What Happens When Your Business Fails?
Small business owners fail every day and they fail hard.
When small business dreams do not work out…
Cars are repossessed, hard working employees are laid off, homes are foreclosed, and more.
But failing as a small business owner goes beyond money.
Hi! I’m Lia, and I am on the marketing team at Synture. Today I’m going to have a quick heart to heart with you about your small business owner journey. Is that cool with you?
I’ve been in your shoes as a small business owner that is hustling everyday to create an unstoppable business.
When the moving trucking business I co-owned with my husband at the time (we made almost $1 million our first year in business) came to an end after our divorce, it was one of the biggest rock bottom moments of my life.
It took me years to recover from losing that level of luxury and lifestyle. However, the losses were not just financial.
I poured my soul into that business. Nights spent getting a customer safely into their new home after a 20 hour drive across the country. Days spent going door to door in shopping centers in the Texas summer heat to pitch the owners of shops and restaurants our business.
Becoming the #1 referred moving company by U-Haul got us the house of our dreams at the time.
But then we failed.
I lost countless hours that I can’t get back.
I lost my sense of self-worth and self-confidence.
I lost the social network of friends I thought I’d have forever.
All of which took a toll on my mental health when my world came crashing down. Mental health and well-being is not discussed nearly enough in the small business world, making it an overlooked factor in the journey of an entrepreneur, especially if a business fails to survive.
Today, we don’t have anything to “sell”. Today, we just want you to take the time to consider the cost of failure as a small business owner. Consider every area of your life that would be impacted if you weren’t able to keep your business afloat.
Don’t rush towards figuring out solutions. Just sit with how life would completely change.
Business ownership is not just about six-figure Friday’s or brunch with other small business owners or wildly popular Instagram accounts.
Business ownership is deeply personal. And it’s the personal that hurts the most when you have to sit with failure.
One of the best ways we can support you in your small business journey is to be radically honest with you.
What will you lose if your business fails?
A better sense of mental well-being, the nomad life, uncapped income, time with your family and friends, a home that serves as your oasis, helping your mother to retire, living debt-free, your overall health.
The list could go on and on.
But, I’ll leave you with this: some of the most successful entrepreneurs in the world have failed.
Failure can give you true grit and deeper determination. Yes, it will lead to set-backs (which I can personally attest to), but it can also lead to “rejection is redirection” new beginnings (which I can also personally attest to).
The journey of a small business owner is no easy feat. That’s why millions never attempt to even try and even millions who do try and give up after a few bumps in the road.
But not you, you are going to keep pushing and trying until you gain the success you envision.
Sit with the idea of failure and sit with the realities that can come from that.
Use those feelings to power through every time you feel that your business is about to blow up in smoke!
You got this (even when you fail)!
