Bouncing back after a failed business

Analyse the failure

Take responsibility for your actions and choices while analysing what happened to your business. Also, document both the successes and the mistakes you made. This will enable you to evaluate the nature and scope of the problem. Understand what you’re dealing with before you develop a solution. It may be a single problem with a single solution, or a series of problems that require a more detailed strategy.

Cut off your expenses

Businesses only go out of business because they ran out of cash. As long as you have cash coming in that helps to cater for the overhead costs, then you are okay. Look at every single line of your business when it’s failing and ask yourself what are some of the things you could cut off. Can you sell some stuff in order to generate some more cash? Can you merge duties so that you cut down on the number of staff? Focus on cutting unnecessary expenses.

Get your finances in order

The next thing to do is to make sure your personal finances are in order. You’ll no longer be able to rely on your business as a primary source of income. If you had a significant amount of your own personal savings tied up in the business, you may lose them in case the business goes down. You may have to eventually declare bankruptcy. If it comes to this, don’t worry there can still be a bright financial future ahead of you. You also need to analyse your expenses and figure out a new line of revenue.

Build a support network

Surrounding yourself with people who genuinely care about your well-being is crucial for getting you back on your feet. Fellow entrepreneurs can help get your professional life back on track when you are ready to dive in to the business world once again. It will also be a great idea if you could get a mentor to help you navigate through the loss in your business and who can hold your hand and help you bounce back.

Take time out for yourself

Going through a loss in business is tough, but it’s also a critical opportunity to collect yourself and spend some time doing what you love to do. You can take this time to reflect on what exactly you want, not just in life but in business as well. You should also develop a persistent attitude because successful business owners never give up. Helen Keller, American author, political activist and lecturer once said, “Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.”

Life after business failure

When moving on to bigger and better opportunities, make sure you also take advantage of the experience you’ve gained in the process. Don’t alienate the people you worked with before. As an entrepreneur, these are contacts that will be valuable in your future endeavours. Reflect on all the mistakes you made during your tenure as an entrepreneur. Every decision you made while leading your company is a potential lesson.

Also, don’t be shy to talk about your experience as an entrepreneur. Even if the business failed, people will respect you for your leadership and management experience. You should also make a personal decision not to get stuck in your failure. Some of the greatest entrepreneurs alive today have experienced some of the most devastating losses and learning from those losses and moving onward is what defines their greatness.