How To Make Sure Your Business Doesn’t Fail

Fear of failure is a common stumbling block for many entrepreneurs, but what if we told you that it could be your biggest asset? Join us as we challenge the conventional notion of failure and explore how it can be a powerful tool for growth and success. With insights from the wise Paulo Coelho, we begin to see failure for what it really is – not an end, but a stepping stone.

We’re not stopping there. We’re also flipping the script on fear itself. Ever considered the cost of not trying? Today, we’re uncovering the potential of fear as a catalyst for action and how visualizing worst and best-case scenarios can guide your entrepreneurial journey. The road to success does not exclude failure; it embraces it.

To wrap up, we’re throwing in a special treat. Discover your unique business personality type and learn how to build a business you love. On top of that, we have an exciting live masterclass, Make Messaging Magic, just around the corner. This is your chance to move past fear and embrace the possibilities that lie within failure. The journey to your dream business starts here. Don’t miss out!

Make Messaging Magic Waitlist – https://shawnmynar.com/waitlist

“Doing it, giving it a try, trying your best, getting it started, having a business, getting it off the ground right there is the ultimate in business success.” – Shawn Mynar

“Having something not work out, not go as planned, does not mean you and your business are a failure.” – Shawn Mynar

“The reality is failures are just lessons you need to learn to get where you want to go.” – Shawn Mynar

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Ready for a business with less hustle, more flow? Create your own signature program >>> WATCH THE FREE MASTERCLASS!

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FULL EPISODE TRANSCRIPT BELOW:

