Lack Of Resources Versus Fear of Failure

Many moons ago when the entrepreneurial bug bit me, through the Gordon Institute of Business Science(GIBS), I was honored and privileged to be mentored by Robert Brozin the co-founder of Nandos. He said something that I did not understand then, but later made a lot of sense. He said: "ride the crest of fearlessness and naivety". At first, I took offense from his statement, but as an entrepreneur, I brushed it off and listened to my own noise. I continued running my business with minimal resources I had, no funding and no fear that I might fail.

Three years after riding the crest of fearlessness and naivety unknowingly, the chickens came home to roost. There I was; confronted with a lease contract and license agreement which I signed with mighty naivety and fearlessness. I did not know what I got myself into. The most amazing thing was: when I did it, I didn't know the consequences of my actions, and fear was absent. 

I remember calling Rob, thanking him for telling me undiluted truth and apologizing for wearing my emotions on my sleeves. He was in stitches, not because of "I told you so” attitude, but bringing humor so that the lesson can sink in. He asked me two questions: what have I learned and how much school fees I paid?

After reflecting on Rob’s questions, and trying to answer them with absolute truthfulness. I realized that my lack of fear for failure and my extra dose of naivety kept me going in those three years. I recall my business plan was in my head and I consulted a freshman -recently graduated lawyer for advice on the matters- naivety at its best! At the time, it was good for me not to know how painful and costly it could be to make an uninformed business decision. I was indeed, under the entrepreneurship spell, call it the beginner’s luck or bluntly put - riding the fearlessness and naivety crest.

Given all this, I always wonder; had I had a glimpse of the pain and failures that were awaiting me, would I had taken the plunge? The answer for me is NO! Fear of failure or pain paralyzes one to act. After the lease contract and license agreement baptism of fire; I was a bit cautious and careful. Initially, I thought my entrepreneurial vibe had died, but in essence, the lessons were sinking and being practiced.

From this, I learned that fear of failure is more paralyzing than the lack of resources. There are scores of people are out there, who have resources, but their fear of failure has kept them hostage and their dreams of becoming entrepreneurs have become their nightmares. Let me tell you; failure is such a good antidote for any entrepreneur. In my view, failure is just one thing we should embrace and celebrate as entrepreneurs. We should take it as a rite of passage.

Realizing that failure was going to be part of my journey, I then developed strategies or models to deal with the eminent failures awaiting me. One of the strategies that I came up with and really worked for me was the CCCC MODEL. I hope the CCCC MODEL helps to unstuck entrepreneurs who are bound by their past failures or mistakes and scared to start all over again or the ones who believe they lack resources but their fear of failure is paralyzing them. 

The CCCC MODEL prescribes 4 simple steps to be followed whenever one is confronted with failure:

1. Cost it       - know exactly how much you paid for your mistake or failure
2. Claim it     - before you look outside, claim and apportion your contribution
3. Correct it  - put measures in place of not repeating the same thing, remember      entrepreneurship is a continuous improvement project
4. Continue   - shrug off the shame and condemnation, move on, you are now prepared for your next endeavor.