Module 2 examines the aspect of overcoming fears and assessing your potential. There are various case studies to let you see for yourself the benefits of business failure, and how failure can in fact help you in restarting your business.

1. MODULE 2:
REFLECT
Overcome Fears
& Assess your
Potential

2. In this module,
you will:
 Assess lessons learned from
having a failed business – how not
to make the same mistakes twice!
 Overcome the fear of failure and
become empowered, optimistic
and excited to restart!
 Undergo a series of Self
Assessment Exercises (Personal,
Managerial, Entrepreneurial, Risk)
to determine strengths and
weaknesses before restarting

3. A failure to one person might simply be a
great learning experience for someone else.
The fear of failing can be immobilizing – it can cause us to do nothing,
and therefore resist moving forward.
What does a fear of failure look like ? According to Mindtools.com…
o A reluctance to try new things or get involved in challenging projects.
o Self-sabotage – for example, procrastination, excessive anxiety , or a
failure to follow through with goals.
o Low self-esteem or self-confidence – commonly using negative
statements such as "I'll never …….“
o Perfectionism – A willingness to try only those things that you know
you'll finish perfectly and successfully.

4. A failure to one person might simply be a
great learning experience for someone else.
Failure can also teach us things about
ourselves that we would never have
learned otherwise. For instance,
failure can help you discover how
strong a person you are.

5. Benefit of Business
Failure - Learning
from Liam Ryan
“ If you want to build a product, that’s
fine. But building a company is a
different story…. When we look back on
our first start-up, we lost a bit of money
but, overall, we see it as a success. We
were able to bring a product to market,
and people used it. We learned so
many lessons about what didn’t work.
We had to go through it to learn it so,
really, it was a success.”

6. Benefit of Business
Failure - Learning
from Liam Ryan
Ryan was 23 when he and Rooney
founded their second start-up,
GetHealth, which used mobile and
online technology to help people
improve their health. This time, they
placed more emphasis on the team
they put together and the advisers they
took on board.
Source:
http://www.irishtimes.com/business/technology/entr
epreneur-tries-to-redefine-business-failure-1.2271138
Pic source: https://twitter.com/liamryan

7. “My mother drummed into me from
an early age that I should not spend
much time regretting the past. I try to
bring that discipline to my business
career. Over the years, my team and I
have not let mistakes, failures or
mishaps get us down. Instead, even
when a venture has failed, we try to
look for opportunities, to see whether
we can capitalize on another gap in
the market.”
Benefit of Business
Failure - Learning
from Richard Branson

8. Assess the reasons
why businesses fail..
 Building a business from the ground
up is no easy task. Being a
successful entrepreneur frequently
involves a series of missteps and
mistakes before finally nailing the
right idea or business.
 Most entrepreneurs make mistakes
along the way, and first-time
entrepreneurs make the most.
 Here we will explore some of the
main reasons businesses fail across
the 5 phases of business lifecycle.
 Along the way we offer some advice
and resources to help avoid these
mistakes second time around.

9. Stage 1: Seed And Development
 This is the very beginning of the business lifecycle, when your start-
up is just a business idea and you are trying to decide whether you
should take the plunge. At this stage, you gather as much
information as possible to try to assess just how viable your start-up
is likely to be.
 At this stage, you should garner advice and opinion as to the
potential of your business idea from as many sources as possible:
friends, family, colleagues, business associates, or any industry
specialists you may have access to.
 Ultimately the success of your business will come down to many
factors – including your own abilities, the readiness of the market
you wish to enter and, of course, your access to finance to launch
this new business.
Source: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/271290

10. STAGE 1:
SEED AND
DEVELOPMENT
Pre-start up
failures/mistakes
*Source: http://fortune.com/2014/09/25/why-startups-fail-according-
to-their-founders/
LACK OF RESEARCH/
DIRECTION/MANAGERIAL EXPERIENCE
42% of start-ups fail because there is the
lack of a market need for their product*.
Market research, the establishment of
clear goals and plans are crucial to
business success before starting out.
First time entrepreneurs often don't
know this or understand the important
skills it takes to run a business and as a
result their businesses fail quite early.
Solution: Develop a Business Plan (see
course resources for template), learn
Business Planning Skills, link in with local
Enterprise Supports (see Module 3)