Hey, hey there, friends, Welcome back to the Flow Business Podcast. I’m Shawn, your host, and this is your place to build a business that excites you, not overwhelms you. Today’s topic is all about failure and how to make sure that your business doesn’t fail, because I know that is a big fear out there Rightfully so. Building a business doing something new, taking some risk. You want to know how can I make sure that this is a success, which is obviously the opposite of knowing it will not fail. So how can you make sure your business doesn’t fail? Now, before we get into that conversation, I have a really exciting announcement. If you’ve been around for a while, then you may remember back in the spring so probably like five, six months ago now I hosted a live masterclass called Make Messaging Magic, and it was super fun. We had a great time, so many light bulb moments, and I since have had people asking if I was going to be doing it again, how they could get involved. They wanted access to that, and so I decided to host another one this fall, coming up probably within the next, I’d say, three to six weeks. I don’t have an exact date yet, but I do have a waitlist for you to get on. If you are interested in learning how to create good messaging around the work you do. We talk about messaging a lot here on the show, but if you’re still not familiar with what that concept is when it comes to your business, it’s essentially how to package everything. You do everything. You know what, everything that’s going on in your head about how you can help people, what you do to help people, how they’ll feel after they receive your help. Turning all of that which I know is in your head into the words you use for your business, aka your messaging. And your messaging is a critical piece to your marketing strategy. It is the reason why people will sign up to work with you and won’t sign up to work with you. It matters a lot. The words that you use in your business is everything, and so I’m going to host a live class with all of you, showing you exactly how to create your messaging in your business, how to take everything that’s in your head right now and learn how to properly deliver it to the people that need your help, to the people that you want to work with, using it in your business in every area in your social media, on your website, in your emails. Literally every marketing piece that you have for your business needs to be infused with your messaging. But in order to do that, you need to know what that is for you and your business and your unique personality. That’s a huge piece of your messaging is infusing you into your marketing. So we’re going to do all of that together. Live coming up in a few weeks. If that is something that is of interest to you, head to www.shawnmynar.com/waitlist soon, like today, and get your name on the list so that you’ll know when the dates are for the Make Messaging Magic Masterclass coming up in a few weeks. Waitlist is over at www.shawnmynar.com. I’ll also make sure that is listed in the show notes. Okay, let’s talk failure. What a nice light subject for this podcast episode. But something we need to talk about because that is in the back of probably every business owner’s mind, is how do I make sure my business doesn’t fail and what if it fails? And sometimes that what if it fails is enough of a question that the business never gets started, and you may be one of those people in that place right now where your fear of failure or all the other fears that are come up, bubble up to the surface of a business owner are keeping you from even starting your business, and that is very real. That is a very big thing that could potentially keep it from ever happening, and that really is actually the crux of our entire conversation today, and it is actually all summed up in this quote I want to share with you. To kick things off, the one who falls and gets up is stronger than the one that never tried. Do not fear failure, but rather fear never trying, and that’s from Paolo Coelho. It’s what I really want to talk about today in terms of failure and really is the short answer to the question of how do I make sure my business doesn’t fail. Well, the answer is to have a business, to start a business, to get your business off the ground, to try to do the thing. That is the only thing that you need to do to make sure that your business doesn’t fail, because doing it, doing the thing, giving it a try, trying your best, getting it started, having a business getting off the ground right there, is the ultimate in business success. So that right there means your business hasn’t and can never fail. Simply by doing it, simply by getting it off the ground, simply by starting your business. Having your business, sure, it may change, you may pivot, you may consciously decide it’s no longer what you want, it’s not what you want to do, it’s not working for you. That doesn’t make it a failure. Those are just decisions that you make as you move along in this life and learn more and things change and opportunities come up. That is not considered a failure. That is considered maybe the ending of a chapter to start a new chapter or to try something new. You know, there’s all these other things that we can think about in terms of our business, but failure is not one of them as soon as you start your business. So, because I know this is such a big fear for so many of you and can often be the thing that keeps you from actually starting which, like I said, as soon as you kick that thing off and you start making money on your business, you have succeeded Absolutely. I don’t care if it’s a dollar, a thousand dollars or a hundred thousand dollars. You have succeeded in your business. But I do want to break down this fear of failure, because I think it’s the biggest fear out there for most entrepreneurs, because you can almost like see yourself having to kind of give up on your dreams or admit failure, hanging your head and going back to looking for a job or to work for someone else, knowing that it didn’t work, and to even take it a step deeper from that. I think a lot of the fear of failing comes from two places First of all, financially, being afraid of not making ends meet financially, not making the money that you need to survive or the income that you want or need for your family. And then also having to admit defeat, the embarrassment, the shame, the pain that comes with having to admit that something didn’t work. It’s uncomfortable, right and so not wanting to go through that, not wanting to have to feel those uncomfortable emotions that come when your business didn’t go as planned or you have to pivot, or you do have to go find a part-time job where you’re waiting for it to grow, you don’t want to feel those potentially uncomfortable feelings, so you’re just trying to avoid it all together. And this is all coming from your ego, the ego part of your mind, and they’re legitimate. These are legitimate reasons why it would feel scary to think about your business. Not making it to think about that failure that is possible Financially might be a problem, having to admit defeat not great, but in no way is this a sign that you shouldn’t move forward or that there’s something wrong with you for feeling scared and being worried that you may fail. This is a very common experience for probably every business owner out there on the planet. And also, if you were to ask these business owners, like the most successful business owners you can think of, if you were to ask them, they would have a long list of their numerous failures in their business. Because here’s the thing You’re going to experience things that your mind will want to call a failure. There’s going to be some idea, some offer, some post, some message, some product that doesn’t go well, that doesn’t land, that nobody wants, that doesn’t get the response you thought it would. It’s going to happen, it happens to everyone. It’s part of the process. That is almost something to just expect, and