Sometimes it feels like I have had more business ideas than hot dinners. It’s like a switch that I can’t turn off. You know the feeling, when your brain is constantly in entrepreneur mode.’Ooo that’s a gap in the market’ or ‘I could make a better business out of that. A lot of my ideas come to nothing and a lot of my business ideas result in a failing reality, and I am perfectly okay with that. It’s all part of the process.
I can’t sit here and tell you I came up with one genius business idea after failing 27 other ideas and now I’m filthy rich. It’s too soon to call me the female Richard Branson. And to be honest, that’s not actually what I want for myself. But I have achieved a certain level of freedom that comes with working as a freelancer. It’s not the business I had in mind and I know it’s not what I want for my future but it works for me right now, and I am still working towards my ideal future.
The 'Girl Boss' Culture Is Becoming Toxic
Since stepping into the world of business, I discovered a toxicity that needs to be addressed and I blame social media. You’ve probably heard of the term ‘Girl Boss‘ which has been trending across social platforms for a while now.
Social media and influencers have made us feel that if we’re not running our own business, we’re failing at life because you’re not a ‘Girl Boss’. Even if you do run a business, if it’s not as successful as you hope, you can’t authentically give yourself the ‘Girl Boss’ title and then you feel like a fraud if you do. This aspiring ‘club’ is incredibly narrow and almost impossible to achieve, especially given that 78.5% of small businesses fail in their first year according to Fortunly.com.
Starting and running a business is hard enough as it is, why do we put more pressure on each other and ourselves to conform to societies version of success? All for a title?
My advice to you:
Who cares about the #girlboss, #fempreneur #bossbitch or any other social media related title? You are whatever you want to call yourself and we need to stop encouraging a world where you have to fit a certain label. I recommend you read our post; Don’t Worry, No One Gives A Fuck About You, to help you realise that people don’t actually care about you are doing, so live your life freely with that knowledge.
And if you want to support your friend who’s starting a business, don’t call her a Girl Boss. Instead, buy whatever she is selling and leave a review. That’s real support.
The Benefits Of Failing A Business
What I can tell you is that I have failed at many businesses. I have invested time and money into an idea and even got it off the ground to then quit. Sometimes I only go as far as setting up an email address and then I go off the idea. But each time I do this, I learn a little nugget of something new, so I have even more pieces to add to my business learning puzzle.
The first business I started, which was an online sports store, taught me such a breadth of knowledge that no ‘career’ could have ever taught me. I learnt how to wear many different hats and I had to step outside of my comfort zone. Who knew you had to do a tax return every 3 months? I learnt pretty quick when HMRC sent me a bill!
Unlike in a career, you can’t simply choose only a sales position or only a marketing position. In a business you play every role and ideally at a good level. This helps develop your research skills and time management and you can actually become much more employable.
Each time I fail, I grow as a person. Failing builds character and you become more resilient, more confident and take accountability. And each time you don’t succeed you are one step closer and much more wiser to uncovering and setting yourself up for when you hit that ‘winning’ idea.
Back in my running days, I remember people would say the hardest part of the run was putting your shoes on. And it’s so true, the scariest part of starting a business is actually starting. You know there is a probability that you might fail and you are the only person accountable. But you are also incredibly brave, more brave than most people who wouldn’t step into the world of business owner and outside of their comfy office chair.
One of my biggest pieces of advice is to ask for help. You won’t know everything, in fact there’s a chance you won’t know a lot. Before starting my first business I had limited knowledge about accounting, designing a website, coding, even the physical set up of a business. And if your first business fails, you’ll know all of this stuff ready for the next one.
No matter what, you can’t fail. You will have developed skills you didn’t even know you could and been on one hell of a steep learning curve. Each failure is one step closer to success.
Good luck and if you have any questions about running a business, I will always try my best to help!
Amber x
P.s If you are looking for Business inspiration, advice and guidance I HIGHLY recommend reading Tim Ferris; The 4-Hour Workweek. It’s a life-changer!
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