Business Lesson: Fail Early

To put it simply, failing early means learning to let go when its time to. This is really more an emotional issue than anything else.

I am reminded of the “Serenity Prayer”:

“Lord, give me the serenity to accept the things i cannot change.
The strength to change the things i can.
And the wisdom to know the difference.”

The step of failing early (letting go) takes a lot more wisdom and emotional strength than what we humanly possess.

I am certainly not asking you to bail out at the first sign of trouble. What i am advocating is emotional detachment from the business entity - to wear the hat of “Investor” - when analyzing your business at all stages of its development.

For entrepreneurs, start-ups are like our babies. We hatched the brilliant, earth shaking idea and we want it to succeed beyond our wildest dreams. Unfortunately, things don’t always happen the way we planned it to.

When a company is doing well, continuing the business is a no-brainer. However, when the business is not doing well… its a little bit more sticky. Do i persevere in the failing business hoping for a light at the end of the tunnel? Or do i cut my losses and move on? Here’s where your EQ (emotional quotient) and emotional detachment comes in.

I developed many new business ideas that i eventually had to let go of. One of them was for an events company that specializes in conferences targeted at women in the work place. We went as far as contacting Amelia Henry (last woman standing in the first season of “The Apprentice”) to be the keynote speaker for our inaugural conference. We planned for financing schemes, publicity & marketing strategies and even spent money for a corporate retreat at Kota Tinggi.

Although we were sure of the market potential for this venture, other factors - quality of speakers, commitment level of the business partners, availability of good conference venues - came into play. I concluded that it was a good project but the timing wasn’t right and we don’t have the right team for the job. So even though it was my idea, i decided to give it up (or at least put it in the back burner for the time being).

By far, the biggest benefit of failing early is that it will give you a chance to regroup and refocus on your mission. To start work on your next start-up idea.

But please, no quitters here.

Next: Part 3 - Fail Responsibly