Being an entrepreneur means staying ready to face hardships, desertion, and even low self-confidence at points. However, how one faces and comes out of those scenarios marks the trajectory of his/her business. Not only do these times provide you with valuable experience to deal with them mentally, but also give you pointers on how to avoid them to occur next time in the very first place. A study by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that 50% of businesses falter within five years of their existence and only 30% survive after 10 years. But what is it that keeps that 30% afloat? What is it that makes them a success? In my view, one of the main ingredients that go in the recipe of a ‘successful entrepreneur’ is resilience. A trait that acts as the biggest shield for a business owner in front of all the obstacles that come his/her way.
You Either Win or you Learn
Business according to me is a roller coaster ride. There will be ups and downs, twists and turns and it might have some really scary phases. But once experienced, it gives you the confidence to have another go at it, and you understand that the entire ride is nothing but a route full of excitement. A lot of people say that businesses fail due to changes in markets and products. While these are definitely some of the reasons but what I believe is that resilience even overcomes those. A resilient entrepreneur will do what is best to stay in the market and will probably bring about the necessary changes to his/her product or service with changing times. In the hour that requires those changes, an entrepreneur should understand that no business is perfect. It is ok to fail cause failure is equivalent to learning.
It is this very attribute that in other words, gives you the power to fail, learn and pivot. While other entrepreneurs will hang their gloves, a resilient one will adapt to the situations instead of quitting. That very moment at times differentiates between the businesses that will go a long way and the ones that won’t.
Building Resilience on the go
Resilience in business is a characteristic that reflects confidence. A statement that is not spoken, but comes across as a quality of an individual. There are also several ways by which an entrepreneur can further improve upon his/her resilience towards the future challenges that might come forth. Here, I would like to take this opportunity to share what is it that I do to keep my confidence up and running. Which in turn builds your resilience to the next level.
Stay Honest to yourself: Whether it is about setting your targets for future plans, or accepting your past, staying honest to yourself keeps you in the midst of reality and helps you make difficult decisions with ease.
Spend time in developing more skills: A skillful entrepreneur will have a better hold of his teams. A skillful entrepreneur understands the changes in the market which keeps him/her updated with the latest trends in the industry. And with these two in the arsenal, an entrepreneur’s confidence will be much harder to break.
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Try to have more than one cash flow: A company should work towards having different sources of cash flow for their business. That cuts down on the dependence on one channel and provides confidence that if one road is blocked, there are several others that are available. In my own journey as an entrepreneur, I am enjoying failures and success in the same week. But what makes me resilient towards my hardships and motivates me to get up the next day with zeal, is the fact that I look at the brighter side of things. Threat at times is an opportunity to learn. A failure is an experience gained for the future. And resilience is the armor that protects you and steers your business from almost all the difficult times. Remember, what you achieve in the future is a result of how you act today.
