10 Ways To Recover From Startup Failure
There are all sorts of reasons why your startup might fail, even if you are focused only on the aspects of your startup that can make it successful. Startups have failed because they spent too much money hiring the wrong people, marketing themselves the wrong way, or failing to educate the consumer, for example.
However, there are still ways for entrepreneurs to move on to their next venture. Of course, this does take a certain amount of mental fortitude and persistence. Here are ten ways to recover from startup failure.
1. Make A Plan
There is a good chance that if your startup fails, it will affect your financial situation significantly. Entrepreneurs should understand that they should have some kind of plan in place in order to recover.
One easy way to do this is to examine your skills, browse your contacts, and figure out how much income you can make now that your startup has failed. This plan can go a long way towards recovery.
2. Support
Let’s face it: your startup failing can take its toll, and not just financially. You should turn to friends and family for support and advice, to help you get through the situation. You might even consider seeing a therapist to speak about your experience, as well.
You might feel ashamed, but venting about your experiences can be extremely cathartic. What’s the point of a support system if they can’t support you through a failed startup, after all?
3. Hold Off
One great thing about a startup is that you often meet other entrepreneurs, who are eager to share ideas and strategies. You may find that once your startup fails, other entrepreneurs are contacting you to consult with them or potentially join THEIR company.
You should hold off on making any emotional decisions after your startup fails, because you might be making the move for the wrong reasons. You also might be missing out on large opportunities if you are that eager to take the first job that comes along.
4. Analyze
One of the ways to make sure that you are eventually successful is to not get emotional about your failures.
As a result, you should examine exactly why your startup failed. What did you get wrong? Did you predict the wrong things, and why? Did consumers trust a competitor more? Was it a cash flow issue? Did your employees not fulfill their obligations? This kind of analysis can help you tremendously in the future.
Articles You May Like: https://satishgaire.com/blog/5-ways-to-boost-startup-revenue/
5. Network
There is a very good chance that your next job won’t come from a website, staffing agency, or a cold e-mail. It might come from a friend of yours, or an entrepreneur that you know. You might be embarrassed about your failure, but you need to network now more than ever.
The right event or meetup could lead to a position at a new company that might be more fulfilling. You may be tempted to stay in the house, or shy away from public networking events, but what if your next opportunity can be found at the next networking event?
6. Mental Health
There are all sorts of startup entrepreneurs that end up burning themselves out, and you might even feel more exhausted after failure. You might wish that you could have done something differently with your time and energy, for example.
You should take some time and make sure that your mental health is under control. You might decide to take a vacation, spend time on hobbies, run a marathon, or otherwise – but make sure that your mental state is stable and open to the future.
7. Start Over
You might need a certain amount of time to recover. However, it’s not as if every startup is immediately successful. There are countless entrepreneurs that have failed but have eventually used what they learned to become successful.
The CEO of Instacart, for example, Apoorva Mehta, had plenty of failed startups before Instacart. It is clear that Mehta was able to “start over” – and you should examine whether this is something you are capable of, as well. There may be some leftover emotional baggage, but you might find that it was all worth it in the end.
8. Save What’s Left
Your startup has failed – that’s evident. What now? Well, you should certainly concentrate on salvaging what you can. Is there still equipment that is worth a decent amount of money? You might consider liquidating. What about vehicles or office space? You should certainly do everything that you can to save as many resources as possible. It might end up making the next several months easier. You can also leverage your network to help sell off assets.
9. Remove Negative Energy
There is nothing wrong with pragmatism, or the idea that one should think more practically. However, you might find that there are people that thrive on an “I told you so” mentality, and might actually be glad that you failed.
These kinds of people are definitely toxic, and may be going through their own issues. There is no reason that you should have this negative energy in your life while you are attempting to recover from your failed startup. You should make this clear to friends, family, and others – that you will not tolerate negative energy, and are focused on positive results and developments at this time.
10. Consult With A Mentor
The right mentor can change your entire life. They can teach you valuable advice about business (and life), they can open up their network to you, and can possibly even help find investors for you.
It might be time to speak with a mentor about moving forward. In fact, your mentor might have situations where he or she has failed themselves, and offer some actual insight as to how to overcome failure and move on.
Startups fail all of the time. This certainly doesn’t mean that you stop living, or that the world stops turning. You had some great ideas, and it might have been executed in the wrong way. You may have decided to spend the wrong amount of money, in the wrong places, or on the wrong people.
Life has its obstacles, and a failed startup certainly isn’t a small setback. However, it certainly doesn’t need to define your life – or even your year! You should learn from your mistakes, and get back out there.