then, when you expect it, it can make it a whole lot easier when it does happen. But that is not an actual failure. Your mind wants to call it. That wants to wrap it up in this big whole like failure web where you feel terrible. All of these super icky emotions come up because of it. You start questioning everything in your life and start freaking out about everything. But it’s not a failure and that’s the biggest message I want to make sure you hear today. Having something not work out, not go as planned, does not mean you and your business are a failure. It doesn’t mean the world is going to end tomorrow. It doesn’t mean you’re going to be made fun of or judged. It doesn’t mean you’re going to run out of money. It’s just something that didn’t work out, which happens all the time in every area of our life. Your business is no different. Me personally. I’ve experienced so many failures in this almost 11 years now of being in business. I have created programs that nobody wanted. I’ve talked about this before here on the show, but I’ll remind you all my first four program launches I had zero people purchase. Four times four program launches, zero sales. I could have so easily thrown in the towel and gotten all up in my emotions and totally thought everything was just doomed after just one of those or two of those or three of those definitely after four. But I didn’t. I kept going and learning as I went and making tweaks and trying to understand how I could get these programs out into the world into the hands of people that needed it. And that whole experience of all these failures really is what has made my business what it is today and the success I’ve had today, because it made me learn marketing Like after those four failed launches, I went deep into the marketing world and learned everything I could about how to be a marketer in my business not just the coach that I was, but also the business woman that I wanted to be and to be able to get, like I said, get my work in the hands of the right people. The people that needed and wanted my help, without feeling sleazy and slimy and use car salesman vibes didn’t want any of that, and so it took me on this quest to now know what I know and do what I do and help who I help, and I literally wouldn’t be where I am today without those four failed launches. So the reality is, failures are just lessons you need to learn to get where you want to go. Let me say that again Failures are just lessons. You need to learn to get where you want to go. I say this all the time. I’ll say it again there is so much value in things not going as planned, in things not working out. There are lessons to be learned that inevitably Will take you where you want to go. You could not have gotten to that place you want to go without that happening the way that it did. Think about, for example, just to give a little metaphor here, let’s say you have a child who starts playing football and as they’re learning football and getting into it, they realize they’re really good at kicking the ball. They really like that. It comes really naturally. The coach notices and they become the kicker of the team and in that process then realize actually I feel like soccer is my sport. I feel like I would love soccer. I love kicking, I feel really good about it. I’m really good at it. Everyone’s noticing how good I’m at it. I’m gonna instead be on the soccer team and then years go by, soccer happens and I’m getting a scholarship to their favorite college and everything works in their favor because they realize soccer is their sport. If they would have gone to gymnastics they may never have learned that they’re really good at kicking the ball and they really enjoy that and soccer is a really great place for them. They may never have learned that. So Then does that mean that that child is a failure at football, or that child is a failure for not trying gymnastics? No, it was part of the process. You would never think that of that child. And so for you to think that Of your business because you’re using what you’re learning and what you’re doing and what isn’t working to then pivot into what is working and learn so much about yourself and the process and everything that it takes along the way, how could we not call that anything but a success? So that’s really the message here today is just having the business, doing the business, getting it out there, starting it up. Going through that phase of your business automatically makes it impossible for you to fail. All right, let me go through some tips for moving through the fear of failure. I don’t want to call it getting over the fear of failure, because I don’t think it’s something you get over. It’s not something that, like, disappears at any point. It’s you moving through it and taking action despite your ego bringing up that emotion. Okay, so the first tip I have for you is to get real with yourself. The reality is, if you don’t try, your chance of failure is 100%. And I know that’s a little harsh, but we’ve got to. We’ve got to get there. We’ve got to understand that, especially if you are in this place where you have an idea for your business, you have this desire to help someone else. You have all of these things, all these tools that, quite honestly, most people in this world don’t ever experience. They don’t ever feel that desire or that need to start their own business, to be of service to others, to have an entire business wrapped around how you can help someone else. That is rare, and so the fact that you even have that instinct, have that idea, is huge, and so the reality is, if you don’t act on it, well then you’re failing that instinct, you’re failing your desire, your path, this road that you’re meant to go down, because if you weren’t meant to go down it, you would have never even had the idea, it never would have come into your consciousness, it wouldn’t be a thing right now. So the reality is, the only way that you can fail is to not try at all, to not bring those ideas to reality, and I also think that it’s really important to Understand the cost of not trying. Is it you staying in an unfulfilling job, not helping people that need your help, not making a bigger impact during your time on this planet, not experiencing the time or financial freedom that you desire or that your family needs from you not having time for the things you love to do. These are all really important things to consider when you make the decision of not trying. And is it really worth that? Is staying in your comfort zone and not trying, the thing that your mind may consider a failure if it doesn’t go as planned Worth not experiencing everything you want to experience and not doing everything you want to do? Get real with yourself and understand the consequences that come with Not taking action out of a fear of failure or any fear that stopping you from moving to that next step. It is important to really take inventory, to really look at the consequences and see if it’s really worth it. Or would it just be better to give it a shot? Give it a try, do your best to get it out there and get one step closer to all of these things becoming reality. My second tip for moving through the fear of failure is to change your relationship with failure. Failure is just feedback, failure is just a learning experience and, even better, failure is necessary to get you where you want to go. It is an inevitable Part of the path to your dream business, to doing what you want to do. It’s going to happen in some way or another, but all it is is a lesson. That’s all it is. It’s Guiding you in the right direction to learn what you need to get where you want to go. That’s it. And when you think about it that way, it’s not that scary. It’s actually kind of exciting because that means you have a learning experience ahead and with that learning experience means that you will know what it’s going to take To get you where you want to go. But you can’t learn it until you get there. You can’t preemptively know what