"The greatest teacher, failure is" - Yoda
The fear of failure, often unbeknownst to ourselves, underpins so much of our decision-making.
It can stop us pressing our idea in a meeting. Prevent us from straying outside our comfort zone. Or cause us to waste years incubating a business idea that we never bring to fruition. Fear of failure finds excuses not to take action. Excuses are plentiful, aren’t they? As are nay-sayers.
I have found that simply accepting that one might fail, and recognising the lessons learned from trying something that doesn’t succeed, can bring growth in profound and unpredictable ways.
In my first graduate position at Xerox I had a business idea. Despite embarking on a career in the technology industry, my true passion was - well – food. I had the idea to create meal-kits. Packaging together ingredients to create delicious meals from around the world.
Today, supermarkets are full of these. Not so 3 decades ago. However, it only took one or two nay-sayers to prevent me from exploring the idea further. ‘You’re too inexperienced and what do you know about running such a business?’ ‘It’s too big of a gamble, concentrate on your day-job’.
Fast-forward to 2013, then successfully working as a contractor for Microsoft and running my own marketing agency. My interest in the food industry never left me and as a side venture I diversified to create ‘SuperFood Club’ – healthy ready-meals for kids.
I leveraged my agency’s graphic designers and developers in India to create the brand and website (although building an eCommerce site was a new one for us). But this was all me, my idea, my recipes, my cooking, my passion. I set up a commercial kitchen, took the necessary certifications, developed the meals and invested in the packaging equipment. How did my new business do?
Well, it failed.
If I wanted a small lifestyle business involving me spending hours every week slaving in a kitchen for very little margin – okay. But my vision was always much bigger. Ultimately, the barriers to entry to supermarkets, investment challenges to produce the volume required and the tiny margins in the industry made me accept that it just was not viable.
What did I learn? So much!
- Laying demons to rest - I learnt that sometimes just ‘scratching that itch’ is worth doing. And after this venture I had renewed energy for my core business
- Understanding your priorities - I learned what my priorities really were at that stage of my life with two small children: to run a business that was lucrative above all else
- Let a hobby be a hobby - Yes, I had a passion for cooking, and still do, but turning that into a business actually curbed my enjoyment of it!
- Industry experience - I gained a deep understanding of what it takes to launch a start-up in the FMCG industry
- A narrow escape - rather amusingly, I applied to the TV show ‘The Apprentice’ with this idea – reaching the final 30 in the auditions from 34,000 applicants. I quickly discovered I’m not as comfortable in front of a TV camera as I thought, and I was not prepared to leave my small children to grapple with celebrity hungry entrepreneurs no matter how appealing Lord Alan Sugar’s investment!
In summary, I will always look on that 1-year investment of my time and energy in a positive light. I tried. I failed. Today, my coaching practice is richer for those experiences, risks and failures. For the things I did, despite the fear; not for the things I didn’t, because of the fear.
We need to normalize ‘trying and failing’ in our mindsets, for our children, in our workplaces. My 12-year old daughter trains Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Before every class she feels the fear but she still faces it despite being beaten every time lately. She’s always learning.
Having the courage to make brave, bold decisions, or small ones of which we are fearful, will – one way or another - enrich our lives, enhance our growth, and encourage us to be lighter of spirit.
Will you dare to fail?