What "failure" taught you the most? 💪

[isabelle]

Hey Seller Community! This week, we're asking you to reflect on...

What "failure" taught you the most?

*This can be in your work, or personal life! Looking forward to reading and learning from your replies. 

[Bronze_Palms]

Updating my policy really burned me. Then, not having it be accessible for everyone to find on the site.

[DinaLRosenberg]

This business isn't my first business- I had one prior with a different partner than I have now- and we didn't have a partnership agreement. BOY I LEARNED MY LESSON. It is critical that all the hard decisions are made when you're sitting up your business- specifically how you intend to value your business should you decide to end the partnership.

[Candlestore]

Do not TRUST anyone, People lie to get what they want no matter the cost or who it hurts.  Tenants, customers, politicians, customer service people, post office, UPS, FedEx ...etc.. the list goes on.  Get everything in writing or it does not mean anything!!  Save all documents for proof in court!  

[rtfulk]

When we first started our business everyone wanted to give you credit. It was easy to take but hard to pay back. It took us about 5 years to pay everything down, but we paid everyone. Now we run a cash positive business it was an expensive lesson, but I am now glad we went through it. It has made us better.

[mituti26]

I would say one of my biggest mistakes has been not repeating merchandise that sells well. 

[0m]

Switching to Toast POS and Payroll.  I thought that being they were a recognized POS for restaurants system would be better for my business.  It was the worst.  2 months, almost put my business out of business.   Square is KING in my books. 

[Hailey]

Oh no! Sorry to hear you went through that stressful and risky period. We are appreciative to have you as a Square seller. 

[lenjobakes]

As someone mentioned previously - get everything in writing!

My contractors for my original build out earned my trust by being attentive and kind, convinced me to increase my budget by 100% (why cut corners when you'll get exactly what you want) and then proceeded to never finish the work, bully and intimidate me, and had the fricking AUDACITY to sue me when I paid them everything except 10% because they never delivered.

I had amended our original contract to include a finish date, but didn't follow through with my instinct (and advice from a former colleague) to put in a penalty clause that stated "if not completed by XX date, you will deduct $XX from total owing". I thought, "They're so lovely! Kind! They understand! They said the time budgeting was sooooo generous they could get it done in half the time."

Well, folks. I will never again enter into a time sensitive project (like opening a retail store during the fixturing period to start earning money before you pay rent!!) without that penalty clause. You could be a literal saint promising me the world. Don't meet your deadline? As the kids say these days, "eff around and find out!!"

...I'm not still mad 1.5 years later though 🙄

[Hailey]

just reading this gives me anxiety. I can't imagine how stressful that was! And mid-covid 😣

[Lajsarian85]

I gotta say to recall, many significant failures Im sure; but I’m already thinking on quite simply how to try again. 

[JLashedme]

simple..just keep trying. Never give up. Take each “failure” as a lesson! Learn & grow. Its all trial and error. 

[OMGDIPS]

We went to one of our largest locations. I made some of the samples a little earlier than I usually do. I realized when I put the samples out I needed to redo some of them. I wanted to get under the tables and hide. No one complained, because Covid is still in the air they would buy instead of sampling. I took inventory to see what needed to be remade and corrected it immediately. I have extra made up but not that time. Next time I will make sure they are fresh and have backup’s. I had backup’s in the past but I would have to throw away some that didn’t get used. I learned my lesson. 

[yanzhangmd]

You need to reject anyone who tells you that, and keep doing your thing.  They don't know you, your talents, ideas, energy, or your good looks.  You don't know when the lucks is on you.

[MJD]

Not charging enough - I prioritised order quantity over my earnings for too long and no matter how many orders I received, I appeared cheap and it negatively affected how I looked in the public eye, now I aim to price fairly for myself and the client whenever shooting!

[Hailey]

I had a similar issue when i had a consulting business. I under charged for many reasons: imposture syndrome, fear of losing clients, fear of public opinion (being "too expensive") and then would end up feeling annoyance/resentment for the work i was doing for clients... and it was MY fault, not theirs. 

I quickly got the confidence to charge my worth and it resulted in better quality clients and me really enjoying the work again. 

[blue40]

Aww man the vibe and WAve make em watch catch a wave on a mission can’t lose lost sleep for day it’s 40 way new music great vibes on the way 

[TheRealChipA]

Not being true to myself.  Case in point…. I grew up in the 60s/70s in the then smallest town in Kentucky. (Cue Dueling Banjos for background music! LOL).  FYI, I’m not posting this for sympathy, empathy or anything else.  It is meant to be a teaching moment, nothing else.  Read what I post here, and if it clicks with you that’s great.  If it doesn’t click with you, or it upsets you, that’s great, too.  I’m old enough not to want or need atta-boys, and not to need to go down rabbit holes with those who might find what I post offensive or upsetting.  This is just my experience and what it taught me. (This means that I will no reply to any replies in public.  Hint hint.)

Anyway, I was a “different boy,” queer in a time & world where even the whisper of such a thing was at the least the cause for unrelenting ridicule, and at the most the cause of much worse things.  Of course, I hid who I was, as it was the only sensible thing to do.  I took it too far, though.  I married a woman, fathered 3 beautiful children, and even converted to a very strict and unforgiving religion that I thought would “cure” me but that, instead, nearly destroyed me.  Obviously, none of that worked, because that kind of change is not even remotely possible.

Long story short.  Today, I am married (together 26 years) to my best friend and husband.  We have a solid relationship with my children and grandchildren, and even with the mother of my children.  While I would change none of what I have now, I still wish I could have avoided the angst and pain that my decisions/mistakes caused others.

That’s the point of the story.  Be true to yourself — personally and professionally.  Have integrity, even when integrity is the most difficult path you can choose.  Don’t let the values and beliefs of others change how you feel about yourself and who you are.  You’ll never regret integrity and being true to yourself.  But you will regret the consequences of taking the other path.

I used to want everyone to like me.  Today I realize that that is not only totally impossible, but that I do not need people who don’t like me in my life anyway.  If someone doesn’t like who I am, that is always their problem and I feel sorry for them that they will miss getting to know the awesome person that I am!  Most of all, when you do live your live with integrity you’ll find that life presents you with lots of opportunities to pass that gift on to others who struggle.  In the end, that’s all that any of us can ask.

[AHigherQuality]

Failure is key to learning.

[phillylobster]

Taking a customer complaint personally. I'm still learning to deal with complaints/returns as a way to learn more from the customer and see it as an opportunity to identify potential issues/problems that need to be addressed. 

[missingcord]

Spread yourself out , Do not put all of your eggs in one basket. I learned this the hard way. I was top heavy for a  (very large auction site that starts with a "E") with my business. And almost got taken out of business by their company decisions.  If I had created many smaller , self owned platforms early on I would have been more successful and impervious to changes from a platform I didn't control. I knew it was something I needed to do and sat on the task till it was almost too late.  To make it even worse for myself , I had often sold to people on that very platform who where doing just that and using me as sourcing. For platforms they controlled.  So if i had any advice about this topic , it would be to spread your eggs out , so you have more points of income coming in. Don't get blinded by the money in one spot. 

[Hailey]

Really good point here @missingcord. I always try to highlight this to business that use particular social platforms for their only source of community management. If those platforms shut down tomorrow, do you have a platform to connect to your audience anymore? HINT a captivating newsletter/blog that is distributed through an email list or some kind of subscription is always a good practice for managing customer relationships. YEs it might be more work, but its YOUR site/list that holds your audience, not a 3rd party social platform. 

But dont get me wrong, all are important. Just to your point of diversification. It applies to marketing/advertising/community management too 🙂