Dear Founders, Set A Failure Point And Stick To It

Failure isn’t something you want to think about for your startup, but it’s going to be essential to your success. I have never seen a startup that didn’t have at least one failed strategy or idea.

The people who are still in business benefitted from their failures in one way or another. Failures give you useful data. They tell you that something doesn’t work, and you can probably figure out why. Then you can use that information to guide you in moving forward.

Consider Setting Failure Points For Crucial Elements Of Your Business

If a program or aspect of your business isn’t working after a certain amount of investment or time then it may be time for change. Setting a failure point will alert you to the need for change, rather than letting something that isn’t working continue longer than it needs to.

The variables will be different for every business, but you’ll be able to figure out how much experimentation your business can support before it’s time to change or risk going by the wayside.

A Failure Point Should Be specific And May Be Related To:

Time: We must reach 10,000 subscribers in the next 6 months using our current marketing strategy.
Milestones: We need to sign contracts with X, Y and Z suppliers to make this startup work.

Either way, the best way to use them is to make sure you are hitting the key milestones and key success factors for your startup when you need to be.

Some entrepreneurs even set failure points for the business as a whole, and if it doesn’t work by then they get out completely. Perseverance is important, but knowing when to cut your losses is just as valuable.

Action

Set a failure point for something in your startup. Identify one or two of your key success factors or milestones. Pick out your latest business strategy, action plan, or anything else and set a failure point for it.

If you hit the failure point, evaluate why and decide whether to switch to a new plan or strategy or modify the old one. It’s that simple.

About the Author

Susan Jones is the founder of ReadySetStartup.com, helping aspiring entrepreneurs develop both the strategy and psychology to create winning businesses. She lectures in Entrepreneurship at Swinburne University and is passionate about empowering women entrepreneurs. You can grab a copy of her free Startup Blueprint: 5 Steps to Launching your 6 figure business. 

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