By Charlotte Kemp

The glory is not in never failing, but in rising every time you fall.

Unknown.

Well by now we should have come to terms with the fact that if we are living, we are going to be making mistakes and sometimes failing at things. But the real failure – being a failure as a human instead of just failing at a task, is when we give up trying.

I was on a busy flight the other day and as we took the bus from the plane to the terminal, all jostling to get on and get home, a family with about four children crammed on as well. The oldest of the boys, about 10, tripped as he stepped onto the bus and landed face first in front of all the adults with his brothers and sister behind him. There was this terrible pause as every one waited to see what would happen next. The kid wasn’t hurt, but worse than any blood would have been if his parents or any well meaning adults had made a fuss. The boy got up with dignity. His parents exclaimed a “Gosh, are you okay” to which he mumbled a reply, as he dusted himself off. And then while his parents surreptiously checked him out over the head of his siblings, we all nodded an acknowledgement that we were satisfied that all was okay and then pretended to move onto something else. No gossip or fretting or making inane comments that would embarrass him.

That is what it should be like when we trip up in life; if we fail in business or marriage or make other mistakes. Give someone a hand up, check that they are okay and are not in need of medical attention. But then don’t embarrass them with gossip or fussing. And please don’t waste time on platitudes.

Humans have a natural desire to rise again and recover from a fall. There are practical ways to support and encourage each other to do that, and of course some people appreciate more encouragement and closer relationships than others do. But the point is that we are meant to get up again, and we should. We should not define ourselves by our failures. We should not give ourselves the titles that indicate our mistakes.

There are countless examples of people who have excelled in life and business who have recovered from spectacular failures. Books have been written about them and movies have been produced. But I wanted to write this account now, while I was still struggling, still in the middle of the turmoil and pain. I wanted to write it as a reminder to myself of what I am going through so that I never take future opportunities for granted. And I wanted to write it now while things were still wrong, to show that even in the pain and through the tears, literally, I still believe that people can be successful as entrepreneurs and small business owners, and that I really do believe in the future of this country. I may not buy a franchise again in a hurry, or ever, but I believe that people should explore their opportunities for their own business. And if you can learn anything from the lessons I learned, then maybe your business will do so much better.

This blog is an exploration of the lessons I learned when my business failed. Please feel free to share your thoughts and ideas, as well as your own experiences. It will eventually be published as a book – hopefully as a warning to new entrepreneurs to avoid some of these mistakes. Please see the first few posts as an introduction.