5 Steps to Managing 'Failures' in Business - and Elsewhere Too

What the partners of Morgan Gleave Art & Design have learnt in eleven years of running a small business. 

1) Do not avoid trying just to avoid failure

 “It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed."

Theodore Roosevelt

2) Accept that everyone fails sometimes  

This does not mean that you should go round expecting to fail all the time – that would be counterproductive.  

It means accept that failing is part of life so that when it happens, it does not come as an earth shattering shock.

You will meet other entrepreneurs who appear to be perfect in every way.  It is easy to assume that you are the only one with difficulties. 

It is not true.  The rest are hiding failures behind their professional personas. 

You need to do the same because to openly dwell on your difficulties will reduce your potential customers’ confidence in your business.

(The butterfly has nothing to do with the article - it is just pretty and cheerful.)

3) Learn from your failures  

Work out what went wrong so that you can avoid the same thing happening again.   

4) Own your failure  

If you contributed to the failure, do not make excuses or blame someone else. 

Similarly, do not be too hard on yourself. 

If your failure affects someone else then take genuine responsibility for it.  Apologise, and make amends if you can. 

5) Forgive yourself and move on

Once you have worked out what went wrong, learnt from it and done all you can to make amends, it is time to forgive yourself and move on.

Forgiving yourself is not easy but worth the effort.  

Sometimes it is just a case of reminding yourself that you are humans and not infallible or that sometimes things just happen because we cannot control everything.

‘Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.’

Winston Churchill

6)  What to do when failure makes you feel miserable

  

Sometimes, when something major does go wrong, you have to let yourself be upset before you can regroup and start learning from the event.

Click on AUseful Little Trick for Managing ‘Bad’ Feelings for a surprisingly effective technique for managing your less welcome feelings.

The more you fail, the easier it gets to accept failure and move on.

Post Script

The death of the wonderful David Bowie has been announced today.  So sad.  Such a loss.

Reading David Bowie's obituary on the BBC’s website it is clear that even David Bowie had his fair share of failures but he still kept bouncing back and trying different things.  

If David Bowie cannot inspire you not to give into life's setbacks, then I doubt that anyone can. 

David Bowie, RIP

Have you any inspiring stories about how you have turned a failure into a positive learning experience?  This can be in business or elsewhere.

Comments about David Bowie are welcome too.

Help! I’m Starting My Own Business. What's Best Way to Buy Business Cards?

www.morgangleave.co.uk

Business Cards:  The Process

There are two elements to producing a business card:

• Design

• Print

Different Approaches to Designing and Printing Business Cards:

• Work with a professional graphic designer 

• Order online from a mass customising and print organisation eg Vistaprint, Moo

• Buy them from a business card vending machines

• Create and print business cards yourself

The Pros and Cons of Each Method

Professional Graphic Designer

Pros

• Graphic designers spend years training and can guide you through the process.

• You will get a bespoke product created to your specifications.

• There will be no costly print mistakes because you will know exactly what you are getting and the designer will liaise with the printers to get the highest quality at the best price.

• Your designer will ensure that you have all the correct information presented in a functional way.

• You will own the completed design.

• It is quick and easy to order more, you only need to email, text or call your designer.

• You will be able to choose from a wide range of card and finishes.

• You will be able to see and feel samples of card and finishes before making your choice.

• The finished card will form an effective part of your marketing strategy.

Cons

• More expensive than the other options (except perhaps home printed if you print a lot), although it is still worth asking for quotes because they may not be as expensive as you think.

• Take longer to produce than the other options

Mass Customising and Print Organisation e.g. Vistaprint, Moo

Pros

• Cheaper than using a professional graphic designer

• Quicker than using a professional graphic designer who will liaise with a print company on your behalf.

• There is potential for professional looking business cards

Cons

• These are print companies, not professional graphic designers.  They give customers limited design guidance in order to sell their print.

• Cards may appear amateurish due to the limited guidance on how an effective business card should look.

• Print standards may be lower than other print companies.

• The sites are more difficult to use than they initially appear.

• There is scope for expensive errors.

• You will have a limited choice of card and finishes.

• There is a chance that you will encounter someone with a similar card to yours.

Story Time...

There is a place for business cards produced by online print companies, particularly if you are on a very tight budget and price is more important than quality.  

If you decide to go down this route be very careful because a lot of its success depends upon your input.

Creating and Printing Business Cards Yourself 

Pros

• Low initial outlay assuming that only a few cards are printed

• Potentially quick

• Can print a few cards at a time

Cons

• Amateurish appearance

• Usually, high quality card cannot be used on home printers

• May have the same design as someone else you or your potential clients encounter.

• Expensive in the long run

Definitely only an emergency option but it is better than no card at all.

It is better for an emergency card to look like an emergency card than an amateurish card.

To aim for a very simple card with the relevant information included in an simple font would be the best approach.  See Help! I’m starting my own business.  DoI need business cards?  What detailsshould be on a business card? for guidance.

Business Card Vending Machine

We cannot comment on this because we have no personal experience.


To Sum Up

Like so many things, with business cards, you get what you pay for.  

You need to decide what is most suitable for your business.  

If you are presenting an upmarket image, you need a graphic designer.  

If you are taking a 'pile it high, sell it cheap' approach, you may feel that an online print company will do a good enough job for your requirements.  

