You may be surprised by what causes failure. I’ve become a failure expert over the years. I’ve been a consultant for entrepreneurs and small businesses. I’ve been their coach and freelance writer. Here’s what I learned.
A lack of passion doesn’t cause a business to fail. Nor is it a lack of skill.
In fact, most entrepreneurs are wildly enthusiastic about what they’re doing and they’re good at it too. But that can be what blindsides them. When you’re too invested in what you’re doing, you confuse your business with your baby.
Success requires a different skill than parenting.
Yes you need to love your business. But you need to step back and not see it as a personal thing.
When you see your business as a member of your family, you become controlling. You over tend in areas that you should be outsourcing to someone with more time, energy and skills.
You become protective and defensive when others give you critical insight to what you’re doing wrong.
If you love your business the way you love your children, you’re less apt to see its flaws. You want it to work so badly, that you don’t see what’s not working. You don’t see when it’s time to quit or make necessary changes.
As someone who has been working on writing picture books for the last few years, I understand why it’s so hard. All the time you put in. All the money you invested. But until you’re willing to dispose of old ways that aren’t working anymore, your business will never grow. And growth is essential in every area of our lives. If you’re not growing, you’re not going to survive.
You have to be willing to take your business, see it with critical eyes (and if you can’t hire a consultant or coach to help you) and then do the hard work of saying goodbye to what’s not working.
In fiction, this could mean killing off a character. It could mean completely doing away with the story itself. While doing this will feel painful at first, there’s a light at the end of that tunnel.
If you do what you need to do at all costs, your business won’t fail. You won’t fail. You will have figured out what needed tending and that work will cause your business to succeed. And this will translate to every area of your life whether or not your an entrepreneur, writer or other creative.
Detach from the codependent relationship you have with your creative work. Once you're free, your business will soar.. Share on X