11. IMPATIENCE. An entrepreneur is often
so excited about a new product or
idea that they act impetuously and
make costly mistakes that sometimes
cause the business to fail. Impatience
can also lead business owners to try to
accomplish too much too soon, or
expect to get results far faster than is
truly possible.
Solution: Don’t take any action
without thinking it through first. Fail to
plan, plan to fail! Follow your Business
Plan and consult with valued
mentors/key staff on all critical
decisions.
STAGE 1:
SEED AND
DEVELOPMENT
Pre-start up
failures/mistakes

12. STAGE 1: SEED AND DEVELOPMENT
Pre-start up failures/mistakes
POOR COST CONTROL/
LACK OF FINANCE/
INADEQUATE FINANCIAL PLANNING.
Poor cost control is a critical issue at all
start up stages of business but is especially
detrimental in the early stages, when the
entrepreneur tends to spends all their
start-up capital money before achieving
profitability. In terms of reasons why
businesses fail, lack of sufficient capital is
the second most common reason
accounting for 29% of failures.
Solution: Develop written
budgets for operations that
include all possible
expenses. Set up a
bookkeeping or accounting
system from the beginning.
Don’t put all your eggs in
one basket – spread your
risk and opportunity by
operating a cocktail of
funding approaches (see
Module 6)

13. Stage 2: Start-up
 The Start-up phase of your new business comes when you have
thoroughly canvassed and tested your business idea and are
satisfied that it is ready to go
 This is believed to be the riskiest stage of the entire lifecycle. In
fact, it is believed that mistakes made at this stage impact the
company years down the line, and are the primary reason why
25% of startups do not reach their fifth birthday.
 Business that succeed through this stage are those which are
exemplary adaptable. Much of your time in this stage will be spent
tweaking your products or services based on the initial feedback of
your first customers.
Source: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/271290

14. PRICING. When entrepreneurs try to
charge too much to make a lot of
money in a short period of time,
failure isn't far behind. The need for a
quick profit can be caused by poor
cost control, especially in the early
stages, when the entrepreneur often
spends all their start-up capital money
before achieving profitability.
Solution: Follow our Pricing for Profit
Guide (see course resources for our
downloadable template)
Stage 2:
Start-up
Early stage
start-up
failures/
mistakes

15. Stage 2: Startup
Early stage startup
failures/mistakes
POOR PRODUCT QUALITY.
This makes it difficult to sell and
difficult to get repeat business.
Quality has a direct bearing on
customer satisfaction. If a company
produces a quality product, satisfied
customers will rank that company
higher in surveys than companies
that fail to provide quality products
or services. In addition, dissatisfied
customers are more vocal in their
criticisms of a company with quality
problems
Solution: Get early feedback on
your products/services and be
prepared to tweak your them
based on the initial feedback of
your first customers.

16.  If you’re at this stage, your business should now be generating a
consistent source of income and regularly taking on new customers.
 Cash flow should start to improve as recurring revenues help to cover
ongoing expenses, and you should be looking forward to seeing your
profits improve slowly and steadily.
 The biggest challenge for entrepreneurs in this stage is dividing time
between a whole new range of demands requiring your attention:
- managing increasing levels of revenue
- attending to customers
- dealing with the competition
- accommodating an expanding workforce
Stage 3: Growth And Establishment

17. Stage 3: Growth And
Establishment
failures/mistakes
Loss of momentum in the sales
department. A sale only happens
when you get customers, and profits
only happen when you have sales, but
they all start with the customers as
the main starting point. Most business
owners fall in love with their product
or service when they should be
focusing on the customer and their
needs and wants.
Solution: Revise your sales strategy, if
you are doing things the same way as
everyone else in your industry is
doing, you are not going to stand out!
Source: http://moenawaz.com/posts/single-biggest-cause-of-business-failure-lack-of-sales/#sthash.m46CGXRL.dpuf

18. HIRING THE WRONG PEOPLE.
Hiring smart people with
complementary skillsets is necessary
to make the most of your company’s
potential during this phase, and so
any good founder will be spending a
lot of time directly involved in the
recruitment process. It is essential
that you start to come into your role
as head of the company in this stage.
Solution: Ensure your hire the right
people, see Richard Branson’s top tips
which follow.
Stage 3: Growth And
Establishment
failures/mistakes

19. HIRING THE
RIGHT PEOPLE..
Richard Branson is renowned for
offering expert advice to
entrepreneurs. When is comes to
hiring the right people he has some
really excellent and practical tips:
 Set aside your ego and hire people
who are better than you are in
certain areas. If you’re the one
hiring, evaluate where your
company could improve, and seek
out qualities in people that will
help you make those
improvements..
Sources: http://www.businessinsider.com/richard-branson-advice-for-
entrepreneurs-2016-11?IR=T https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-i-hire
you-cant-fake-personality-passion-purpose-richard-branson

