Setbacks may be bound to happen in any small-business owner's journey. Here are 9 tips to help you overcome them and move on to greater success.





Comments


Written by lyceum
3162 days ago

Bruna: Thanks for your reply. Yes, it is important to know when you should do a pivot, change course, iterate, bail out, or stay on the course. I have learned several things from falling forward. I have had plenty of setbacks during the years, but I keep going, walking on my entrepreneurial journey.



Written by bmartinuzzi
3164 days ago

Hi Heather. For sure, one should NEVER give up! Use the lesson from the setback or failure, and move on. As to how quickly to get right back on the horse, I would think it varies on the particular situation. Yes, sometimes just stepping back and giving yourself time to evaluate what happened, especially after a really big loss, as you say, is the wisest course. And more important, analyzing whether your strategy was the right one in the first place. Re-evaluate the strategy. Having said this, it's wise not to spend too much time stuck in this stage, and losing momentum, and even confidence. Some entrepreneurs are able to cut their losses quickly and focus on grabbing the next opportunity. How you manage your mindset when going through a setback is key. I once heard a coach say: grab the lesson and learn to walk away empty. That is, once you have done all the due diligence, and learned the lesson, don't wallow and stay stuck in that stage. Thank you for the question, Heather. It would be great to hear from other entrepreneurs on their advice for handling setbacks.



Written by bmartinuzzi
3162 days ago

Thank you, Martin, for your comment on the article and for sharing five lessons you learned. A key one you mention in the article is creating an "if so" scenario in your plan and trying to determine when you should bail out and when you should stay on the course. Glad you are continuing on your entrepreneurial journey, Martin.



Written by lyceum
3163 days ago

Bruna: I am motivating myself by reading article like yours!

I wrote on my setbacks and what I have learned from the them in a post ("Five Lessons Learned from my Start-up — And why I’d Do it Again") on Open Forum in 2009.



Written by HeatherStone
3165 days ago

Hi Bruna,

Dealing with setbacks -- and let's just say it, failure -- seems to be pretty critical to business success. Most damaging, I think, is the despondent and aimless feeling that follow a really big loss. The conventional wisdom is to get right back on the horse, but is this really the best advice. Certainly you shouldn't just give up. But do you need time to learn from a particularly large setback?



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Share your small business tips with the community!
Share your small business tips with the community!
Share your small business tips with the community!