Being ready for victory means we won’t have the patience, energy, and belief required to overcome obstacles. Only when we prepare ourselves for defeat can we win. We talked to Fred Cary, the CEO of IdeaPros, about why so many first-time entrepreneurs snatch defeat from the jaws of victory instead of doing it the other way around.
Learn To Deal With Failure
When you are an entrepreneur, failure can happen at any time. Whether you are ordering prototypes, designing software, finding new partners, solving finances, things will go wrong and they do. What makes all the difference between the companies that have made it and the ones that didn’t is how they dealt with failures.
“The number one thing that’s consistent in every single type of company that you run is problems.” – Fred Cary
Whether you deal with science or a shovel, you will have problems and you won’t anticipate most of them. You can face your issues in two ways:
- Ask yourself how that happened to you
- Understand that you are trying to do something nobody else has ever done
Just remember that among all those opportunities to fail, there is an opportunity to succeed. Learn from them.
“Failures are the potholes on your road to success.” – Fred Cary
Don’t Control The Uncontrollable
Anticipate that the process will take too long and cost too much. Suppliers and manufacturers will disappear when you want to order or that there might be a pandemic that shuts the entire world. You cannot control the micro and macro issues you will run into.
“The only thing that’s controllable is your mindset and the way you’re going to address the problems.” – Fred Cary
Understand that the world hasn’t come together against you, it is the way the world works.
Work On Your Mindset
A day without anything bad happening is a special day when you are an entrepreneur. Celebrate the little wins, so you have something good to think about when things get tough. Expect things to go wrong and when they do, look for solutions instead of feeling sorry for yourself. It is the only way to get back on track. Remember, the normal process means there will be issues. When you prepare for them, you don’t waste your time blaming anyone else. Surround yourself with people who can offer a different perspective and help you solve the problem.
“Embrace all the stress and issues, solve them daily, and you will make it.” – Fred Cary
Focus On The Positive
Have a little journal where you can write down your plans, micro-goals, your purpose, and incorporate them in everything you do. Don’t lose faith when things go badly. Focusing on the negative can only have negative results. Learn what you need to do to make things happen and forget what didn’t go down the way you wanted it to. As long as you have a good idea, you are in a good place and have a team to support you, you are on the right path. Maybe it won’t happen in your timeline, but if you have the fortitude, the integrity and you stick to it, you WILL make it.
Be Ready To Fight
If you go into a ring where nobody’s trying to punch you, you are in the wrong game. Having no competition means you are probably building something no one wants. When creating something that will change or advance the sector, bruises, and bumps are essential for the win. And remember, an average entrepreneur fails three times before success. A quitter fails one time and never becomes successful.
The “Idea Pros” at IdeaPros have the resources, experience, and tools to help you at this step or any step in the entrepreneurial journey. We partner with entrepreneurs at any stage and who are ready to invest their ideas. Apply for an interview and let’s explore partnering together.