9 Ways to Recover When Your Start-up Suffer Setbacks
Reading Time: 5 minutes Even the greatest of entrepreneurs are not immune to business failures. For start-ups, however, it’s especially hard when things don’t go as planned. No matter how much time you’ve devoted to build a great start-up team and develop a product with a strong market fit, there’s always a chance that something will go wrong at some point in time.
Business failures are inevitable, but it’s how you deal with the setback that makes all the difference. Don’t let your mistakes drive you into losing interest in your start-up. It’s all about using what you learned from your failures and bouncing back to grow your business better. Here are some points to ponder to help you recover when your startup suffers setbacks.
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Embrace the Setbacks as Opportunities to Learn
According to the Harvard Business Review, one of the most exceptional habits of top leaders is that they just don’t accept failure; they also encourage it. This way, they help members of their team overcome their shortcomings by looking for ways to do things better.
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The faster you accept what has happened, the easier it will be to get your company back on track. Instead of pitying yourself and your team, try to channel your emotions towards finding solutions to the problems that caused the failure. This way, you’ll be more motivated to run your company with a smart and strategic approach.
Learn from the Experiences of Others
There are many amazing stories of start-ups that went through a series of setbacks before finally reaching success. Seek guidance from business mentors and advisors who can give you constructive feedback. You’ll get valuable advice from experts who have been in similar situations. Plus, you’ll get the right encouragement and reassurance to keep you going amid tough problems.
Assess Your Processes and Cut Out What Does Not Work
Take time to carefully assess the internal and external aspects of your business to help you figure out what is going wrong. It takes a lot of humility for business leaders to take a few steps back, but it will pay off in the long run. An objective analysis of your business systems will reveal important details. These may include extra expenses you may have been wasting your money on and unnecessary processes that slowed down your operations.
Secure Funds to Keep the Business Running
Be disciplined in managing and using your start-up’s money and avoid accounting mistakes. Having a consistent cash flow will help you pay expenses and buy you time, especially during that crucial phase of when you’re still recovering from setbacks.
There will be moments when you’ll be forced to spend less, but it will be to your advantage if you focus your spending on what’s necessary. Having a cash flow forecast will help you keep track of the money that you’re getting and spending. To maintain your financial buffer, be diligent in following up customers with delayed payments, sending out invoices on time, and paying your bills promptly.
Focus on Your Company’s Strengths
One way to motivate and build a great start-up team is by focusing on the services that differentiate you from other similar companies in the market. One thing that holds start-ups back is thinking that they have to do many things all at once. Instead of the do-it-all mentality, try to focus on the unique products and services that your company does best for your customers.
Always keep your customers and target markets at the core of your business. While it’s good to reflect on your recurring customers and what keeps them engaged with your products and services, it’s also good to ponder on the things that leave customers unsatisfied with your offerings. By considering your clients’ points of view, you’ll get valuable insights to help your start-up stand out from the rest.
Always be Prepared for the Worst-Case Scenarios
Don’t be too hard on yourself when the going gets tough. Use the setbacks you have experienced to build your character, strength, and resilience. These traits will make you better prepared to overcome struggles once the failure gets worse.
Running a start-up business comes with facing a wide array of variables you cannot control. These include fluctuating markets, losing inventories, unsatisfied customers, and many more. To handle these situations properly, you and your team must have systems in place once failure hits. This may include holding regular meetings to address the loopholes in your marketing strategy and improving them to increase customer engagements.
Take Calculated Risks
More often than not, recovering from business failures entails making bold decisions. But, before changing your strategy, make sure that you have carefully assessed all the possible consequences.
Stepping out of your comfort zone requires a thorough analysis of the options available. Do not think twice about consulting experts, business mentors, and colleagues to get their two cents on the move you are about to make. You may also need to test your strategy by investing in sample runs. This way, you can gauge whether or not it is viable to push through with your new plan.
Set Realistic and Achievable Goals
When things go in a downward spiral, there’s a tendency for you to lose track of the goals that you want to achieve for your start-up. This is an excellent time to evaluate the goals that you started with, determine which ones you will keep, and develop an action plan for reaching those goals.
Be specific about what you want to accomplish. Ask yourself if you have the time, tools, and resources necessary to turn those goals into reality. Break down the steps that you need to work on to achieve your goals. Set deadlines for each milestone and keep track of your progress.
Move Forward with a Positive Mindset
Setbacks may cast doubts about your ability to run your start-up, but don’t let a series of failures make you give in to defeat. All great start-ups went through a significant number of rejections before seeing their ideas blossom into success. There’s no reason for you to believe that bouncing back is not possible. With strong determination and perseverance, you’ll be able to make the most out of that unique opportunity to pivot your start-up to success
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Co-Authored With
Chris is a Content Writer at myBusiness Academy and a contributing writer to various business and finance blogs. He is into running and challenges people at the park to stare down contests in his free time
