Starting Again After Business Failure

determined entrepreneur

A failed business can have far reaching effects on your life. If, like me, this has happened to you, after spending some time in the wilderness your entrepreneurial spirit may rise again and you are ready to start a new business.

Unfortunately, there is very little help out there and quite a deal of resentment. Unlike the USA where business failure seems to be considered a part of eventual success, Ireland has viewed entrepreneurs with failed ventures as failures themselves. I expect and hope this view will change in the future.

With this in mind, I am interested in developing some form of network for people trying to start again. I would be interested in hearing stories, views and ideas on this subject.

hinault

It is a very good suggestion to form such a network.

Business failures in this country can be the result of many issues.
If a business fails and a lot of creditors are left whistling for their money, then that failure is (rightly??) frowned upon.

If a business fails but has satisfied all the majority of it's liabilities before doing so, then the public is more sympathetic.

Good luck with this endeavour.

tomED

I don't think people have a resentment towards businesses that have failed here in Ireland - that is of course if you failed gracefully.

The companies that took advantage of people and robbed them of their money or savings deserve all the resentment directed towards them in my opinion.

I think we have enough networks at this stage for entrepreneurs to get off their feet again. They've done it before and can do it again with what we have available to us.

BUT if you want to start a group - why not start a group that will lobby the government to remove the barriers for smaller business to get off the ground?

determined entrepreneur

Thanks for the comments. I am not interested in debating the moral issues around business failures. I'm sure we all agree that some failures deserve less sympathy than others depending on the circumstances.

What I am interested in is the personal impact on business owners from a failure which may have profound effects on their lives, the lives of their families and may lead to depression and worse. Starting again may be the catalyst the entrepreneur needs to re-start their lives but this may be very hard to do for a variety of reasons.

If there are others out there with similar feelings or ideas, please get involved in this discussion. I am not aware of any groups dedicated to this issue. If you know of any please let us know.

Finally, I am not interested in starting any form of lobby group here, I will leave that to others.

tomED

You probably took me up the wrong way with my last comments - I didn't want to debate morals either - I was trying to say that no-one looks at someone who has gone out of business as a failure unless they've been hard done by.

So you're not a failure by any stretch of the imagination and don't believe that anyone else thinks you are. You clearly feel a little depressed in your own situation, but it's most likely your own opinion of yourself that's making you feel this way.

Starting again can be a daunting task and I've often wondered about it myself if I was in that situation. Do I have the drive to build a company again, probably not or certainly not in the current business I am in.

Because of the determined nature of most Entrepreneurs, I find it difficult to see that many would be interested in getting involved in something like this without something to drive towards. But that's just my opinion.

I know for a fact that if my business failed tomorrow, I wouldn't be looking to meet up with others who have "failed" and want to discuss their failures, because I don't believe they have.. My focus would be totally on what I plan to do next and how I can do it better. Again, that's just me....

determined entrepreneur

Thanks for the positive comments tomED.

I know for a fact that if my business failed tomorrow, I wouldn't be looking to meet up with others who have "failed" and want to discuss their failures, because I don't believe they have.. My focus would be totally on what I plan to do next and how I can do it better. Again, that's just me....

I'm fully with you on this and the type of group I'm interested in would be about discussing and supporting each other in the "what to do next" realm.

I have found most traditional supports, like FAS, county enterprise boards etc offer "start your own business" type courses which are of little interest except purely for networking and may in fact be somewhat demoralising for "try again" entrepreneurs.

One of the greatest demoralising agents for an aspiring entrepreneur is isolation!

newfrontier

determined entrepreneur wrote: »

Thanks for the positive comments tomED.


I'm fully with you on this and the type of group I'm interested in would be about discussing and supporting each other in the "what to do next" realm.

I have found most traditional supports, like FAS, county enterprise boards etc offer "start your own business" type courses which are of little interest except purely for networking and may in fact be somewhat demoralising for "try again" entrepreneurs.

One of the greatest demoralising agents for an aspiring entrepreneur is isolation!

I concur with many of the points raised and it is pertinent at the moment as I am involved in a focus group analysing what the best way forward is. There are several members from mixed backgrounds an entrepreneur who obtained 6million in funding and had the business collapse, and new entrepreneurs who have ideas but are unsure how to proceed. I think the mix provides an interesting backdrop.

The badge of failure is valued /exposed more in other economies and the lessons learned provide useful in future ventures. Should we be adopting this approach? With business failures running so high in the current climate I think a new approach will emerge.

I think if you are interested in developing a network that provides value. There will always be a market. But you need to set out the goals clearly and differentiate from the BNI's etc.

I have started and ran 6 businesses in my life, 2 of them have failed.

Being honest with you I never got depressed about it. I take the mistakes that I made and turn them into positives in my mind. Ok, i did this this and this wrong so thats why the business failed, and if I had done this, most likely it would have worked. I enjoy the lessons that I've learned because I know Im not going to make the same mistake again and those mistakes will help me be more successful and have done already.
Mind you Im 29 so I have been able to afford to make some mistakes because Im not tied down to a family and 500,000 mortgages in ireland etc.

But Im not sure I believe in the whole support system, or taking refuge in numbers, focus groups about how to get back on the horse etc. For me its a matter of just waiting for the next inspiration and when it comes hitting it hard. If your an entrepreneur inspiration will come Im sure, and then its just a matter of having the get up and go to do and do it.

In terms of help and resentment, I dont think either thought should be coming into an entrepreneurs head, because both to me are relative. Neither should be an overriding factor in whether you are going to start a business or not. Better to use the lack of help and resentment you feel as motivators. turn everything you can into a positive, and then you'll get your spirit back to start again. Its all in the mind!!