Would You Do It All Again?

Entrepreneurship looks easy, glamorous and fun from a distance. When you’re in the thick of it, risking your name and credit, things get a little less glossy. When you’re deep in The Dip, when everything seems to be going wrong, when the world doesn’t care, you start to think about quitting. After all, you left a comfortable job with great benefits. You get no vacation days now. Everything is shipping late and costs much more to make than you anticipated. Cash flow just isn’t materializing.  Quitting seems the reasonable thing to do.

Would you do it all again? I don’t mean doing everything the same way you did this time. You’ve learned some valuable lessons from your mistakes. I mean more deeply, does entrepreneurship still matter to you? When you have the next big idea, would you risk it all again?

If yes, you’ve given yourself permission to fail. There is great freedom in that. With whatever runway you have left or Plan B, you can behave with a touch of reckless abandon. You can go “balls to the wall.” You don’t need to be embarrassed by your crazy idea. Nothing can stop you now because, win or lose, you’d do this all over again. Funny thing, this posture increases your likelihood of winning.

Comments

[Gaju Krisna]

True words. Giving yourself the permission to fail, but going full throttle, is liberating and come to think of it, maximizes your odds of success.

I would not however, keep doing it until I die. The neat little framework outlined in the Dip is powerful and should be used by people to guide their persistence.

[Gail @TheNowMall.com]

Allan,
Very well said. Having co-founded several companies that pioneered industry-changing products now ubiquitous worldwide, my partner and I were "in the Dip" up against the wall (and through) many times until we finally resolved the myriad issues that led to success. Then we sold the companies and did it all over again :-) Now, we're well on our way to our Next Big Thing which is the evolution of our 30 years of experience. More info available at http://thenowmall.blogspot.com

[Joseph Joel Sherman]

Allan,
Thank you for this great post. I agree, having permission to fail builds freedom. I also like to speak with people who have life experience. When I speak with people in their 70s and 80s they often seem to regret not taking risks. They may have a very comfortable retirement, but regret not starting their own business or traveling.

[Tim Bursch]

I will keep doing it until I die!