I have been thinking a lot about this blog post for the last few weeks, but I am only sitting down now to write it. Quite frankly, I wasn’t sure if I was going to write it because to be honest it embarrassing. No one wants to blast to the world that something they are working on failed.I had to cancel some of my DIY PR workshops in July because despite my efforts to promote the events on social media I wasn’t able to get anyone to sign up. Even writing that sentence out makes me a little sick to my stomach.
I have been debating about publishing this article because it’s embarrassing admitting to the world that I failed. However, I have decided to because I think it is important to know that there are setbacks in life. We live in a world of curated Instagram accounts filled with pretty pictures, so I think it is more important than ever to admit that sometimes things aren’t a pretty Instagram feed. As an entrepreneur, life can be all over the place. I started this blog to be transparent with all of you and give you a behind the scenes look at what it means to run a small business. This is real life people and not everything I try has been successful.
For the past 7 years, I have been running fifteen media and I have gotten pretty comfortable with my role. I have been mostly working with other PR firms to help them secure more media placements for their clients (think ghost writer, but ghost publicist). I know my job, I know how to do it well and it has become very monotonous. I really wanted to start working with small businesses as a next challenge.
The DIY PR workshops I’ve built really represent the next step I was planning to take in my career. I love doing workshops because I love meeting entrepreneurs, makers, and small business owners; I am always so inspired and in awe of other people’s creativity. I get motivated by the feeling that maybe one of my tips will help land a small business a media placement that will help take them to the next level in their business. Having to cancel the workshops really shook me because by scheduling the workshops it felt like I was taking a big step into my future, a big step into the next bigger & better chapter of my business. So when it didn’t work out, it felt like a particularly big blow.
Below are a few tips that have helped me move forward and I hope they can help you too!
Take time to be sad.
Especially when you work for yourself, everything seems really personal. It felt like it didn’t work out because of something I did or I wasn’t a good enough business owner because things didn’t go the way I planned. I tried really hard to be nice to myself rather than constantly beating myself up while also allowing myself to be sad for as long as I needed. Now, a few weeks later, I am finally feeling less upset about it and ready to move forward.
Failure isn’t a final destination.
For the past few weeks, I have been replaying this Winston Churchill quote that my dad always says over and over in my head: Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.
Along with that quote, I have been reading more business articles about how other super successful entrepreneurs failed before making it big. Did you know that supposedly Walt Disney was turned down 302 times for financing when he was trying to start Disney World? I know it is corny, but remembering things like this has helped me to realize that it doesn’t mean I am never going to do a workshop again.
I know, that what I am doing isn’t really revolutionary, but it is something that I put my heart into and I would like to see it succeed.
There will never be a time that is perfect or you feel totally prepared for your next endeavor, sometimes u… Click To TweetGo through the motions.
When 3 workshops didn’t work out, I definitely spent a lot of time thinking “Why am I even doing this?” I already have a business that I am very comfortable with, so why am I trying to do something new.
However, I know I wouldn’t be happy doing the same thing I have been doing for years. If I ask myself deep down what I want, I know the answer is I want to create PR content that small business owners can use to take their businesses to the next level. I can’t just shake it off and keep doing the same old things.
Even though I really felt like giving up and just focusing on my regular work, I kept going through the motions of laying the foundation for more workshops (even if my heart wasn’t really into it). I kept scheduling meeting with people that I needed to meet, posting to social media and looking into hiring someone on a more regular basis that can help me achieve my goals. While for a few weeks, it felt forced, I am glad I kept halfheartedly going through the motions because now I am excited about my meetings and looking forward to continuing in the direction that I want to go.
Learn from the mistakes.
For me, this is all I can do now. I basically drained my savings account trying to put on these workshops because even though they didn’t work I still had to pay for the venues, pay for the presentation to be made, pay the amazing people that helped me with graphics, social media etc. Sometimes I think what I could have used that money for. Maybe a trip to Greece for a month (I have been dying to go) or even a new Chanel bag or the trip to NYC I wanted to go on for my 30
Maybe a trip to Greece for a month (I have been dying to go) or even a new Chanel bag or the trip to NYC I wanted to go on for my 30th birthday. While yes, those things would have brought me joy (I mean come on who wouldn’t be happy sitting on a beach in Greece) expanding my business is really important to me. The only way I feel like I just didn’t throw away a bunch of money is to truly look at the mistakes and learn from them.The only way I can approach the situation and not feel like I threw away a bunch of money is to truly look at the mistakes and learn from them.
I have taken some time to really examine what worked and what didn’t work. There were times I needed to focus on more of what worked and less of what didn’t work. Anytime something doesn’t work, you really have to use it as a learning point because looking at it that way makes all the money and time spent worth it.
If I can inspire you to do one thing from this blog post, it just to go for it! Yeah, not all my workshops turned out so well, but you know what I am actually happy that I got the ball rolling. There will never be a time that is perfect or you feel totally prepared for your next endeavor, but sometimes you just have to put it out there and try.
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