you want to put more focus on getting better grades? Are there certain subjects you want to learn more about? Are you more interested in sports, music, writing, art, or something else?
If you want to start another business, take the lessons that you learned from your last business idea and use them to move forward with your new business. And don’t be afraid to ask people you trust for help with your new idea.
Whatever you decide to do, remember this…A business failure is not a personal failure.
You are not a failure. You’re someone who had a business idea and the courage to try it out. Not everyone, including people twice your age or older, can say that.
Failure is weird. It doesn’t mean you’re doomed.
You can overcome a business failure. Failure just shows your mistakes; if you learn from them and move forward, you have a better chance for success in the future.
Photo by Steve Halama on Unsplash
