How do entrepreneurs become successful? They learn from their mistakes.
Unfortunately, there is no real “how-to” class on how to be an entrepreneur who never fails once in a while. That’s because with entrepreneurship (like so many other things in life), failure can be the best way to learn.
This week I want to focus on some lessons learned from failure by looking at the mistakes and setbacks of some of today’s most successful business minds. Who knows? Perhaps their experiences will help you bounce back from major setbacks in your own entrepreneurial journey.
Michael Bloomberg
The former Mayor of New York City and one of the country’s most successful businessmen is a great example of an entrepreneur who turned lemons into lemonade. Before launching his own multi-million dollar company, Michael Bloomberg was laid off from Salomon Brothers. Instead of letting this setback get to him, Bloomberg said, “”In business, when you fail at something, when something doesn’t work, you say okay, we’ve learned that that’s not a path to go down.”
Bloomberg’s lessons learned from failure led him to develop Market Master, which eventually became Bloomberg LP.
JK Rowling
Long before she became wealthier than the Queen of England, JK Rowling experienced many rough patches. Before the success of Harry Potter, Rowling was barely scraping by and had accumulated a stack of rejection letters well into the thousands. But Rowling never let these “failures” get to her, and instead she kept moving forward. She said, “It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default.” Her persistence paid off eventually and today she’s one of the world’s most successful (and beloved) writers in modern literature because of it.
What are some lessons you’ve learned from failure? Share them with me on Facebook!
