How to Overcome a Business Setback

It happens. The new premium client you were counting on falls through. You have a streak of client’s saying “no,” over and over again. The event you were sure would fill doesn’t, and that last prospect just disappeared without even doing you the courtesy of simply saying “no thank you.”

“Don’t despair,” your friends & family might say. But it’s tough, isn’t it? The voice of fear and doubt can sometimes get so loud it drowns everything else out. You might even feel so discouraged you wonder if it isn’t time to just “throw in the towel” and go get a j-o-b.

“Don’t Quit,” the famous poem urges us. “Stick to the fight when you’re hardest   hit.”* But how? When your confidence has taken a beating and your optimism has vanished along with your cash flow, how do you pick yourself up, brush yourself off, and get back into the fray?

Here are 10 strategies (and I recommend you do them in order) to help you weather the storm and make it through to sunny skies again:

1.  Take a break! Get out of the office. Spend time with your family and friends. Whether it’s surfing, movies, hiking or another passion, go do what you love outside of work.

2. Hug your pets and people: Statistics show that your “feel good” hormones are released when you pet your animals or hug your loved ones.

3. Get new testimonials from current clients or go back and read the ones you have. Keep a file of nice comments people make about you and your skills. You can cut and paste them from emails or write them down if they offered them verbally. Read them frequently.

4. Think of all your successes in life. Think of other times in your life when things were rough and you persisted, and you were rewarded by success. Write them down & read them frequently.

5.  Read the “Don’t Quit” poem. Create your own version. http://www.kelliederuyter.com/dont-quit/

6. Create affirmations. An affirmation is a positive statement that you say frequently with feeling and conviction. It programs your subconscious to align with your intention and make it happen. It also activates the “Law of Attraction”, so the universal energy force aligns with your intention and makes it happen. If this latter is a stretch for you, remember, what have you got to lose?  Create an affirmation to boost your confidence, one to manifest your ideal clients, and more if you like. Then say them out loud, with feeling, frequently.

7.  Follow your intuition & inner guidance.  Does your gut or your heart tell you you’re on the right path? Does it feel right? If so, nothing else matters. You are where you’re supposed to be, so trust yourself and know that things will work out the way they are meant to. Most of all, check your instincts and then listen to them. If you get a “hit” to do something, do it!

8.  Get more information on your strengths. Get a psychic or astrology reading, a hand analysis, or an energy healing specifically on your strengths and your gifts. Find a reputable professional or get a referral (I have referrals available). Again, if this is a stretch for you, what have you got to lose? All you need to hear is one thing that resonates with you, that you hadn’t realized until you heard it, and it’s worth it right there. Who cares how you heard it?

 9.  Remember: Setbacks are feedback, not failure! Look carefully at the feedback and evaluate it scrupulously, then decide where and how you need to make adjustments. Then do it.

10.  Get help.  Often all you’re missing is business or marketing know-how. A business mentor or coach can look at your business through the lens of all their knowledge and experience, helping you re-strategize or even re-invent your business to insure your success. This kind of help always pays for itself many times over.