I would like to revisit a post on the fear of failure from a while back. While I do state that there are times where you just need to act to get the ball rolling, it does not mean that it should continue to be the route that you stick to. I find it a little disconcerting to see all these blog posts of startup companies that fail and placed in the light that it was a good thing. These serial entrepreneur failures need to be evaluated closer after the second failure. If it’s seen that there are no lessons learned for a third attempt, some level setting and new expectations need to be set. Not everyone is geared to run a business even though their education is seen as a ticket that they ‘should’ be.
An entrepreneur should always be fearful of failure even when times are good. They need to be aware of all things happening around them instead of looking down from the high hill that they are on and gloating. Someone is probably always making the charge up the hill to take over your market. Having this view will allow for a pivot of the business plan to fit with the changing needs of it’s customers and it’s market. I can’t think of any disruptive technology that got it right on their first try. It always took several quick iterations and constant feedback to perfect the model before true traction took hold.
So to wrap up, I would say that I have no issues taking a calculated risk to test the market, but after a certain period, evaluation needs to be done to see if there is a future to the path taken. Don’t proceed just because you need to provide ROI to backers if there are no good options left to explore. Stop, look back, examine, see if it can be recovered. But always be prepared to let go if it’s a losing battle. If you really need to part with your money that badly, donate it to charity.
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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