Failure: Dark Path or Bright Future?

Ten years ago I had my first up-close experience with business failure. I was consulting with a small business owner who had been in business for 25 years. Unfortunately, by the time he called me in to help, 25 years of small failures had built up inside of him with no place to vent or dissipate, and he was emotionally "over" the business. And it showed ... his profitability was in the toilet.

I tried everything I knew to revitalize the business: sales programs, financial reorganization, marketing programs, and employee programs. But in the end, there was no changing my client's broken spirit - it trickled down to the 30 employees and hundreds of customers, derailing every program we implemented.

He made the difficult choice to sell the business for a fire-sale price and walked away with very little.

I felt devastated by his loss. Interestingly, when the dust died down, he felt free. Facing failure head-on and conceding defeat allowed him to finally move on with his life. 

My client was done. He was no longer engaged in his business. He just wanted out, and after selling the business he was happier than I had ever seen him before. Shortly thereafter, he began again, building another small business that was a better fit for his interests and has flourished ever since.

By facing failure head-on, he was able to lose his baggage and start something fresh, new, and infinitely more rewarding than what he had before.

Next time you feel afraid of failure, consider whether failure could equal freedom and new opportunity. Is there something that can only be achieved via the dark path of failure? What bright future is waiting for you?

Virginia Ginsburg is founder and chief consultant at Swell Strategies. She is passionate about supporting small business owners and entrepreneurs in starting and running successful enterprises. An avid reader, in this blog she reviews books and articles and relates specific learning points back to entrepreneurial businesses.