Have you ever put a new idea out there — a new class, blog post, product, or coaching package — and not gotten the instant, positive response you expected?
(No need to be embarrassed. It’s happened to everyone.)
I’m curious: what happened next?
Did you burst into tears, have a little freak out, and declare that you’re quitting your business for good?
(Don’t worry if you did. We’ve all been there.)
Or, did you cock your head like my dog does at strange noises, curious as to why you didn’t get the results you hoped for, then set out to investigate with enlightened non-attachment?
If the first sounds familiar and the second sounds foreign, it’s time to learn a new approach. I have a game-changing technique I guarantee will help you see any unexpected, less-than-fabulous results in a stress-free, drama-free new way.
(Unless, of course, you prefer frustration, big upsets, and tantrums… It’s your choice.)
My First Big Failure
Back when I was starting out, I poured hundreds of hours into creating my first product. It was painstaking work, and I did everything I could to make it absolutely perfect.
Launch day arrived. I emailed my list, posted it on Facebook, and kept a close eye on my email, ready for the first purchase confirmations to roll in. Guess how many sales closed?
Zero.
Day two? Zilch.
Day three? One!
Then every day after that? Nada.
Considering that I was trying to make a living with my business, this situation left me full of doubt and fearful of my ability to pay the mortgage!
If people weren’t buying this labor of love, what the heck did they want from me?
But for all my self-criticism, I missed the most important step: troubleshooting the problem.
The only thing stronger than my doubt should have been my curiosity. I should have asked, “Why did no one click ‘Buy Now’?”
There are dozens of possible reasons why my product didn’t sell, but I jumped hastily to a conclusion that I created the wrong thing. Maybe it was true, but maybe it wasn’t. I’ll never know because I didn’t get curious enough.
The Game-Changing Reset Button
When it comes to trying new things in our businesses, entrepreneurs can learn a lot from another sphere of professionals: scientists.
A scientist views her work objectively, with an “I’ll give it my best shot and see what happens” attitude. If she mixes two chemicals and the solution turns an unexpected color, she doesn’t take it personally.
Instead, she investigates what happened and determines her next steps.
It’s exactly this approach that will save you from freak-outs in your business. Because when you stop taking every result personally, you open yourself up to new possibilities, ideas, and opportunities. It’s the reset button your brain needs when dealing with failures.
Unfortunately, I missed this whole concept when I was first starting as an entrepreneur, even though I used to run scientific experiments for a living!
Working Like a Scientist
With my first product launch, if I had put on my scientist’s hat, I could have seen this so-called failure from an entirely different angle. An angle that would have been far more useful than worry and panic. One that would have helped me learn from my mistakes and improve things in the future.
You see, a scientist knows better than to let her experimental results mean anything about her as a professional or a person. She makes notes about the outcome and how it was different from her hypothesis. After all, it’s an experiment. She knows she may not hit it on the first try.
In fact, she must experiment in order to figure out what works and what doesn’t. It’s an essential part of learning.
Many entrepreneurs, on the other hand, don’t see failures as an essential part of learning. With their first product launch, their first time offering their services, or practically anything they do for the first time, they expect big things to happen right out the gate. Then, if and when failure hits, they make two very big mis-steps.
First, they take it personally, making it mean they are failures as people.
When we look at everything we do in our business as a reflection of who we are as people, we’re relying on our business to validate our emotional well-being. That’s just asking for a bruised ego!! After all, expectations without experimentation is a recipe for disappointment.
Second, they jump to quick conclusions, such as “the pricing is wrong,” “I’m in the wrong niche,” or “I’m offering the wrong thing.”
Although some of those conclusions may be true, your first assumption about your lack of sales isn’t often the right one. As with my first failed launch, there are many things that could be causing your lack of sales. Hint: These usually have to do with not-so-stellar marketing, a skill that most newbies sorely lack, myself included! The remedy? Experimentation!
Click to TweetThe reason you think you failed may not be the actual reason for the failure. Investigate, investigate, investigate, and avoid jumping to quick conclusions.Failure may be inevitable, but it’s also a useful learning tool. Don’t waste time beating yourself up and spiraling into a pile of freak-out. And don’t jump to hasty conclusions and change your niche overnight. Instead, learn a new way: experimentation.
Experiment Without the Freakout
By now you’re on board with hitting the reset button that will trade out failure thinking for a scientist’s mindset, and you may be wondering how you actually put this into practice. (I’m so glad you asked!)
I have TONS to share on this topic. After all, I spent a previous professional career running experiments for a high-tech company.
For the next several posts, I’m going to show you how to become a scientist in your business, so you can build your business without letting failures kill your ego and your motivation.
