As a seasoned entrepreneur, I thought I could beat the odds. I knew the statistics: only one in three businesses with over 100 employees would be sold when put on the market. But I thought that because I knew the odds and I was taking small steps to prepare the business for continued success-I’d for sure make it and when ready to sell it would be a no brainer!
“I’m smarter than most business owners, my positive attitude can’t be beat, my knowledge about the supplement industry, my skills and the fact that my chemist was my husband and partner—they’ll protect me from failure,” so I thought. In retrospect, my optimism was completely unfounded. I was blinded and refused to see what was happening.
It all started with my biggest account and my mouthy x-husband. Someone within their company threatened to shut us down within 6 months due to statements that my husband was spouting out on some bodybuilding site. I just shook my head and thought…boys will be boys. But to my surprise, 6 months later, our products were pulled from their website and the customer refused to return our product or pay the $120k they owed us. This was the beginning of the end!
If you’re an entrepreneur you’ve probably heard why it’s okay to “fail” in business, that it’s a sign of growth. To many business owners, failure is almost like a badge of some sort. I can understand that sentiment if I am looking at it from a male perspective, but I didn’t quite see it that way. Losing everything and I do mean everything that I had spent 15 years working on, really sucked and I was left completely broken for a long time! From the business to the house, vacation homes, cars, toys, and pride, it hurt like a mother!
It’s one of the scariest and most gut-wrenching experiences a business owner can ever go through. And I don’t ever want that to go through it again. But one thing I can say about losing my business, is it surely made me humble as hell. As you can well imagine, you get a huge slap in the face, suddenly you aren’t as untouchable as you’d thought. Money is flowing, business is good, then overnight, gone!
Embrace Humility
I read this on a post from John Rampton who had gone through the same loss. He states in his article that researchers at the University of Washington and State University of New York at Buffalo discovered that “humble people tend to make the most effective leaders and are more likely to be high performers in both individual and team settings.” It isn’t about having low self-esteem, either. Humble leaders are simply more compassionate and focused on the welfare of the group they lead than on their own status.
Lay Low and Refocus
Once I got over the initial shock of failure, I tried to start 2 more businesses with 2 separate friends. They didn’t’ work out. I was doing all the work and their dedication was not like mine, it was almost like a side gig to them and I cut my ties and losses with each. So, now, gun shy to make any type of move and penniless, I took 2 years off and went back to work for someone else. I work for someone else which is really hard but something that needs to be done, 40 hour week, and have free time to boot! With my free time, what I found was I was able to connect with people I hadn’t seen in months or even years. Something I hadn’t done in years because my mind set was “all business!” I enjoyed moments that I didn’t realize I’d been missing out on. And it was during this time that I realized how important it is to step away from your business periodically. These days, I no longer work 24/7. I make it a point to spend time with my friends and family and for that I consider what has happened a “GIFT!”
Capture Your Creativity Again
Spending some time alone can be a good thing. In fact, it can even boost your creativity. This is a big deal when you’re planning your next move after losing your business. But human beings are wired for social contact. Face-to-face contact has even been found to improve our moods and boost productivity at work according to John Rampton.
Don’t underestimate the role that good or bad luck can play.
You can’t control everything—even solid plans can fail when you’re hit with an outside event. Not even mammoths like Apple are invulnerable.
Your business should always be sale-ready.
You never know when an offer might come your way. If you’re prepared, you’ll know how to take advantage of that opportunity. Have a plan and be prepared!
Don’t tolerate pushback from your partners if you know something has to change.
I knew we needed to diversify. I put it in my business plan and introduced bonuses based on it, but we became more vulnerable instead of less so because it was the revenue path of least resistance. I should have been more firm and forced the change.
Know when to cut your losses and get out.
Assess the situation to determine if it’s blind optimism or objective confidence encouraging you to keep going. Ask for—and listen to—outside advice from someone who really understands business. I wish I would have done this instead of sink every last penny into holding onto something that was already dead. Lesson Learned!
My Crohnstipated Life 
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