Failure : The Key to Success
Is there ever any good that comes from failure? Perhaps the answer depends on how you address failure in itself.
In the words of Thomas Edison, American inventor and businessman, “I have not failed, I’ve just found 10,000 ways that wont work.” Failure and success are opposites, but they are the yin and yang of the business world; one cannot exist without the other. Starting a new business always carries the risk of plans not turning out as expected, but people need to re-evaluate how they view “failure.” Most of us think of it in an extremely negative way because of the short-term pain that it brings. Downright dreadful would nicely describe the feeling when one must assess the collapse of a new business venture and coming to terms with it, both emotionally and financially. However, losing is a necessary part of winning. Plainly put, success is unattainable without failure.
As late Computer science professor and author of The Last Lecture, Randy Pausch, so eloquently put it, “Experience is what you get when you don’t get what you want.” Experience is key in knowing how to navigate around problems/obstacles and eventually overcoming them in the business world. Your new business venture has a much higher chance of surviving if you have gone through the agony and sorrows of having one fail before it. The general fear of failing is fueled by all sorts of frightening statistics, for example, only one-third of new businesses actually make it past two years with only 44% surviving up to the four year mark. Zooming in on this statistic alone makes starting a new business look about as appealing as flushing the contents of your bank account(s) down the porcelain goddess. But if you zoom out and think about those failed businesses as important learning experiences for the entrepreneurs who have created great financial empires, it gives that dread of failure a new and different look.
Not only are failed businesses a plus, sometimes they are actually a requirement. Author, entrepreneur, and nationally-syndicated columnist Rhonda Abrams points this out stating, “Indeed many venture capitalists and other investors in entrepreneurial ventures wont provide funds to anyone who hasn’t had at least one failed business.” Now, in no way should one fling him/herself into a poorly thought-out business plan merely to gain the knowledge of failure, for that is not the point. One must always address the measured risk of starting a new business and properly calculate and compare the risks and the rewards. The empire that is Apple Inc. is a great example of taking a failed idea and re-vamping it into a genius one. In 1993, Apple released the Newton, a personal digital assistant (PDA). The Newton failed to catch on and eventually fizzled out and ceased in production. Jump ahead to the now in 2010 and the Apple iPhone is one of the hottest items on the market, also a PDA device. Apple looked at the measured risk in launching both the Newton and the iPhone, but it just so happens that the idea caught on the second time around. Imagine the looks on the Apple exec’s faces when Steve Jobs proposed the idea of trying the PDA idea again. He was surely met with a lack of faith in the idea to say the least.
There is always one thing the aspiring entrepreneur can always count on, and that is a long line of people telling him/her it will never work; and the nay saying will increase with more failed businesses under ones belt. This is especially relevant right now with our struggling economy barely holding its head above water. Why would anyone want to start a new business, in a economy that can hardly sustain the ones that already exist? This question sounds so convincing in deterring anyone from dreaming big and wanting to start a new business, except for one little proven fact: the economy has very little effect on how new businesses play out. According to the data in a Longitudinal Business Database, US census study, small businesses have the same survival rate during recessions and in times of expansion. Strong business plans with strong, driven founders have more to do with success than any other external factor. I will use Microsoft and Apple Inc. to emphasize the truth in this fact. In the 1970’s, America experienced a terrible recession, laying way to the worst financial climate our nation had seen since the Great Depression. Both Apple and Microsoft were founded during this time of economic fear and uncertainty. Apple was founded in 1977 and Microsoft in 1975. These are both great examples that illustrate that successful businesses can be created at the seemingly worst economic times. Surely the founders of both of these computer technology giants had their reserves about the economy, but the fear of failing did not hinder their efforts in creating two of the godfathers of computer technology.
Ultimately in order to achieve the rewards of success, one must see failure as an essential part of it all. With the pain failure brings in business, so comes the experience to avoid similar problems, troubleshoot new ones, and move the business/idea forward into new and exciting endeavors. Simply changing how losing is viewed can make all the difference for both novice and experienced business people alike. Some of the most prolific inventors and entrepreneurs throughout time have had to face doubt and negativity from the rest of the world, but with commitment and good planning, success was soon to follow. Investor/entrepreneur Robert Kioyosaki sums it up ever so nicely, stating that “failure defeats losers, failure inspires winners.” With any business, the knowledge and experience failure brings is what will ultimately harvest the outcomes of success.
contributor .: Nicole Maldonado