Not only does calculated experimentation eliminate trucks full of drama, stress, and worry, it also helps you reach success faster in your business – because you can trade out dart-throwing for planned moves.
Stay tuned for several weeks of experimental how-to’s and tips for honing this winning approach to business (freakouts optional).
Here’s what I’ll be covering:
- Exactly how to experiment in your business, in my famous step-by-step fashion
- How to evaluate and learn from failures (and wins) to create more success in your business
- The difference between a tough challenge and a clear sign you should call it quits
- How to profit from your mistakes
- Desperation versus determination — and why one will kill your biz and the other will catapult it
- The entrepreneur’s go-to solution for dealing with the inevitable stressors and failures in business
What you’re going to learn in these forthcoming posts will change your business forever, so stay tuned!
In the mean time, as always, I want to hear from you
Have you experienced your first failure in your business yet? (This is cause to celebrate, my friend, because we all have to fail before we can succeed!) If so, how did you react?
With the mindset shift I shared today, how do you think you’ll handle your next failure?
What experience and advice do you have to share with others about dealing with failures in business?
I can’t wait to hear what you’ve got in the comments below!
OF COURSE I’ve had my first feelings of failure in my business (cue laughter, Jenny!).
I think growing up in traditional schooling screwed me up. In schoo, what you produce turns into a grade by which you measure yourself against your peers.
I thought for a long time that my offeringss were my “tests” of the business world–and that getting lots of sales meant I got an A in business, and not getting sales meant I got an F.
I do see now over time that the school model of thinking doesn’t work.
I don’t have a great metaphor for what business iteration should look like, except to say that it’s just one long process of iterating and iterating and iterating until the pieces line up. And when those pieces for some reason don’t line up anymore for whatever reason–then iterating again!
Made me smile to see you comment here, Leah, especially because I know how much you’ve learned about this topic in the past year!
You make such a great point about how traditional schooling sets us up poorly for entrepreneurship. Like you, I aimed for A’s, and when I didn’t have successes launching, I felt like I got an F. Ouch!
Thanks for reiterating the iterating. That is how to make it work (and the subject of an upcoming post)!
Here’s to more iterating success for you in 2014!! xo
Jenny – as usual you give me just the information I need, just at the minute I need. Can’t wait to see the rest of the series! Keep it coming!
wow loved this one jenny! can’t wait for the up coming posts. and here’s what i have to share. its 12pm and i am sitting in a cafe on day two of my ‘time out’ from my jewellery business. i went for a morning run, did groceries, now having a coffee. let me explain. . . I have been struggling aalong for the last few years trying to earn a living through my business. things greatly improved a year ago when i got a part time job 3 days a week (saved me financially!). but i did a selling event in november for jewellery, after having revised the pricing on my collection which has not been selling. for so long i tried to understand and figure out why this collation has remained so stagnant, but this time i had it sussed so i thought. i lowered my prices to something i felt comfortable with, and made a few new commercial additions to the collection which was suggested to me by a jewellery shop owner who was stocking the collection. i was sure this time i was going to sell but after the 5 day pre xmas sale i was completely and utterly deflated because i didn’t sell a thing! i’d gone in to that event thinking this is it, got to sell otherwise i should have a serious think about carrying on. needless to say i felt a little depressed. i don’t think i have what it takes to run a business but i know i need to do creative work. so with the advice of a business mentor i am taking a step back and resting until about Easter. this is so scary because i am already struggling financially but i am praying that stepping back and taking the pressure off that i will make space for clarity and creative flow. its like taking a leap of faith! scary as hell and i feel so guilty feeling undeserved of taking this time out but hopefully i will come out the other side with some clear and constructive solutions.
Entrepreneurship isn’t for the faint of heart, Ilana, and I’m impressed with your continued courage. Sometimes resting helps; sometimes busting ass helps. We’ve got to try the other when one doesn’t work. Wishing you the best while you rest!!
Hi Jenny, you sure are good with timing! After reading this post I think I’ll choose to handle my next (or first) failure with expectation. I’m creating my first info product and am in research mode right now trying to get everything right but will not expect total success when I do launch this. I realize we rarely get anything right the first time and I Thank you for the reminder! I’m looking forward to the rest of this series!
Love that you’re thinking about resetting before you start. In fact, you’re getting a jump start on next week’s post!
Gotta love being on the right track! See you here next Wed!
Spot on and perfect timing, as usual, Jenny!
Taking things personally is a skill that I’ve honed to perfection over my years, and one that has not served me well, but that I’ve been transforming and releasing. (Good news since I’m rebranding!) Woo Hoo!
