Mistakes Help You Measure Your Growth

I am the first to say that I have and continue to make mistakes in business, but the goal is to avoid repeating the same mistakes repeatedly. Social media has created this level of perfection in entrepreneurship, making anything less than a six-figure year or a $10k month failure. This is far from the truth. There are so many benefits of business behind just the bottom line. It also takes time to generate consistent revenue that does not burn you to the ground. The goal is profitability AND sustainability.

We have to normalize the entrepreneurial learning curve and allow normal and natural mistakes to guide our growth. Normalizing the entrepreneurial learning curve involves recognizing that failure and mistakes are a natural part of the entrepreneurial process and can provide valuable learning opportunities. Here are some ways to normalize the entrepreneurial learning curve:

1. Understand the importance of learning: Entrepreneurs should view their experiences as opportunities for learning and embrace failure as a necessary step on the path to success.
2. Absorb success stories: Read the stories of successful entrepreneurs who have overcome obstacles and failures on their way to success, to show that setbacks are a normal part of the process.
3. Seek mentorship and support: Entrepreneurs can benefit from the guidance and support of mentors who have been through the entrepreneurial process and can provide advice and encouragement. If you are still looking for a mentor, head to SCORE to find a free one.
4. Document your progress and milestones: Recognize and celebrate small wins, such as successfully launching a product or securing a critical partnership, to build momentum and confidence.
5. Lean into experimentation: Entrepreneurs should experiment, try new things, and be willing to pivot and make changes based on their learning. You need to try to know what works and what doesn't work. This is one of my superpowers.
6. Be innovative: Create an environment that encourages and rewards innovation and risk-taking, where failure is viewed as a stepping stone to success.

By normalizing the entrepreneurial learning curve, we can help more entrepreneurs overcome the challenges and obstacles they will inevitably face and continue to innovate and grow their businesses. Your early business mistakes will be laughable and lessons as you continue to grow. You will look back and be able to measure how far you have come. That is the power of mistakes and accepting the journey as it is, not as you want it to be.

What mistakes have you made in business that you thought you could never recover from?