Sorry, not sorry, but is it really a failure if you actually learn something from it? That’s why I’m so fond of the phrase fail fast. A long, drawn-out failure is miserable. You know that you should walk away, but no matter how many posts you read about the sunk costs fallacy, you just can’t let the tiny spark of hope be extinguished.

That’s a reason why working with someone like me is so helpful for many businesses. I can give them the permission they need to dump the things that aren’t working and try out the wild ideas that might just be a hit.

I love food, so at one point, a new career as a chef seemed like the obvious path. I threw myself into the training, met some utterly amazing people and learnt more about knives than I’ll ever need to know. It’s also been a really useful background when working with a variety of clients who have hospitality industry links.

My plan was to sell Thai green curry. Everyone said mine tasted amazing. I had great branding and was going to set myself up as a street food seller in my local town centre. An opportunity to put my cooking skills to work and chat with customers as I worked.

It was a great idea. The food was good. The set-up was good. The thing I hadn’t taken into account was that I was trying to sell in the wrong location – the wrong street in the wrong town.

Business isn’t like The Field of Dreams. There’s no build it and they will come. So I moved on and that’s probably been way more beneficial for me and for the businesses I work with.

Let’s imagine for a moment that I hadn’t tried out my curry-selling experiment. I wouldn’t know if it would work or not. I wouldn’t have experience with the paperwork and logistics required. Plus, I’d likely be boring everyone I met with a story about how I planned one day to set up my own food business…

No one expects failure and it can seem like you’re doing all the right things. A couple of years ago, I was promoting a package I’d designed and decided to call it Business Therapy.

I had a good reason for this. I’d had a number of reviews where clients had suggested that working with me was like therapy for their business. It was a catchy enough phrase and seemed like a good fit for what I was offering. It brought together my understanding of people and business. Plus, I was doing one of those business tip things – looking at the words my customer used about me.

It did not take off in the way I hoped. So after a few months, I withdrew it and pondered why. Reading through client feedback surveys, I began to understand. Clients enjoyed feeling more confident after working with me. They felt that they had a sense of direction and a new energy. The same kind of outcomes people often experience from actual therapy.

But I was so focused on using their words that I hadn’t stopped to think what small business owners were looking for or how they might describe that need.

So you can’t buy Thai green curry from me any more. Or sign up for my Business therapy service. However, I’m still here. What I’ve got is everything I learned from these so-called failures. Not just what I could have done differently, but also the skills I developed and the knowledge I acquired.

This is why I ask if it really is failure. For me, it’s just another step along the path with some useful souvenirs picked up along the way. For you, I’ll stick my key advice in this area: fail fast. Then you’ll know for sure if your idea works.

You can benefit from my failures. I won’t share my recipe for Thai green curry, but you can quiz me about making your business work better. Book a discovery call and let’s talk.