There is a gift in failure, though. Like you said, failure is essential to learning and growing and, I think, to eventual success. It makes you tough. It gives you new perspectives and new ideas. It teaches you resilience. You need toughness, out-of-the-box perspectives and resilience to make awesomeness happen in business and in life. It’s not easy to celebrate failure. But it’s a lot easier to celebrate if you don’t take it personally.
I’ll be waiting excitedly for these Wednesday morning follow ups! You rock!
You’re totally right. It does teach toughness and resilience. It isn’t easy to celebrate failure, but it will help you create success. More to come — I’m excited that you’re excited!
Love it!!! Experiment mindset 😀
Dang. This is a ridiculously awesome post. Well done, Jenny Shih!
Thanks, Brooke! I’m honored you think so!
Hey Jenny, well this should be easy for me because I AM a scientist! And my first launch didn’t go so well…I’ve got a few ideas for the next round though. Looking forward to brainstorming about it with you soon!
Sorry to hear it didn’t go like you had hoped, Karlie! But I know you’ve got FANTASTIC stuff to share, so we will troubleshoot and experiment your way to success. We’ll absolutely use our upcoming brunch to reevaluate. In the mean time, know that you can make it happen and you have the skills of experimentation to figure it out!
So timely and reassuring, Jenny! I just launched my business on December 31, expecting lots of clients to bang down my door. Much to my surprise, I’ve gotten exactly one. Which is awesome and, also, humbling. It has made me re-look at my site with fresh eyes from the format to the copy to my niche to my marketing—a full-blown work in progress but one I know will result in high return.
I truly believe that the more I fail, the more I succeed in doing the thing I was meant (and want!) to do!
Looking forward to hearing your upcoming how-tos!
That’s the reality of online business, Sara! You’re not alone. I thought the same thing when I first went out as a coach. It takes a lot of time, trial and error, and good effort to make things work. But the good news is that if you stick with it and don’t give up, you’ll get there. Stay tuned for the coming posts — I think they’ll help a ton!
This post was right on point Jenny, especially the part about not being curious enough. I recently did a survey to ask my “tribe” what they really wanted from me as The Emergency Biz Coach and I was shocked by the “results” of the survey. I was thinking one thing and they told me something different. Thank goodness for my curiosity about what THEY really wanted. Many times we create what we THINK others want, but if we simply ask them what they want, chances are (in my case), they will tell you. Look forward to your upcoming posts.
Soooo spot on Jenny! I look at the last year and see that there were MANY setbacks…and that is I had thrown in the towel then, I wouldn’t be typing this post in Mexico (where I’m now happily living my location independent life/biz!)
Biggets setback yet? Well the one that hurt most might be when my FIRST client fired me 🙂 She was literally my FIRST client. I’ve never been fired since and even at the time I knew the lesson in it all (because she was in NO way my ideal client….of course it didn’t work out!)
Thanks for sharing this insightful bit!
Ouch! That does hurt, Anna! But I love that you got that one out of the way! 🙂 Onward and upward!
HOORAY!!
Thank you so much for this post! As I read your story, I totally recognised it as my own – and saw myself, both in the taking personally, and the not fully experimenting. Once I was on board to experiment, I started thinking, But HOW..?? – then you said you’re going to tell us!
Thank you, Jenny! So excited for this series.
So happy to hear you’re on board, Marsha! Yes, more experimental how-to’s coming soon…. 🙂
Phew! Loved this one and couldn’t have read this on a better day!
Love the idea of looking at it like a Chemistry lab and not worrying about school grades. Still something I’m working on!
Looking at business as a pass/fail situation (like school grades) is definitely a losing proposition. Keep practicing this new approach — it will help. You can do it!
Love this post. I feel like failure is so important in learning how to succeed. You can’t have success without failing first. I am learning all the time. I have found that my success in the business world is due to the fact that I follow the careers of those who are more successful than myself. I have been following the career of Mark Hurd for the last few years now, since he has taken over at Oracle. I have also been impressed with his leadership and ability to turn a company around. I have closely following his statements at OpenWorld 2016 and I am excited for what he has in store and I am looking forward to the direction that Oracle is heading in the next few years.
Funny to have you mention Mark, as I was at HP when he started as CEO there. He also did some great work turning HP around, though of course there were some unfortunate issue he ran into as well…
Thank you for sharing your experience it really helped me. Even though I haven’t tried a launch like you spoke of I have my set of disappointments, and then the feeling I am a failure, and may be this is not me, the whole raft of emotions that you experience.
It did give me hope and clarity, and different perspective on things. I am looking forward to reading the posts
Thrilled to hear it helped, Rosemary! Going into any new challenge with the right frame of mind is often the catalyst for good things to happen… regardless of the actual results. Learning is key to success long-term. Wishing you well as you put yourself out there and build your business!