20. HIRING THE
RIGHT PEOPLE..
 Consider three things -
Personality, Passion and Purpose,
these things cannot be faked or
learned
 Passion and purpose will keep
people focused on the job at
hand, and ultimately separate the
successful from the unsuccessful.
Sources: http://www.businessinsider.com/richard-branson-advice-for-
entrepreneurs-2016-11?IR=T https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-i-hire
you-cant-fake-personality-passion-purpose-richard-branson

21. Stage 4: Expansion
 At this stage you might feel that
the only way is up! Staff is in place
to handle the areas that you no
longer have the time to manage
(nor should you be managing),
and your business has now firmly
established its presence within
the industry.
 Here you might start to think
about capitalizing on this certain
level of stability by broadening
your horizons with expanded
offerings and entry into new
geographies.

22. Stage 4: Expansion
 Businesses in this stage often see
rapid growth in both revenue and
cash flow as the blueprint has
now been established.
 In business, more often than not if
you are not moving forward you
are moving backwards. There are,
of course, two sides to this coin,
with the other involving a risk of
expanding too carelessly.

23. ASSUMING YOU CAN EASILY REPLICATE
YOUR SUCCESS ELSEWHERE.
Remember, while having a successful
business model behind you is
undoubtedly an advantage, it is not a
guarantee that it will work elsewhere
within other markets, or that new
offerings will result in the same
success.
Solution: Your task is indeed to take on
new challenges as you look to
constantly expand, but measure your
risk and do your best to secure the
company for all eventualities.
STAGE 4:
EXPANSION
FAILURES/
MISTAKES

24. Stage 4: Expansion
failures/mistakes
EXPANDING TOO SOON.
The business graveyard is littered
with organizations that took on too
much and failed. Yes, growth is a
good thing. But high growth can
easily overwhelm a small enterprise,
and put it at risk of going under.
Solution: Look at your resources, be
realistic about the effort and cost
and potential returns, and always
keep an expert eye on how
expansion might impact the current
quality of service you provide your
existing customers.

25.  Having navigated the expansion
stage of the business lifecycle
successfully, your company should
now be seeing stable profits year-
on-year. While some companies
continue to grow the top line at a
decent pace, others struggle to
enjoy those same high growth
rates.
 It could be said that entrepreneurs
here are faced with two choices:
push for further expansion, or exit
the business.
Stage 5: Stability,
maturity and
possible exit

26.  Many at this stage also look to
move on through a sale. This could
be a partial or full sale, and of
course depending on the company
type (for example, public or
private), the negotiation may be a
whole new journey in itself.
Stage 5: Stability,
maturity and
possible exit

27. Another Interesting Insight:
Typical Causes of Failure:
Seth Godin’s list of failure causes!
Design failure
Failure of
opportunity
Failure of trust
Failure of will
Failure of priorities
Failure to quit
Failure of respect
Failure to see

28. A few ways to reduce the fear of failing:
• Analyse all potential outcomes – Many people experience fear of
failure because they fear the unknown. Remove that fear by
considering all of the potential outcomes of your decision. Use tools to
teach you how to map possible outcomes visually.
• Learn to think more positively – Positive thinking is an incredibly
powerful way to build self-confidence and neutralize self-sabotage –
see Module 4.
• Look at the worse-case scenario – In many cases, however, this worst
case may actually not be that bad, and recognizing this can help.
• Have a contingency plan – If you're afraid of failing at something,
having a "Plan B" in place can help you feel more confident about
moving forward.

29. Fear of Failure is one of
the greatest fears
people have.
It is related to fear of
criticism or rejection.
It incapacitates people
and is self-limiting

30. Letting go of past Business Failure
 Funerals for failed startups are becoming
increasingly popular and are paving the way for
entrepreneurs to rise from the ashes
 Wakes and similar events are helping business
owners learn from their mistakes and bounce
back
 The wakes started in the US in 2014 and were
held in the UK later that same year. The events
usually involve three or four speakers taking to
the stage to share personal, heart-rending
stories of their deceased businesses
https://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2016/jul/29/funerals-failed-startups-entrepreneurs-rise-ashes

31. Fuck Up Nights -
Stories About
Failure
 Most stories in the media
about start ups seem to
always focus on the bravado
of success stories. The
winners and the top
performers.
 Fuck Up Nights are events
that focus solely on the
negative in order to teach
the positive.
http://fuckupnights.com/

32. Overcoming Fear - Personal Empowerment
Personal empowerment is about looking at who you are and becoming
more aware of yourself as a unique individual. It involves developing the
confidence and strength to set realistic goals and fulfil your
potential. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses and a range of skills
that are used in everyday situations, but all too often people remain
unaware of, or undervalue, their true abilities.

