Making a bad decision and bouncing back from it
Discussion
Having recently made some rash decisions which lead me to suffer from some relatively small consequences made me wonder what other people have been through.
I have been through a couple now that have cost me money and always feels worse than it is but who on earth likes losing money!
Would be nice to hear how people pick themselves up and get over such things
I have been through a couple now that have cost me money and always feels worse than it is but who on earth likes losing money!
Would be nice to hear how people pick themselves up and get over such things
I've had a few in our business but each time we change procedures to ensure they don't happen again. It's annoying at the time but not every job/customer is going to go perfectly. As long as you aren't repeating the same mistakes you'll be fine. Every business has to deal with this, it's not just you.
Became freelance graphic designer at 19. Running my own studio with staff at 20. Went against my own judgement and took the advice of my accountant to remain a sole trader. Two bad debts two years later. Should have bailed but kept going for another year. Bankrupt by the age of 25.
Reversed what was left of the business into another company and became their employee. Studied for Diploma in Marketing. Applied for and got jobs I couldn't do but learned rapidly how to do them.
Set up again in '98 (with three others). Sold that. Became shareholding director of another agency in '00. And back on my own with a new endeavour in '19. And doing well.
Lessons learned and bouncing back:
Not all professional advice is good. Trust your instincts
Recognise when to bail and act upon in
The only money that matters is the cash in the bank
Learn why you failed and fill in the knowledge gaps
Expand the things you knew previously - broaden your capacities and capabilities
It helps enormously to get all your major league f
k-ups done and out of the way in your 20s
Also, it's important to accept that when/if it goes wrong, it's your fault - even if that isn't immediately obvious. My first business went bust because two clients didn't pay their bills so on the face of it, not really my fault. But it was because I should have foresaw this and either prevented it or mitigated against it. Accepting and taking ownership of your shortcomings is vital.
The biggest challenge for me was returning to employment. I'd had six years running my own show, being my own boss and having to adapt to then having a boss was something that took a long while and if I'm honest, never truly felt comfortable with. Even the 20 years or so when I was a shareholding director, I was never a majority shareholder so never felt like it was my business, even though I'd started and grew one of them from scratch (my idea, someone else's money). In 2019 I went back out entirely on my own and rediscovered my Mojo which has and is having hugely beneficial outcomes.
Reversed what was left of the business into another company and became their employee. Studied for Diploma in Marketing. Applied for and got jobs I couldn't do but learned rapidly how to do them.
Set up again in '98 (with three others). Sold that. Became shareholding director of another agency in '00. And back on my own with a new endeavour in '19. And doing well.
Lessons learned and bouncing back:
Not all professional advice is good. Trust your instincts
Recognise when to bail and act upon in
The only money that matters is the cash in the bank
Learn why you failed and fill in the knowledge gaps
Expand the things you knew previously - broaden your capacities and capabilities
It helps enormously to get all your major league f
k-ups done and out of the way in your 20sAlso, it's important to accept that when/if it goes wrong, it's your fault - even if that isn't immediately obvious. My first business went bust because two clients didn't pay their bills so on the face of it, not really my fault. But it was because I should have foresaw this and either prevented it or mitigated against it. Accepting and taking ownership of your shortcomings is vital.
The biggest challenge for me was returning to employment. I'd had six years running my own show, being my own boss and having to adapt to then having a boss was something that took a long while and if I'm honest, never truly felt comfortable with. Even the 20 years or so when I was a shareholding director, I was never a majority shareholder so never felt like it was my business, even though I'd started and grew one of them from scratch (my idea, someone else's money). In 2019 I went back out entirely on my own and rediscovered my Mojo which has and is having hugely beneficial outcomes.
Edited by StevieBee on Monday 10th May 07:26
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