Entrepreneurs and small business owners don't fail enough.
They have to take risks to break away from the convention of their category as
they go out on a limb seeking the fruit. You can’t do the same thing, the same
way as everyone else. If you don't take risks, you will blur into a sea of sameness.
Failing is scary but it is also necessary to refine an
approach, a product or an idea. The trick is to fail with smaller steps and
lots of little experiments so that you can keep recalculating your path
forward.
Three ways to fail your way toward success.
1. What could you do
that would capture the attention and notice of a small set of customers? Can you find a fresh and original way of selling or distributing your product or service to a very limited number of customers? Imagine the first time those window washers decided to wear kilts to distinguish themselves as they cleaned windows in the neighborhood. How many times did they fail following a conventional route? After several failures, they succeed by delighting a handful customers.
2. Can you pay
attention to some level of detail that no one seems to think about and make it
your own. The red sole of a Christian Louboutin dress shoe was a wacky idea that made no
sense. Yet, he took a chance that it could help distinguish his brand from the
competition. Of course it was preceded by numerous other experiments to distinguish his brand but none of them succeeded. But he learned something new with each failed approach.
3. Can you stop doing something that is typical part of the
established way of doing things? Hair salons that don’t cut hair but only blowdry your hair is a great example. The chain is called Drybar. Or a furniture store that doesn’t assemble furniture (IKEA). How absurd did those ideas sound on paper? Failure until success.
Failing takes confidence in yourself, your idea and your
willingness to learn. Success is merely the end result of experiments and
strings of failures. Check out President Lincoln's record of failure until he eventually succeeded as President.
Go ahead, fail a little more. What do you have to lose?
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Could you use some help finding a novel way of marketing your product or service? Connect with me online through Clarity to discuss your needs. Or you can send me a telegram.
Labels: Christian Louboutin, failure, Marketing Moments, Men in Kilts Cleaning Windows
