How to Overcome a Devastating Loss as a Business Owner
What business owner do you know that hasn’t, at one time or another, felt the bitter disappointment of something not going as intended? I have worked with thousands of entrepreneurs and I don’t know any who have won 100% of the time. Actually, I know many who have experienced devastating losses and, like the Duracell Energizer Bunny, are “still going”.
Pain, which is what accompanies moments of loss, can be a powerful motivator for future success. Or it can be something one gets trapped into which, unfortunately, can cause a lifetime of suffering.
As a business coach there’s nothing I abhor more than seeing one of my fellow entrepreneurs trapped in the pain of some long gone moment of their past. For instance, I can recall as a young kid seeing a family friend, who was the CEO of a major corporation, lose his job. One of the owners died and the company was broken up and sold off. His reaction to this loss was bitter resentment, which today, about 35 years later, he remains unemployed and still as resentful now as he was then. That is a man who is stuck in pain. And a man stuck in pain and not moving onward would be the most appropriate definition of hell for me.
I have learned, with great certainty, that pain is part of life to repel you away from it. It’s not there to get stuck in. It is there to push you, the business owner, towards pleasure and more success. It’s there to communicate — don’t put your hand there or it’s going to burn. Well, some of the greatest entrepreneurs I know put their hand there anyway and got burned. The difference between those who overcome that burning pain or not is the essential point I’m going to make in the following paragraphs. I believe this data is as important as the oxygen we breath.
So what do you do with a loss? The first thing you don’t do is make less of yourself for it happening. It happened. It is done. Regret is the effort of trying to change the past which is a waste of time since it’s not going to happen. What can change is your attitude towards your past experience. So you learn from it. You analyze it objectively. You take from it that which can help you succeed in the future. For instance, I hope the Atlanta Falcons learn from their devastating Superbowl loss that you never play a game to merely conserve a lead; you keep playing the way you have been playing — taking risks offensively, putting lots of points on the board, etc.
Perhaps you’re thinking the above is easier said than done. It is but it can be done with some understanding and willingness to pull yourself up by your own bootstraps. You can use pain to create a more pleasurable, successful future. I’m living proof from vast experience; I’m the type that played with a lot of fire and I’m still going stronger than ever. Innumerable other business owners are stellar examples that devastating losses can be overcome and can be a powerful aid to future success.
Here are the steps you can take to overcome any and all losses in business:
- Find someone who knows how to listen to you. Great business coaches know how to effectively listen. Get one if you don’t have one yet!
- Communicate what happened. Communicate as much as you need to communicate about it. Ensure the person listening to you, acknowledges how you see it. Keep communicating about it until you feel good and have what you need from it to help your future.
- Write down what you learned from the experience as firm policy to help create your future success.
- Make it firm policy to not agree with getting stuck in any losses. Some of the greatest entrepreneurs alive today have experienced some of the most devastating losses and learning from those losses and moving onward is what defines their greatness.
A business owner, with a persistent, never-give-up attitude, is unstoppable and destined for boundless success. Getting stuck in losses, even devastating losses, as the Atlanta Falcons organization experienced, doesn’t occur. So my intention for you is: Keep going no matter what happens and win, even when you lose, and you will win a lot more in life!
By Erik Bayersdorfer, Co-Founder/Co-Owner, Élite
“Throughout my years as a business owner, I have worked with a number of consultants and business coaches. And, while I’ve been incredibly blessed to have some great coaches, Erik is undoubtedly one of the best!
“Not only is he incredibly knowledgeable about how to implement processes and systems that will improve your business operations, he is also a coach that genuinely wants to help you achieve all your personal and professional goals” — Inc 5000 Business Owner