Finally

Have you used a Business Card Vending Machine?  Please help improve this article by posting your comments below.  

Do subscribe if you wish to receive more articles by Morgan Gleave Art & Design aimed at supporting those who are just starting up in business.

Help! I’m starting my own business. Do I need business cards? What details should be on a business card?

Do I need business cards?

Yes.

• Business cards are an important part of your marketing strategy.

•  Your business card is often part of the first impression of your business potential customers have.

• Without a business card gives an unprofessional impression.

• Without a business card you will be forever writing or dictating your contact details to someone.

• Details on random pieces of paper are likely to get lost or potential customers may forget why they have your contact information.

Once you are established you will need a properly printed business card. 

However, it is better to hand over a neat piece of paper showing appropriate details than nothing from the minute you decide that you are definitely starting your own business.

• Standard business cards measure approximately 55mm x 85mm.

• They may be single sided or double sided.

• There are many other variations such as the weight of card used, the finish, the font and so on.

What details should be on my business card?

A business card needs to:

• Show the business name

• Indicate the business type (Ideally, the company name will make this clear.)

• Show your name

•  Show your qualifications, if appropriate

• Give telephone number(s) (Always include a landline number.  A business can appear 'dodgy' if only a mobile number is given.)

• The business address

• The email address

• The website address

A business card may also include:

• A logo

• A tagline (E.g. ‘Never Knowingly Undersold’, John Lewis;  ‘Because You’re Worth It’, L'Oréal;  ‘You Either Love it or Hate It’, Marmite)

• Additional logos e.g. social media, trade or professional organisation

Finally, the design for one of Morgan Gleave Art & Design's business cards clearly giving the important information on one side and showing the logo on the other.

Questions and comments are welcome.

You Want to Start Your Own Business? Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Submit Your Resignation Part Three

What the partners of Leicestershire based Morgan Gleave Art & Design have learnt in 11 years of running a small business. 

If you have not done so already, you may wish to read: You Want to Start Your Own Business? Questions to Ask Yourself BeforeYou Submit Your Resignation Part One and Part Two

Here is the final question you need to consider before committing yourself to starting up own business.

5)  How am I going to fund my start-up business?

• How much funding will I need to start my business?  Starting a business is surprisingly expensive.

• Where can I get funding?  You need to use your research skills for this one.  There are numerous sources of funding for small businesses out there.  The most obvious place to seek funding is a bank but there are other options such as grants.  Alternatively, you may choose to use your savings or redundancy money.

• Do I have sufficient funds to live on for at least the first year of trading?   It has been said that a business takes at least five years to become established.   In the meantime bills have to be paid.

• How will I feel if I cannot afford my present standard of living?  How will my family feel?

Oh, noooooooo! I really want to start my own business but now I am soooooo depressed because I didn’t answer yes to all the questions!  Oh, oh, oh, what am I going to do? Ohhhhhhhhh.

Calm down!  Honestly, that is quite enough of that unseemly racket!  Where do you think you are?  The House of Commons? 

You are a prospective entrepreneur, act like one!

Just because you did not answer yes to everything it does not mean that all is lost. 

If you are still determined to start your own business, the next step is to try to make changes so that you can return to this page and have a column of yeses. 

Finally, as disappointing as it may be, there is no shame in deciding that a particular course of action is not for you just now.

You may wish to subscribe to Morgan Gleave Art and Design's blog.  You will be cross with yourself if you missed something...

You Want to Start Your Own Business? Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Submit Your Resignation Part Two

What the partners of Leicestershire based Morgan Gleave Art & Design have learnt in 11 years of running a small business. 

If you have not done so already, you may wish to read: You Want to Start Your Own Business? Questions to Ask Yourself BeforeYou Submit Your Resignation Part One

3) Am I emotionally equipped to deal with self employment?

• How flexible am I? Are you open to constructive criticism? When someone suggests changing something, do you stubbornly do as you wish or do you stop and seriously consider the suggestion?

• How do I cope with failure? To be blunt:  business is one long round of setbacks and disappointments interspersed with wonderful opportunities and unexpected successes. Will you be able to bounce back again and again and again without getting disheartened?

• Do I enjoy a challenge? 

• Am I sufficiently confident? Have you got the confidence to put yourself and your product/skills out there and risk rejection or negative feedback, to deal with awkward clients/suppliers and to effectively network? 

• How will I deal with the mistakes I make? You will make mistakes. Whoppers.  It is how we learn but when it comes to your first start up, it can be a painful and frequently expensive learning curve. Reading A Useful Little Trick for Managing ‘Bad’ Feelings may be helpful.

• Have I got good interpersonal skills?

4)  Have I got the ability to run a business?

• Have I got research skills?

• Can I write a business plan, a marketing plan and any other bloomin’ plan that comes along? These are essential documents and are quite complex and daunting to begin with. However, there are many sources of help and examples online.  This is one of the best: https://www.princes-trust.org.uk/help-for-young-people/tools-resources/business-tools/business-plans.  (Note that the information on the Princes Trust site is aimed at young people so may have to be adjusted.)  Further, local authorities, banks and other organisations provide help. 

• Am I willing to learn business administration; research skills etc. if I have not already got them?   

Watch this space for the next part of this series: You Want to Start Your Own Business? Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Submit Your Resignation Part Three

You may wish to subscribe to Morgan Gleave Art and Design's blog.  You will be cross with yourself if you missed something...