Win Some, Lose Some
Win Some, Lose Some. Yes, it is cliche. But, this is true of everything: sports, school, poker, weight, jobs, fantasy football. But, today, I’m talking about owning a business. Depending on how long you’ve been in business will determine how well you’ve learned this. Most business owners can tell you that they’ve had stellar years and they’ve also had sucky years.
The best and brightest don’t always shine…
Here are some people and companies that have faced failure:
- Donald Trump has been bankrupt.
- 3M was very weak financially for it’s first decade. The company could not pay it’s president a salary for the first 11 years.*
- Boeing’s first airplane failed its Navy tests.*
- General Electric faced a cash shortage in 1893 due to the national depression.*
- IBM was almost liquidated after its initial 3 years for poor financial results.*
- Sam Walton lost the lease on his store in 1950 (and thereby lost his store).*
I’ve won and lost some too…
There are years that my business did great and there are others that my business lost money. Yes, it’s an ugly truth. But, it’s the truth. No one wants to lose money on their business. But, even the best laid plans of mice and men sometimes go awry. Sometimes it’s a result of poor planning. Sometimes it’s something out of our control. And, sometimes you take some big risks that don’t work out. It happens.
Don’t aspire towards failure…
Losing money is not something that anyone should aspire towards. I don’t like to hear new business owners tell me, “Well, I figure it’ll take me a few years before I make any money.” WHY? Why set the bar so low? If I’m helping a client with a business plan, I don’t let them accept losing money as an option. Just because many new business owners lose money for a couple years does not mean you should too. You should plan to MAKE money from the get go. You need to create a profitable business model from the start up phase.
When you’ve lost, step back and LEARN…
The worst thing you can do when you’ve lost a hand is continue to play with the same strategy. The most important thing is to step back and look at what you’ve done. Where did you go wrong? Did you have a weak promotional plan? Did a weak operational structure prevent you from fulfilling orders? Did you overspend? Did you have a poor cash flow strategy? Figure out where your business had weaknesses and build upon them.
NEVER EVER continue doing what you are doing if your business is not making money. You will continue to lose money until you refine your business model. The most important thing you can do is reassess your business plan and set new goals. Tweak and fine tune until your loss becomes a win.
Here’s another cliche: I’ve learned a lot from my mistakes. It’s made me wiser, smarter, stronger.
*Source: Built to Last by Jim Collins and Jerry Porras