Learning from Failure: An Essential Small Business Skill

Many new small business owners wonder: what is the most important skill for them to have. Indeed, there are many different abilities that give you an advantage in the cutthroat world of business, but there is one that stands out as a particularly important one: the ability to deal with and learn from failure.

Failure is not something that any of us look forward to, but it is nonetheless an important part of running a small business. Many small businesses fail, in fact most of them do. Even the most successful small business owner will deal with a variety of failures, which can be treated as demoralizing experiences or an opportunity to grow and learn. Here are a few ways to look at the positive and take valuable lessons away from your failures.

1. Keep it rational. While failure always stings, reacting emotionally is rarely a good plan. Instead, let your most rational side prevail. It is rare that failure is personal, so don’t take it that way. You can’t learn while you are mired in negative emotion, so keep your feelings in check and move on.
2. Learn from the experience. Many people recommend learning from failure, but they never elaborate on what exactly you are supposed to learn. Are you learning that you don’t belong in small business? Perhaps, but there is more likely a less devastating reason for the lapse. Perhaps you were too trusting of a partner or gave too much responsibility to an employee. Perhaps you tried to make a sale from the wrong angle or took a chance on a product that really didn’t the leap of faith. Look for a takeaway message that you will use to ensure that this does not happen again.
3. Look forward. More important than what caused the failure is what you personally are going to do to turn it into success. Now is the time to rethink your game plan. Rearrange your goals and your finances so you can bounce back without a pause. Take positive steps to compensate for this failure and come out of the situation triumphant.
4. Accentuate the positive. In even the worst situations, there are usually a few positive things that occurred. Don’t let these get lost in the negativity. Notice what went well and what things you want to repeat in the future. If you are getting closer and closer to success with each successive failure, you are not failing so much as following a rather steep and painful learning curve.
5. Avoid the blame game. Finding a scapegoat might make you feel better, but it won’t help the situation. Avoid assigning blame and move on. Note: if a person in your business is causing failure after failure, then this rule doesn’t apply. Always get rid of weak links, because they compromise the integrity of your company as a whole.

Even the largest organization has had setbacks; the difference is in how it was handled. This failure may make all the difference for your business as well. Just make sure that it makes a difference in a positive way!