No one in this world wants to go bankrupt. But this kind of risk is unavoidable again. Especially for those of you who work as entrepreneurs. Dahlan Iskan, a businessman who once served as Minister even said that the businessman must experience bankruptcy. Why so?
Like a turning point, sometimes bankruptcy is the most powerful fuel to forge someone stronger. When you open a business and fail, you will be faced with two choices: give up and throw away your dream of success or get back up and achieve more success than before.
So, how can bankruptcy become fuel that pumps enthusiasm to fight again instead of becoming a deadly poison? Check out the following steps!
Accept the Situation with an Open Heart
Even though it sounds cliché, this is an important thing to do when bankruptcy strikes. Instead of blaming circumstances, yourself and those around you, admit mistakes that have occurred. This will make it easier for you to think clearly in taking the next step.
Remember, accepting the situation does not mean just surrender. Like already tangled in tangled threads, this is the right time to ‘cut’ all the problems and replace the threads with new ones. Quickly find a way out and get ready to bounce back.
Identify What Is the Cause of Your Failure
Every event must happen for some reason. Your failures are no exception. One example of how learning from mistakes can help someone to get back on their feet is like what happened to the Marvel comic studio decades ago.
Before the success of its best-selling comics and box office films, Marvel had experienced bankruptcy which trapped them in enormous debt. It took dozens of years for the top officials to restore the situation to be better and profitable. One way is by knowing where they went wrong.
Marvel CEO, Isaac Perlmutter realized that their marketing method, which introduced many characters at once, was the cause. From here they then learn and find a series of solutions and innovations. This is what then becomes Marvel’s springboard to get up and be as successful as it is now.
Smart to See and Take Advantage of Opportunities
Getting up again after falling is not an easy matter. However, this has been proven by Yasa Singgih. Prior to his success with the men’s clothing business he built, this young entrepreneur had experienced failure in the coffee business he was running. After having two branches, Yasa went bankrupt with a loss of hundreds of millions.
This first failure did not necessarily make Yasa back down. It was from here that he discovered that there were other opportunities that were far more tempting. Combining the concepts of brand, e-commerce and men’s lifestyle, Yasa then opened a clothing business called Men’s Republic. It was this foresight that later allowed Yasa to get back up even more successfully than before.
Able to Adapt to Change
Believe it or not, over the past few years a lot of our industrial sectors have changed because of technology. One example is the telephone kiosk business, which has been eroded by the existence of cell phones. In the next few years, children may not use internet cafes anymore because they have everything they need at hand. This change cannot be prevented and is often the cause of failure and bankruptcy of an entrepreneur.
This is where the adaptability of an entrepreneur is needed. When the market is no longer friendly to what they have to offer, start looking for new, more promising prospects. This kind of thing has been experienced by Tom Ferry, a real estate expert. As a businessman, the crisis has made property sales drop dramatically. Do you know what Tom did then? He swerved to become a trainer for new property entrepreneurs. He also wrote books as a side job which turned out to be quite profitable.
Don’t Hesitate to Innovate
Who doesn’t know Robert Budi Hartono? The man who was once lined up as one of the richest people according to Forbes had experienced a major failure after his family’s Djarum cigarette factory caught fire. At that time, almost all of Djarum’s assets were gone and Robert had to find a way to save the business that his father had painstakingly built.
Together with his older brother, Michael Bambang Hartono then thought of ways to revive Djarum through smart innovations. They replaced the manual equipment that had been used so far with more modern ones. This made Djarum’s production and turnover increase rapidly and made this company one of the giant cigarette companies in Indonesia. What the Hartono brothers have done proves that sometimes we just need to have the courage to take new steps in order to rise from failure.
Take advantage of the network you have
For an entrepreneur, networking in the form of acquaintances and partners has a very important role. Especially when you have a failure like this. You don’t have to look for material support, from them you can find valuable input to rebuild a business that has been destroyed. But it must be remembered that leveraging networks does not mean that they have to feel burdened.
Stay Optimistic and Think Positive
Again, failure is not something bad. This can even have a positive impact if we respond positively too. Consider this your chance to improve yourself and the wrong strategy so far. It’s time to turn over a new leaf with a sense of optimism. Learning from the failures of successful entrepreneurs above, we should be able to take lessons and lessons to get up too.
