Article Contributed by Jenn Livingston
Startups are great ways to enter the professional scene and make your name heard around the world. Nevertheless, they can be difficult to execute correctly in high-pressure situations. There are many lessons to be learned from failed startups.
Impressions
When you are trying to promote a startup, you will inevitably come into contact with many other executives. If your startup eventually fails, do not worry about leaving a bad impression. Your first impression is usually perfectly fine, but other aspects of the startup are unsuccessful. Continue to put your best foot forward when meeting new CEOs and presidents. It is a common mistake to be turned off by failed startups. The truth is, your first impression is the best you can do at that moment. When things are out of your control, you should not worry about them until they become relevant. Make your name heard and don’t worry if your initial portrayal does not work out. In this industry, a lack of confidence is one of the worst traits a leader can have. You need to be decisive and confident in everything you do. From handshakes to text messages to apparel, a solid image can go a surprisingly long way. It is worthwhile to compare your demeanor between startups and how it changes over time. Tracking your disposition is one of the most clever ways to make progress. At each failed startup, you will show improvement and eventually stray away from a hesitant outlook. I learned this lesson the hard way, but by starting now, you can avoid these simple mistakes.
Following Up After the Failure
Failure can be difficult to deal with. Nevertheless, it is important to follow up after the incident instead of completely abandoning the project. I see a lot of young entrepreneurs noticing success and immediately moving on to the next project. While this might save a small amount of time, you won’t be able to recover lost data and information. You also won’t learn from your mistakes. When I encountered a failed startup, I would take the next few days to reflect on what went wrong. Did I overcommit to one entity? Did the project have a misguided direction? By jotting these mistakes down in a notebook, I was able to look at this for future reference and fix my errors. You can take a similar approach with multiple failed startups. Send as many as emails as possible to employees, officers, and clients. With the right documentation, you can again track progress and make a firm statement.
Importance of Recruitment
Recruitment is at the foundation of every startup. In the past, I used to neglect this step in favor of a speedy hiring process. This is completely wrong. A steady recruitment session is necessary to determine the best workers for your startup. There are many ways to go about this process. If you are familiar with the strongest marketing techniques, you can use this as a basis for recruitment. Young entrepreneurs much like yourself will flock to the startup to prove their worth. Recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) is another fantastic strategy. When you outsource communication, you make it much easier for contacts to find your business in a heavily populated sea. In our world of market drivers, material analysis, and market overviews, it is important that you approach such a problem from multiple angles. After multiple failed startups, I decided that this technique is one of the best ways a young leader can take charge.
Conclusion
A failed startup is not the end of the world. If you treat these as learning experiences and take their lessons into your career, you will improve as a professional. Eventually, your failed startups will turn into successful ones and you will be on track for a lifetime of excellence.