Achieve victory in the face of setbacks with these tips.
As an entrepreneur, you have to wear many hats at once, assume many different and varying responsibilities pretty much all the time, and be working in conditions of what must seem like several full-time positions in one.
It’s not an easy task or for the weak-hearted to start a business, it takes real grit, determination, effort, and consistent resolve, especially in the headwinds of setbacks, disappointments, sometimes even the collapse of the business itself, necessitating the need to start all over again.
Many would-be entrepreneurs have given up in the face of such difficulties, while a special few count the setback as a learning experience, adapt accordingly, dust themselves off, and go right back into battle (so to speak). These are the ones who usually make it the pinnacles of success, but the journey there can often be a long and difficult one.
To hopefully provide aid and assistance for any budding new entrepreneur out there who may be just starting out on their journey or one already established but struggling with the inevitable turbulence of the commercial world, we’ve compiled 4 points on how you can turn that current difficulty into future victory and success!
Let’s do it…
1. No Pain, No Gain
To quote Alfred the butler from Christoper Nolan’s acclaimed Dark Knight movie trilogy, “why do we fall? In order to learn how to pick ourselves up again.” And hey, if it works for Batman, it can work for you too!
Some of the most successful entrepreneurs have credited those early setbacks as making them what they became, forcing them to re-assess, adapt, change strategy, and also (perhaps most pertinently) to learn resilience and resolve. Those are the kind of life lessons that toughen you, give you thicker skin overall, renewed vision, and make the eventual success all the sweeter.
2. Teambuilding
Running a business can sometimes seem akin to being the maestro conductor of a symphony orchestra, having to perfectly balance a range of factors into a harmonious whole, and nowhere in business is this more important than your team.
Building that team is one thing, managing them is a whole other matter. There will inevitably be tensions, clashes, disagreements, and sometimes departures. Many entrepreneurs take years to build that perfect, well-oiled team machine and there are so many disappointments along the way, but keep reorganizing, hiring, firing, and honing that team like a jigsaw until you know it’s the team you always wanted… it will happen, trust us.
3. A State of Mind
It’s not just external factors you need to address when you’re an entrepreneur, it’s the inner self that needs constant checking. Not just physical but mental and emotional wellbeing are essential for a cohesive, effective, and fully-functioning team effort.
We all get down and depressed sometimes, feeling like we just want to quit our jobs, sick of the pressures and stress, tired of deadlines and meetings and management issues. It can sometimes affect our workplace performance and our relationship with colleagues. To combat this, have regular social gatherings of your team, create a lighter, more relaxed atmosphere in the office, have 1:1 meetings with staff in strict confidence to see how they are. Make them feel appreciated, needed, and their issues addressed, and you’ll see a higher productivity. Happy workers are better workers!
4. Vision
Perhaps the best piece of advice for any entrepreneur feeling the heat in their business right now is to remind them of why exactly they got into the commercial arena to begin with? What was their primary motivation? How did they think it would work out? Where do they see themselves in five years?
Be a listening ear for them and tactfully, gently drill down and see what their initial vision was, their grand plan and how far have they strayed from that and why? Keeping hold of your vision when sometimes you feel under siege and overwhelmed can be the most difficult thing of all, but it is absolutely essential that you maintain that ‘northern star’ vision, not just for yourself but for the team under you.
We wish you all success and prosperity in your commercial endeavors. Good luck!
