As an entrepreneur, you're going to make a lot of mistakes -- but you can always learn from them.
Mistakes aren't fun to make -- okay, maybe sometimes they are -- but when you're trying to get a business off the ground, every bad decision or unfortunately timed choice can feel devastating. You might question whether you know what you're doing, or fear the long-term consequences of your actions. But you must resist these lines of thinking; mistakes are simply learning opportunities, and these are the five things you need to learn from every mistake you make:
1. What caused the failure point? First, you'll need to perform a root cause analysis to determine why the mistake was made in the first place. What's the main reason for the problem here?
2. What information did you miss? Next, think about any points of information that you missed. Did you fail to do enough research? Did you miss some variable that existed without your knowledge? This can help you identify your weaknesses.
3. What systems failed? Do you have systems and processes in place that failed? For example, did someone responsible for the oversight of a given action fail to take that action? Learn where your existing systems went wrong.
4. What systems didn't exist? Of course, it could be possible that you simply didn't have the systems in place to prevent the mistake in the first place. Now is the time to create them.
5. What can you change now? Think about your current position from a high level. What changes can you make to avoid this mistake in the future?
It doesn't really matter how many mistakes you make, or how bad those mistakes are. What matters is that you see your mistakes as learning opportunities, and work past them to develop yourself and your business for the future.
Bio: Jose Vasquez is a serial entrepreneur and tech enthusiast dedicated to helping startup technology companies get the direction and momentum they need to succeed. As the founder of Build. Brand. Blast., Jose has established a collective resource for tech entrepreneurs to consult when brainstorming, creating, launching, or expanding a new business. Jose is also the founder and CEO of Quez Media Marketing, a marketing firm that combines technology and creativity to help new and growing companies get the results they need.