Flipping America 258, Why We Fail

Jun 25, 2019

Today we are going to talk about failure. Most of us have been there - especially if you have ever launched your own business. According to Forbes 80% of all new businesses fail within 18 months. This is a bit concerning but it’s not all bad. Some of the greatest businesses and business success stories were built on the ashes of a previous failure. I know there are some of you listening right now who are struggling with feelings of failure. You’ve been working at this, or whatever, for awhile now and you’re not one of those “success stories” you read and hear about. You go online and see the carefully curated presentations of the successes of others and wonder why it isn’t happening to you. The urge is to just give in to self doubt, conclude that you’re not cut out for this, owning a business, entrepreneurship, and financial freedom just isn’t a part of your destiny. Listen - everyone has been there. Think about the successful people you admire (and perhaps secretly envy). They may ooze confidence and seem to have the perfect life. But I promise you they have dealt with every point I’m going to bring up today and the success they now enjoy came through soul-searching, struggle, some degree of self-doubt, stress, and persistence. It did NOT come to them because of a government program, loan, bailout, or training program. Success arises from within - both the knowledge needed for success and the inner drive that motivates effort. I see new faces in my meetings every week and I’m always glad to welcome everyone to the party. But I usually know within a few moments of conversation whether someone is going to make it in the real estate business. Why? Because I’ve been observing, noting, learning, correlating certain attitudes and behaviors with success for years now. In a few moments I’m going to break down the top twenty reasons for my own failures and the failures of those I observe.

Topic: Why We Fail

First let’s do some sorting.

• Testing various solutions to find what works doesn’t equal failure. That’s just a way of finding what doesn’t work on the way to finding what DOES work.
• Failing at one task or skill set doesn’t make you a failure. No one can do everything and everyone is a unique combination of strengths and weaknesses.
• A business failure does not make you a failure. It happens to the best and brightest.
• A relationship failure does not make you a failure.
• A combination of life failures - mistakes - errors - even willful wrong-doing does not necessarily make you a failure.
• Pain is not failure. Neither is suffering.
• Poverty is not failure. And money is not necessarily success.

You are failure only when “failure” is your end result. And if you are listening to this today you are not yet at your end. So hang on and see if we can identify with my top 20 reasons we fail.

 

1. We don’t start. We think about it, dream about. Perhaps even get a website (or 50) and form an LLC. Read, study, talk, get business cards and imprinted shirts. But never launch.
2. We have a solution without a problem. There’s no market desire for what we are selling.
   1. Startup considerations.
   2. Making profit
   3. Scaling
   4. Staffing
   5. Financial obligations
   6. Taxation
   7. Business planning, forecasting
3. We don’t understand business.
   1. How to hire,
   2. How to supervise,
   3. How to manage
   4. How to lead
4. We don’t understand THIS business. You don’t know what you don’t know.
5. Wrong Team. We start the business with a friend or a significant other and the relationship is the only criteria.
6. No team. We try to go it alone. The problem is, no one is good at everything.
7. We let our lack of knowledge keep us from taking a chance.
8. We are woefully underfunded.
9. We stop planning - revising, testing, planning more.
   1. Time required
   2. Difficulties encountered
   3. Actual profits vs. projections
10. Unrealistic expectations (check mark projections)
11. Lack of self-knowledge. Especially when it comes to weaknesses / blind spots.
12. “If I build it they will come” mentality.
13. We get out-hustled. We just don’t know what hard work looks like. The hardest thing in your life when you were 5 looks like child’s play to you now. And if you haven’t put in 6 straight weeks of 12 hour days of actual work (not social media surfing in-between meetings), what you call “hard work” is child’s play to someone who is out-hustling you.
14. We peck around the edges. Seminar here, meeting there, talk about the future a lot.
15. Quest for perfection. Get everything set up just right.
16. We ignore the need for marketing.
17. We don’t understand or we ignore our customers.
18. Surprised by and unprepared for challenges.
19. Overconfidence when it starts going well.
20. They give up.

 

 

• “I have not yet reached all my goals. And by far the most important word in that sentence is ‘yet’”.
  -Roger Blankenship