Failure benefit 2: The lessons learned are priceless
Failure can be a useful way to shine a light to reveal what is really going on with your situation and what needs addressing. A few years ago, my parents and I bought a guesthouse & bar in Cambodia, with a friend of my dad’s as a partner in the venture. This was the expat’s dream of sun, sea and serving drinks to happy holiday makers & fellow westerners who have escaped the rat race. Bliss.
However, just 9 months down the line and we had lost our investment & sold our share. We cut our losses and got out. The dream, gone. This was a dream come true, so how did it go sour so quickly? In hindsight, because we didn’t manage it as well as we could have from the very start – we hadn’t put the right systems in place, we hadn’t established ground rules and expectations with our partner, and problem after problem meant that our profit was being eaten into.
After the initial hurt and anger, I came to realise that the lessons learned from this “failure” are priceless. I learned a great deal about carving out a business plan, forging a successful business partnership and how the small details in business matter.
If I could turn back time, would I do this all again? Hell yes! I learned more with the failure of the guesthouse & bar than I ever would from a guru’s “how-to” business book. Failure gives you an opportunity to learn from your mistaken actions and do what’s right the next time around.