Owning Your Business Success and Failures

(You have been redirected here because this post was originally featured on the SoVerve blog, thank you for visiting.)I will start off by saying that I despise excuses. Excuses to me are worthless when you have directly – in contrast – asking for results. Most of you reading this, like myself, are small business owners, and more specifically many of you started off as “solopreneurs.” I know this because I know my tribe well and therefore, know my readership well. Most solopreneurs don’t have assistants, business partners, or office colleagues to turn to; we only have ourselves. Consequently, we know not to complain about the long hours, about the problematic clients, about the lack of sales, or about failed campaigns. We know better because we understand that at the end of the day, we asked for this. Hense why our business success lies only on us.

So, instead of complaining, we do. We figure out a way to make it work. We spend countless hours watching YouTube videos and searching Google until we find solutions that may work for us. We invest in business coaches, consultants, and strategists to help in areas we cannot. Simply put, giving up is not an option, so we audit and edit and continue to do so until we are successful in our endeavors. Even then, when we do reach success, we know that at the end of the day, no one cares. If we succeed, we celebrate it in silence. If we fail, we lick our wounds in silence. Yes, your family and friends will offer their congratulations, but the burdens of small business ownership are ours to bear.

I experienced something this past summer that could have set me back in my business and shaken me to my core. I realized then, no one cares, and it is a lesson I hope to pass on to my tribe today. You will meet, hire, collaborate, and otherwise get to know so many people along this journey. Some will have your best interest at heart, and some will want to gain from you (monetary or otherwise).

Finding Absolution

One thing they all have in common is, they – much like yourself – are busy building their empires, thus bringing us back to the notion that ultimately no one cares. No one will love your business quite as you will. No one will wish you more triumphant success quite like you, yourself, will. Having expectations that others will work as hard as you will and “go to bat” for your business the way you will is the wrong mindset to have.

Many of us have started businesses for different reasons. Some of us want to be entrepreneurs and experience real freedom. Some of us want to share our knowledge with the world in hopes to propel the success of others. It is that exact sentiment that many miss the point. While we may want to help and drive others, it is ultimately up to each person to make things happen for themselves. Being accountable for one’s success and owning each failure is what sets us all apart.

So, today and every single day of this journey, I urge you to remember that there is nothing more amazing than owning your triumphs and failures with your head held high. Knowing that you have given every ounce of yourself to the journey you felt so compelled to set upon at one point in your life. Own the good and the bad and everything that comes with being a small business owner that is true entrepreneurship. That is the risks we all took.