Milton Hershey, an American entrepreneur, philanthropist and founder of Hershey’s, a chocolate manufacturing company, was once considered a failure in business. At the age of just 26, he already had two failed businesses.
Yet with determination and will power that kept him curious and persistent, he persevered and eventually created a multi billion dollar business that has ensured that we have enjoyed delicious chocolates for years.
The fear of failure is common among business owners especially those who are starting out on their journey in business. But like Milton Hershey did, you can succeed too.
The life of an entrepreneur is marked with successes, rejection and sometimes failure but only those who are determined to pursue their dreams see them come to fruition in the end.
Consider these five ways to cope with the fear of failure in your business:
Expect Rejection. Rejection is inevitable when you’re selling and should be expected. Your idea, product or service may not be what the prospective client needs and therefore they are not obliged to accept it. Yet being rejected by one or several clients does not translate to failure. It could mean that you need to re-package your product or service to make it acceptable to prospective clients.
Don’t take it personally. When you meet prospective clients that do not care about your business as much as you do, don’t take it personally. It is your job to sell your vision to them and even if they don’t buy it, take their thoughts and remarks about your business and learn from them.
Set short-term goals. It is easy to feel like giving up on your business if you’re continuously being rejected. Short-term goals help you stay motivated and give you a reason to persist until you attain your objective.
For example; you could set aside one hour each day to send newsletters to prospective clients or you could start blogging for your business to communicate that you are an authority in your industry to clients and prospective clients.
Follow up. If you talk to a client and they decline to do business with you, keep communication lines open so that they know that you’re available to work with them in the future.
Acknowledge your achievements. When you close a sale, celebrate it. Business owners sometimes are harsh to themselves for the rejections that they forget to recognize the successes that they’ve made. Doing so helps you recognize progress.
The fear of failure is one of the main reasons that many business ideas do not get implemented. The truth is you will get a few rejections before you start seeing progress and success in your business. Turning the rejections into an opportunity for learning will compel you to keep moving forward.