that is going to be. It has to happen along the way. And the third tip I have for you Prove it wrong. Your fear of failure is actually pretty weak because there’s a very small chance of that thing that you’re scared of happening actually happening, which means you can very easily prove it wrong. Like, literally one client, one purchase, one like one comment, one subscriber, one person listening. What if no one likes my post? What if no one reads my email? What if no one wants my freebie? What if no one listens to my podcast? These are often big enough stories that our minds create for us to ever do that thing, to ever start a podcast, to ever put out a paid offer, to ever ask for clients to do the thing that we want to do. That will move our business forward. Because we’re worried, what if? Like? All the what ifs come up, and the cool thing is that those what ifs almost never happen. But you just have to get to that point where you are doing the thing so that you can prove it wrong. I love proving my fears wrong because it’s actually quite easy to do so you just have to do the thing that you have this fear behind, and then you’re able to be like, oh, okay, well, actually that didn’t happen, I don’t need to worry about that. Or, what’s even better is okay, that did happen. And here I am, I’m still okay, I’m still alive, I still have a roof over my head, like, for example, in signature program bundle. There’s a big fear behind that comes up often about well, what if no one signs up for my program? And my question back is always yeah, what if? What if no one signs up? Would you still be okay, would you? What would you need to do to be okay? What would happen if no one signs up? And inevitably the reply is well, everything would be fine. Everything would actually be the same as it is now. Except I would have learned so much during my launch process I’d be ready to do it again. I could make some tweaks based on what I now know didn’t work. I would spend a little bit of time working on my messaging or switching up my offer to make it more irresistible, and I would launch again. That’s that’s it. So there, that fear, like the fear that we have ahead of time, is so much bigger than the response whether it doesn’t actually happen and it wasn’t something to be scared of at all, or it does happen, but it’s still fine, like life is still fine, everything’s okay, and you actually now have so much more information to try again or to do things differently or to pivot, whatever it is that comes out of that situation. But it’s the fear behind it that is so much stronger, and when we can just prove it wrong by doing the thing and seeing that everything is good, that really takes the power away. And then my last tip is actually a little exercise for you. I love this exercise, and this probably sounds a little strange, especially coming from someone who is super positive, likes to look on the bright side, likes to find the good things out of a bad situation, especially with everything we’ve already talked about today. But this is one of my favorite exercises. I want you to think about maybe the situation in your business that is scary right now, something you may be trying to do. You’re not sure how it’s going to go, or maybe it’s just launching your business at all and really taking that first step to really get it out there. Think of the absolute worst case scenario. What would your business failing actually look like for you? How bad would it get? Would you have to get a job? Would you have to go back to doing what you were doing? Would you have to pick up more hours at the job you do have? Would you have to take out a loan? Would you have to cut back on expenses? From this financial perspective, that is often what drives this fear of failure, like I mentioned at the beginning. So, really getting into financially, what would happen if no one bought your program? If you only got two clients right away instead of filling up your schedule? What would you do? What would that look like? And also, from the perspective of emotionally, how would it feel? What would it look like if your business failed and you had to go back and find a job or you had to get pick up part-time work while you’re building your business? What would that feel like? And I know this is getting dark right, but I think it helps so much, first of all, to see that, yes, there are options. Yes, I would still be okay. Yes, I would have some other paths to explore while I’m working on my business. And then another great thing about this exercise comes from the second part, which is now to think about the absolute best case scenario. What would it look like if you launched this thing? You started your business, you tried out this, you got this thing going. Whatever it is that’s currently the next big thing for you that could really catapult your success. What is the best case scenario of that happening? What would it look like? How much money could you make? What would that money do for you in your life? How many more people could you help? How would it go? What would be a day in the life of you having this super successful thing that you just did? Get really clear on both of those, because at this point from where you’re at right now. Both are equally possible, and it would take the same amount of energy to have a massive success as it would be for things to go not as planned. So where are you putting your focus? Because where focus goes, energy flows. And for you, getting in this pattern of thinking about, well, what if it fails? What if it doesn’t do this? What if it does that? What if it doesn’t go as planned? What if? What if? What if? That’s exactly where you’re putting your focus and, by way of that, is exactly where you’re putting your energy. But you can just as easily guide your energy into a different direction simply by guiding your thoughts into well, what if it goes better than planned? You get to decide what’s at the end of that, what if? And by way of doing that, we’ll then guide your energy towards the results that you want. All right, that will end our discussion about failure for today, but I hope it has given you a new outlook, maybe a new perspective, and maybe just even called you out a little bit on where you are putting your thoughts and what you’re thinking about and what may be stopping you from actually doing the thing that you want to do, or taking that next big step, and really understanding how necessary the feelings that you have are, and not only necessary but common. But that is what will get you to the point where you can have this experience of learning what you need to learn and growing in the way that you need to grow, and taking that next step that you need to take to get you on the path to your dream business, to this life that you’re hoping for. You have to go through these moments and you’re going through them, and that’s a great sign, but now it’s time to make sure that your actions coincide with that, instead of letting it stop you. All right, my friends, we will leave it at that and until next time, take care. Hey, wait up before you go. Do you want to know the biggest reason why your business may not flow? Because it’s not in alignment with your personality type. Building the right business for you means knowing your strengths, weaknesses, energetic expression and what’s most important to you, so you can build your business accordingly. Before you spend one more minute working on your business, let’s make sure it’s the right business for you. I’ve created a fun two minute quiz to discover your flow business personality type, With the results of this quiz, you’ll know exactly what to prioritize in your business so you can feel confident knowing your building a business you love. Head over to www.shawnmynar.com Right now to find out your flow, business personality type and once you find that out, hop over to Instagram and let me know what you discover. Again, that’s www.shawnmynar.com and quiz. As always, the link is in the show notes.