33. Overcoming Fear - Personal Empowerment
Personal empowerment gives an individual the ability to:
 Take control of their circumstances and achieve their own goals in
their personal and working life.
 Become more aware of their strengths and weaknesses and therefore
be better equipped to deal with problems and achieve goals.
 Enhance the contribution they make both as an individual and as a
member of a team.
 Take opportunities to enhance personal growth and a sense of
fulfilment.
http://www.skillsyouneed.com/ps/personal-empowerment.html

34. Overcoming Fear - Building Confidence
Confidence is not something that can be learned like a set of rules;
confidence is a state of mind. Positive thinking, practice, training,
knowledge and talking to other people are all useful ways to help improve
or boost your confidence levels.
Confidence comes from feelings of well-being, acceptance of your body
and mind (self-esteem) and belief in your own ability, skills and
experience.
http://www.skillsyouneed.com/ps/confidence.html

35. Overcoming Fear - Building Confidence
Ways to Improve Confidence
 Planning and Preparation: People
often feel less confident about new
or potentially difficult situations.
Perhaps the most important factor
in developing confidence is
planning and preparing for the
unknown.
 Learning, Knowledge and Training:
Learning and research can help us
to feel more confident about our
ability to handle situations, roles
and tasks principles.
http://www.skillsyouneed.com/ps/confidence.html
 Positive thought can be a very
powerful way of improving
confidence.
 Experience: As we successfully
complete tasks and goals, our
confidence that we can
complete the same and similar
tasks again increases.
 Be Assertive: Being assertive
means standing up for what you
believe in and sticking to your
principles.

36. Overcoming Fear – why
procrastination is not your friend.
Here are the main reasons why procrastination sabotages your work:
1. Not working to a logical schedule ? Panic sets in
2. Selling yourself short results in you underachieving, underachieving
can lead to regret and self-loathing.
3. The Have-To-Dos may happen, but not the Want-To-Dos. A
procrastinator type of career where panic is regularly present
means that time is not allocated/allowed for undertakings that
expand our experiences, make our lives richer.

37. The Blame Game – why you shouldn’t play!
 How do react when sales are down at your
company? Do you play the Blame Game? Or
do you take a deep breath and assess the
situation in a more reasonable manner?
 In this video, Karin Hurt of Let's Grow
Leaders shows ways you should and should
not behave when the inevitable piece of
disappointing news hits your desk at work.
 Poor communication habits will suck the
confidence and energy out of a company
culture fast -- the last thing you want to
happen, because temporary situations can
cause permanent damage.
Click video to watch or follow link:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbIR5LWt-08

38. 1. NEGLECTING A PORTION OF YOUR RESEARCH
Research is vital to the foundation of your
business model. Market research,
competitive research, and pricing research
are just some of the in-depth forms of
research you’ll perform—and they all have
vulnerabilities. You may misestimate the
strength of a potential market sector or
completely neglect a factor in your initial
research, that could have a negative impact
on your business.
ACTION – Re-evaluate and adjust
As you develop
yourself as a business
owner, you may
experience some of
these seven common
‘everyday’ failures:
6 Everyday Business Failures
- how to plan and act on them

39. 2. MISSING CRUCIAL DEADLINES
Many deadlines are arbitrary, but there
are some that cannot be missed. For
example, if your clients or investors are
expecting a new product launch by a
certain date, or if your clients depend on
you hitting a certain production volume,
a missed deadline could mean the
collapse of an entire segment of your
business.
ACTION - When you miss a deadline, and
inevitably, you will, don’t dwell on the
failure. Determine what went wrong.
Maybe you are under-resourced and
need to increase your team? Whatever
the case, make up for what you can, and
correct your procedures to prevent it
from happening again.

