Dancing with Disaster
I recently heard of the closing of a friend’s gastro brewpub, and it stirred more in me than I’d like to admit. As an entrepreneur, business owner, and someone with insight into various client’s businesses- this cuts deep. The idea that even with a great idea, great product, and great clientele that you can still go out of business strikes at the core. We often look at businesses that fail as having a fundamental issue – whether in delivery, pricing, staffing, or technical capabilities. We look for a reason as that makes it easier to process. We tell ourselves that we won’t fail because we don’t have that specific problem (or we’ll fix it if we do). We rationalize how others may fail but that we, as business owners, won’t.
Yet, good companies close. Good companies with great people who worked their asses off will still fail. This harsh reality is hard for us to process, as we must admit that it could happen to us. We could do all the right things and still fail. That’s the nature of business. It’s risky as hell, and sometimes timing and luck are the most important determining factors of success or failure. That feels out of our control. That feels arbitrary. Those are feelings that can keep us up at night.
Give an entrepreneur a problem, and they will solve it. Give them the luck of the draw odds, and it can feel daunting. But yet…they persist. Starry-eyed new business owners launch new endeavors every day, no matter the economy, no matter the conditions. Never underestimate the power of the good idea and the drive of an entrepreneur. One thing you can do is give them your faith, give them your support, and give them the benefit of the doubt. They are fighting against the current, and while some will absolutely rocket to their success, some will inevitably sink. Yet they at least dared to take the leap of faith and try.
In the spirit of support and faith, tag your favorite, hard-working, business buds below. We could all use a little extra oomph on our journeys to the top.
