Celebrating Failure

The title of Chapter 13 of Stephan Schiffman's book, Telesales, is "Count the 'No' Answers."  Sales is all about overcoming the "NO" but Stephan Schiffman takes it to another level by declaring that a "NO" should be celebrated; it should be counted because every "NO" brings us closer to the inevitable "YES."

I look at failure in the same way.  Failure is not a sign that an entrepreneur is doomed or he or she should stop striving for success; it just means that the path to success has become easier because at least one road has been deemed not worthy of our time and attention.

I have been an entrepreneur for a decade and have had to navigate my business through the utter wreckage of the recent financial crisis when success meant survival more than anything else.  I didn't have the luxury of learning about bootstrapping during this class; I had to figure it out on the fly as investor funds dried out, employees could not be retained, sales stagnated, and marketing became a luxury instead of what it should be a necessity.

In this most difficult climate, I had to make decisions that were as difficult as any I have been confronted with.  The call of the day became all hands on deck as my family and friends rose up to offer their assistance and support.  At a time when the ship was about to sink, their loyalty, dedication, and prayers allowed us to ride out the storm.

These are the moments that humble you and make you realize that none of us can achieve anything on our own.  Even though, the business survived and stabilized over time, I consider that experience a failure because I had not planned properly and almost let the business and my customers down.  I learned the hard way the value of planning and foresight.