Introduction

Society places a lot negative stigma on individuals that have failed in businesses, individuals that were terminated from their jobs and individuals that dropped out of college. In fact, the negative connotation remains with them for a very long time which can have a detrimental impact on them and they end up giving up on trying new ventures. On the other hand, individuals can use these negative stigmas as drivers to push them ahead and start all over again into another business opportunity. Which category are you in?

Never stop pursuing your passion even when you encounter failures. Try over and over again until it becomes a success even if it means trying it a different way. Believe in what you are doing and be confident that what you are pursuing is what you want to do and not want others want you to do.

Always remember that some of the most successful business people in the world today did not have success initially. They made many attempts and failed at them but in the end, they became very successful. Learn from your failures in life and use them as opportunities to embark on successful projects in the future.

Failed Business

There is a politician on the opposition team who lost one of his major business in the hospitality industry. He has been labelled as failure by some critics and some even stated that he should not be given a ministerial position. Likewise, there is a politician on the government team who also faced some business failures and he too was labelled as unstable and cannot handle money. Quite frankly, I admired these two politicians who took the bold step to become entrepreneurs. It is really easy to criticize someone for a failed business especially by persons who never had a business or took the risk to start one. The fact that someone starts a business in itself is a great initiative. We need more entrepreneurs. There is no guarantee you will be successful when you start a business.  I would rather recruit someone who failed then to recruit someone that does not have any experience.

Termination from Job

As harsh as they may sound, sometimes it takes termination from a job to allow you to focus on your real purpose. Many of us are on jobs we do not enjoy. If we are terminated, we may be force to search for our true purpose and in the end become very successful. We can conclude then that there are advantages of losing a job. If you are not terminated, you may never leave and become very comfortable with your salary and of course be very unhappy. Based on research, Steve Jobs was fired from Apple. However, that did not stop him and so he formed another company called NEXT which was later purchased by Apple. Steve joined the Apple company again and became the CEO and is accredited for the success of Apple today. Steve noted the following when he was fired.

“I didn’t see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.”

College Drop out

While I encourage everyone to go to college or a technical school to obtain the knowledge and qualifications to become better employees or employers, however, if someone drops out of college, it is not the end of the world.  I caution you not to just stay out of college and not do anything. Do something. Once you pursue your passion, your passion will make room for you to become prosperous.

Steve Jobs dropped out of college at age 19 and became a millionaire at age 21.

Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard University and develop Microsoft

Mark Zuckerberg who founded Facebook dropped out of Harvard University and is now the 5^th wealthiest person.

Why Failures Take Place?

Failure takes place because of several reasons such as follows:

• People are not interested in what they are doing and so they have no passion.
• Individuals comingle business funds with personal funds.
• The industry is very competitive and the competition is underpricing its products and services
• Not having the right team
• Too many employees
• Not studying or understanding your industry
• No money
• Family Emergencies

How to Try Again?

• Do an analysis of why you failed and do not make the same mistakes twice.
• Ensure that you are passionate about what you are doing. If you have passion, you will not give up. You will be successful.
• Do not listen to the naysayers. Thomas Edison was referred to as dumb when he was a child. He failed many times but he invented the light bulb.
• Tell your story about why you fail and perhaps even make money from it so people can learn. You can use the money to start a business again.
• Do a lot of research. Understand your business.
• Be Aggressive. Take risks and be innovative.
• If you have land, do not use your entire land for your project, subdivide a part of it and keep it in the event you fail.
• Don’t rush too big. Start small and then gradually become big.
• Find a partner but make sure you are the majority shareholder and make sure you understand your business.
• Do not give up.
• Ensure that you have a realistic and measurable business plan.
• Try to build up your personal finances. This means you may have to go back and work for someone until you are able to be in a better financial position.

Conclusion

I hope after reading this article that we remove the negative stigma associated with individuals that failed in business or were terminated from their jobs. These individuals have more experience than many of you who never had a business. Therefore, they can learn from these failures and start again until they become a success story.  I encourage society to stop labelling individuals as failures. Too many of us are comfortable working for someone else. Start your own business and see the challenges you have the face and of course the rewards you will gain. Failing at something is a learning experience. Just don’t quit. Keep trying.