40. 3. LOSING AN OPPORTUNITY
Whether it’s a major client leaving due
to unmet expectations or failing to
raise the finance you require, at some
point you’re going to lose a major
opportunity, and it’s going to feel
terrible. Depending on how you’ve
structured your business, the loss
could be relatively minor or
devastating.
ACTION - If you’re going to recover in
the short term, you’ll need to look for
a replacement to serve as a bandage
for the wound. If you’re going to
recover in the long term, you’ll need to
diversify your opportunity pool with
more clients or a wider outlook, to
hedge your bets against such a loss.

41. 4. FORGETTING OR OVERLOOKING
A KEY DISRUPTION
It might be a competitor who has a
greater reputation than you expected,
or a new technology that’s making
waves in ways you hadn’t anticipated.
When disruptors in your industry start
to make their moves, it’s easy to lose
ground quickly. No matter how prepared
you are or how much you try to
anticipate the patterns of the future,
there will always be something to
confound your expectations and
interrupt your business flow.
ACTION - Mitigate the immediate
consequences and implement new
strategies to accommodate your new
challenges. Remember agility is a key
trait of successful entrepreneurs.

42. There are hundreds of ways that your
operating process can go wrong. You
could have a flawed sales flow, an
inefficient production schedule, an
unsupervised segment of operations, or
just a bad model, and you might not
realize it until it’s too late. At some
point throughout your
entrepreneurship experience, you’ll
look back and realize how much ground
you’ve lost because of a critical failure
in your plan for operations.
ACTION - Take heart that there is always
time to turn things around—look for
opportunities to make positive changes,
and make those changes a priority.
5. MISMANAGING
YOUR OPERATIONS

43. 6. MISSING YOUR FINANCIAL
PROJECTIONS
There are two big reasons for missing your
financial projections;
1. overestimating the amount of sales and
revenue your company was going to bring
in, or
2. underperforming compared to your goals.
Keep in mind that projections are only
projections, and as long as you’re stable
enough to keep moving forward, you’ll have
more chances to adjust your expectations, and
improve your company’s performance.
ACTION – Financial plans and reports are key
to success, if its not your forte, hire someone
to look after this crucial aspect of the business.

44. Failing better means when these things
happen in your life, they become a source of
growth, a source of forward, a source of,
“out of that place of rawness you can really
communicate genuinely with other people.”
Pema Chodron

45. EXERCISE 1: Failing Better Theory
What is your fail tale?
Do you see slip-ups as stepping stones or
stop-signs, and mistakes menacing?
When was the last time you messed up,
did it inspire you or was it a flat-out fail?
Record your answers in your learner workbook.

46. Reducing the Risk of Failure:
Richard Branson: Protect the Downside
 In a LinkedIn blog post from earlier this year, Branson writes that the best
lesson his father ever taught him was to protect the downside; that is,
limit possible losses before moving forward with a new business venture.
 Branson's father told him that he would allow him, at age 15, to leave
high school and start Student magazine only if he sold 4,000 pounds'
worth of advertising to cover printing and paper costs.
 It's a strategy he repeated in 1984 when he made a huge leap from the
music business into the airline business with Virgin Atlantic. He was only
able to convince his business partners at Virgin Records to agree to the
deal after he got Boeing to agree to take back Virgin's one 747 jet after a
year if the business wasn't operating as planned.
Source: http://uk.businessinsider.com/richard-branson-leadership-rules-2015-
10?r=US&IR=T/#1-follow-your-passions-but-protect-the-downside-1

47. Let’s look at Self
Assessment (Risk,
Entrepreneurial
Aptitude ) to
determine
strengths and
weaknesses before
restarting…

48. EXERCISE 2
Risk assessment:
EU Early
Warning tool.
Complete this online
exercise to carry out a
useful Risk Assessment
Access the tool:
https://ec.europa.eu/gro
wth/tools-
databases/ewt_en

49. This short exercise will give you invaluable insight into practical risk
assessment and preventive screening that may save you a lot of time
and money in the future. It will help you react to warning signals and to
think about how to prevent problems in the first place. This exercise is
presented in a user-friendly QUIZ format across 5 key headings:-
1. Planning and controlling
2. Business relations: Customers and suppliers
3. Human resources, family and life
4. Finance and money management
5. Getting advice and support
EXERCISE 2: EU Early Warning tool.

50. Access through https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/ewt_en
While the tool is an aid it will not give you the final solution to your
business problem. We suggest that you seek additional support of a
professional mentor.
EXERCISE 2: EU Early Warning tool.

51. EXERCISE 3
Entrepreneurial
Aptitude Self-
assessment
Insert web link