Coping with Business Failures!

[lokesh05]

Some of us must have faced failures in our Business ventures once in life! :(

How does one cope with such failures, where you have invested but couldn't get much in return! and the Big plan you thought of,.... just FAILED!

I got support of my relatives and friends during my hard times, when everything i seemed to be doing just failed! :)

Anyone else has his/her experience to share?

[pendelton]

I know about business failure.

Brick and mortar store #1 driven went out of business when a Wal Mart moved in, I lasted about three months after they opened the doors. I could not make an order large enough to even get the products I was selling at the price they sold it for.

Brick and mortar store #2 was killed by the city I had it in. A major road construction project was moved ahead with very little warning. I had to park two blocks away and walk the rest of the way. No funds were available to move right away, and when I did have them the others along the several blocks of useless road had already moved. The building owner was not forgiving either.

I've also had several partnered businesses that have failed. I've had two that I myself have made bad choices for. Then I have to include the many I have gotten right to the start point, only to have them fall through.

The last one I was smart and sold it when I could see the forecast. A second Wal Mart Super Center is opening in my area, which will kill a lot of the smaller businesses again.

No I am thinking of starting a new business, I just haven't decided on what exactly yet. I do have a few options I am debating on.

The key thing is to never give up trying, if you do you have hit the ultimate failure.

[Fergal]

I'd agree with pendelton, you haven't failed until you give up.

Dust yourself off and start again, if you're lucky you'll have the support of good friends and family.

[Thanoz]

Well, you might have failed sometimes actually, when you invest money on a project and you end bankrupt, having lost all your money. Can't think of a way hope or more (desperate) trials would help..
Anyway, since i've faced failure myself in different aspects of my life, i would like first to mention that each person has its own way to copy with that awful feeling of failure.
I personally sit down on a chair, analyzing what went wrong and trying to learn from my mistakes.
It is said(at least in my country) that whatever doesn't kill you..makes you stronger ;)
Keep that in mind mate, next time you may fail(although i hope this next time doesn't come :) )

[Nazreen]

I won't deny that support from family and friends is really important when your business fails, but for me support from God is the most important.

When your business fails, there is one very important lesson that you mustn't forget and that is "why did your business fail?". If you know the answer to that question then you're one step towards success when you start your next business. Do you know why? It's because you have gained something that you didn't have when you started your earlier failed business. And what is that, you might ask. The thing you gained is "KNOWLEDGE". No one's perfect and everyone makes a mistake but you should never forget the lesson you gained when you made a mistake.

There's one thing my grandma always told me, "Don't engage in a business that you know nothing about". Gain knowledge first and after that start your business.

[Footzilla]

If you are getting a lot of support from your parents then it's great for you but if your parents are not encouraging you, then that's not a big deal. You should never give up. One day you would be successful only if you don't give up to the end.

[Nazreen]

I would like to add that our parents or our loved ones might not always support us when we're down on our luck and our business fails. When I was just starting as an independent financial adviser, I had problems getting leads and my confidence was at an all time low. Instead of my dad encouraging me, he even scolded.

My dad said...

"I told you so. You will never succeed in this line! Why don't you just quit your job and apply for a job in Australian school. Be a teacher's aide!"

With the support of my husband and God, luckily I didn't give up and I'm doing quite okay now. Sometimes, our loved ones will be the ones who will restrict us because they love us very much. In their love for us, they try to protect us especially from risks. What my dad didn't know is that it is only through taking risks that anyone will succeed!

[Fergal]

It is interesting that you write about the importance of family support when starting or managing a small business. I know an author who has written a book on this very subject - My Family Doesn't Understand Me (http://www.yankyfachler.com/author1.html).

[Nazreen]

Oh, I thought the book "My Family Doesn't Understand Me! Coping strategies for entrepreneurs" is an online book or a free ebook that I can download :(
Anyway, thanks Fergal for sharing the title of the book. I'll also try to search this at our library and local bookstores in Singapore.

[Fergal]

I'm surprised that you can't purchase his books directly from the website. Some of them are available on Amazon, however.

[Nazreen]

I'm surprised that you can't purchase his books directly from the website. Some of them are available on Amazon, however.

Actually, I don't want to purchase any books. I'm a cheapskate I know hahaha but the library system here in Singapore is one of the world's best, very advanced and also contains most of the latest books with maybe just a delay of around 3-6 months after the book launching, before they acquire these.

They don't have the book you mentioned in our national library so I just have to make do with other alternative business or marketing books :)

[burnt]

Stay away from franchises, they promise the world and deliver nothing, essentially you are nothing more than middle management spending endless hours and money building your corporate offices wealth.

MYTH
Statistics show a franchise is more successful than running it on your own

FACT
By law the Franchisor does NOT have to disclose the following
1)Number of franchises sold
2)Number of franchises closed down
4)Number of franchises transferred

If one franchise is transferred 4 times, that is 4 failures that are never talked about, if it is successful head office takes credit, if it is not they blame the franchisee

At best with small ones you work 70-80 hours a week and will pull in a wage of 40 K.

Corporate makes more money frmo 2 failed fracnhisees' than from one succesful one
Why?
CHURNING! Let them close and they will re-sell the same area off at a later time..

They offer little to no support, this particualt one decided on radio advertising, wihich was meant to be optiiona, we said no not interested, they then did it anyway and sent us the bill!
Franchisees have no rights.........
By the time they are done screwing you over you have not 1 cent to even take legal action

They often advertise no business experience required, - that's because they know if you had business experience you would not touch them with a ten foot pole, they prey on peoples ignorance and inexperience with terms like - work your own hours, be your own boss, have financial freedom.......
crap crap crap

Franchise = glorified pyramid schemes, using the poorer to line the pockets of the rich
STAY AWAY PLEASE

[Nazreen]

First of all, I want to welcome you to the Business Advice Forums burnt. Enjoy your stay here.

I guess that what you said about franchises is quite true. This might also be the main cause for a lot of business failures but there are always exceptions to this rule. Let's take a look at the case of 7 Eleven. The 7 Eleven Franchise is one of the best franchises in the whole world and it has made a lot of franchisees very successful.

[Fergal]

Hi burnt and welcome to Business Advice Forum, thanks for joining. You make some very good points and what you say is true of many franchises. However, as Nazreen states there are some good franchises out there that can provide a good stepping stone into business. They provide strong branding and support to their franchisees.

When deciding on a franchise you need to be very careful that you choose the one that is right for you and one that is dissimilar from the type burnt speaks about. You should talk to existing franchisees to gain their opinion on the franchise. Try to talk to ones that have been established for some time and try to talk to them on a one to one basis, and assure them that you will treat their views and opinions with the strictest confidence.

[Nazreen]

Yes, the first thing that you need to do is to gain some knowledge on what kind of franchise you want to setup. After you did your research, then it's time to choose the right franchiser. As Fergal has said, the best thing you can do is to talk to existing franchisees. You can also do research in the internet to see what people are saying about a particular franchiser. The two most important factors to consider when deciding a good franchiser are (1) must have a good reputation, and (2) must have a proven track record.