3 Reasons Why You Need to Make Mistakes in Business

Starting your own business is an exciting, and sometimes daunting time. There is so much to try to think of, and all the fears and Imposter Syndrome tends to rise-up within us. But I think it’s safe to say that we all set-out with ambitions and goals, and we want our business to be a huge success. Most of us will have a mission to serve our clients and help them overcome a pain point. And we will also have aspirations for ourselves – the financial goals, the personal freedom etc. But in this article, I’m going to explain the 3 reasons why you need to make mistakes in business.

It can be easy when we are in business to look at social media and see all the success stories and wonder why we haven’t achieved that level yet, despite all the effort we may be pouring into our business. But what that small snippet of social media success doesn’t show us is all the ‘mistakes’ and all the unsuccessful attempts that have been made along the way. The brilliance and the outstanding is highlighted because let’s be honest, who wants to spend a lot of time speaking about their failures on Social Media, for all their audience to see?

But making mistakes in business is ESSENTIAL. It’s how we grow and learn, and it’s how we know we can do things better next time around. And actually, I would argue that considering how helpful it can be to see what doesn’t work – Is it really a mistake? Or is it actually an opportunity? A little re-framing can make the world of difference! Below, I want to share with you my 3 reasons why you need to make ‘mistakes’ in business:

1 – If you don’t make mistakes, the chances are, you’re staying within your comfort zone and not allowing yourself the space to grow.

“Real change is difficult at the beginning, but gorgeous at the end. Change begins the moment you get the courage and step outside your comfort zone; change begins at the end of your comfort zone.” – Roy Bennett

It can be scary and difficult to leave our comfort zones. We will probably tell ourselves things like “I could never achieve that level of success!”, or “who do I think I am to be doing that!?”. But true success and happiness lays on the other side of our comfort zone, and in order to achieve the greatness that we have imagined and wished for ourselves, we have to push ourselves to do some things that feel really difficult and sometimes, that can be absolutely terrifying! But, it’s going to take us that bit closer to our goal and where we want to be.

That fear of the unknown and feeling that something is ‘too big for us’ will never really disappear if we are continually pushing ourselves. But we will learn to see the success and the happiness that happens as a result of it. It will become easier in time. But we need to remember – we are human – we make mistakes – in life, and in business. And being too scared to make a mistake in your business will come at the cost of also being too scared to take the risk needed, in order to achieve your dreams.

2 – It can give you great feedback and analytics for next time

When we make mistakes in business, it can be easy to crawl right back into that comfort zone to lick our wounds. But the more offerings you put on the table, and the more you experience the good and the bad, the more ‘normal’ these mistakes will feel. Think about it – do you really think that the likes of Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk have never made business mistakes? Of course they have! They will have made offerings to their clients that no one bought (and some that far less bought than anticipated).

Business can be a little like a science experiment. You need to experiment and test things to see what works for your audience – what they enjoy, and similarly what they don’t. This is invaluable feedback and data for your next launches. You can use the information to assess what went well, what didn’t, and what could be tweaked for next time. You could even reach out to your consistent audience and ask what it was that prevented them from buying. This knowledge is going to help you no-end moving forwards.

So the next time you put something together in business and it just doesn’t seem to be working, try not to label it as a failure. And don’t try to sweep it under the rug and pretend it never happened (we’ve all been there!). Instead, view it as a learning curve. Something that is going to enhance your business and help it grow, matching the needs and wants of your specific audience.

3 – You’ll learn what offerings are right for you and your business

Have you ever had those ‘feelings’ in business? You know the ones that tell you something is either really right for you, or really wrong! Another important part of business is learning to trust your intuition. You know your business better than anyone else, and you are the only one who can bring your vision to life. So being able to trust your gut instincts is important.

Let me give you a quick scenario – You may put together an offering that sounds like the next logical step in your business. You may even have a business coach telling you that the offering is what you ‘need’ as part of your business model. And so you go along with it…even though it doesn’t ‘feel’ right to you. You put it out there to your audience, but you can feel yourself pulling back a little as it doesn’t feel aligned to you and and your business. It’s not Imposter Syndrome or fear – it’s a knowing that this isn’t the right move for you. And then no one buys and you feel deflated, or maybe ‘silly’ for even putting it out there in the first place. Or maybe people do buy it, but then you find yourself not wanting to deliver said offer.

Oh my gosh – what a headache! It’s important for you as the passionate business owner that wants to help your clients, that you enjoy what you offer and feel comfortable with it too. If it isn’t something that makes you excited to wake up each day – what’s the point in being your own boss!?

I have also learned that when something is working REALLY well for you, and you may be getting a name for yourself in that particular niche, that doesn’t always mean that you need to keep creating new offerings. Sometimes working on existing offers – growing them and adapting them to make them into something even more special – can be more impactful than offering something new and shiny.