Browsing Tag
learning from failure
16 posts
A Blockbuster Retail Franchisee Reveals Why The Chain Was Built to Fail
The following is adapted from the book "Built to Fail: The Inside Story of Blockbuster’s Inevitable Bust." Blockbuster was built by one of the most successful entrepreneurs in history, Wayne Huizenga. Before turning it into one of the most powerful brands in the entertainment world, he started Waste Management with a $5,000 loan and one...
WJR Business Beat with Jeff Sloan: Small Business Failure Statistics Don’t Tell the Whole Story (Episode 234)
On today's Business Beat, Jeff discusses the deeper meaning behind small business failure statistics — and what you should do to make sure you don't become a part of those numbers. According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics as reported by Fundera, approximately 20% of small businesses fail within the first year. Tune...
7 Ways To Bounce Back From Your Biggest Setback
Everyone grapples with setbacks and obstacles on the path to success. Sometimes, a breakdown can lead you to a significant breakthrough. Here’s how seven successful entrepreneurs and members of The Oracles overcame a setback to fast-track their ultimate success. StartupNation exclusive discounts and savings on Dell products and accessories: Learn more here Appreciate that failure presents a...
How Entrepreneurs Can Overcome the Fear of Failing
Fear comes in many shapes and sizes. It can affect all areas of our lives, including business; and one of the most common business fears is failing. In fact, Statista reports that as many as 35.2 percent of U.S. entrepreneurs experience the fear of failure. As you can imagine, this fear of failing prevents many...
How to Create a Culture of Learning Within Your Startup
Too often, learning is neglected in favor of productivity at startup companies. While it may be easy to get caught up in the day-to-day process of getting things done during the early days, creating a culture of learning is vital to the long-term success of your startup. First, a culture of learning is crucial for...
3 Ways Leaders Can Make an Authentic Impact on Social Media
It’s not uncommon for CEOs to create personal social media accounts on platforms like Twitter and Instagram. What is fairly common is attempting to figure out what to do next. It wasn’t that long ago that an entrepreneurial CEO (or anyone with a social presence, really) would prioritize gaining tons of followers. Now, the focus...
4 Ways to Take Your Passion Project to the Next Level
What does success mean to you? Sitting down and honestly thinking about the answer to this question will help you know when it’s time to take your side hustle or freelance project to the next level. It will involve a lot of hard work, but by keeping the following tips in mind, you can gauge...
Top 5 Reasons Why Startups Fail (and How You Can Avoid the Same Mistakes)
It goes without saying that every entrepreneur wants their startup to succeed. While starting a business, your passion and drive is often the easy part, while trying to keep your business afloat and heading in the right direction is often more difficult. With high hopes, long term plans and money going into new businesses, it’s...
Athlete Turned Entrepreneur: Shawne Merriman Sheds Light on Lights Out Brand
If you're a fan of NFL football like myself, then Shawne Merriman needs no introduction: a former three-time All-Pro and three-time Pro Bowl linebacker for the (then) San Diego Chargers. What you may not know, however, is that Merriman is now an entrepreneur, media personality and founder and CEO of an apparel brand, aptly named...
The Power of a Can-Do Attitude: Why Smart CEOs Always Say Yes
If you want to disrupt your industry, you need to adopt a mentality that distinguishes you from other leaders. When everyone else is saying no, you should always say yes. “Yes” seems like an innocuous word, but it’s one that many entrepreneurs and CEOs are so reluctant to say. “Yes” is a verbal agreement; one...
Zero to Half a Million: Year One Lessons in Entrepreneurship
In 2017, I shared a lot of thoughts, ideas and tactics for successful content marketing. But, that entire time, I was also experiencing my first year of entrepreneurship. In December of 2016, I launched my content marketing agency, Optimist. We set out to help startups, agencies and nonprofits use content to drive traffic and grow their...
Your Business May Have Failed, But You Can Still Prevail
Upper Street was a dream for any entrepreneur. The bespoke shoe label, started in 2010 by Julia Elliott Brown and her sister Katy Chandler, allowed customers to design their own shoes online using 3-D technology before trying them on at its London location. The concept struck a note with women worldwide, winning over an impressive...
8 Fears All New Entrepreneurs Must Understand and Overcome
Are you familiar with the story of Zeno of Cyprus? Here’s a quick synopsis: a merchant named Zeno lost his wealth when his boat shipwrecked. Shortly after this incident, he took an interest in philosophy, and he originated a new type of philosophy called stoicism. Today, people recognize a stoic person as someone who remains...
Success After Failure: How These 5 Entrepreneurs Bounced Back
Any successful person will tell you about a life-defining or breakdown moment of failure from their past that was responsible for making them who they are today. These entrepreneurs and members of The Oracles share their black swan events that caused big epiphanies. 1. Chaos creates opportunities Moving can be as stressful and traumatic as death, public...
Test, Measure, Grow: The Critical Process You Need to Improve Your Content Marketing Strategy
I get a lot of questions about content measurement and analysis. If you’re going to spend time and money on content marketing, then you want to understand how well it’s working and if it’s worth the investment, right? While in the perfect world this makes a lot of sense, it doesn’t always take hold in the real...
Lessons From Amazon to Apply to an On-Demand Economy Business
About two years ago, I made the decision to move from the CEO of a $100 million plus public company to work full-time for a new company I founded and funded that had revenue of less than $1 million per year. You can imagine the number of heads left scratching over that one. Well, StartupNation...