How to Survive a Startup Failure

The most common reason startups fail is because the founders are not prepared for the emotional rollercoaster they are about to go on. Whether you're starting a business with someone else or going solo, there will be many ups and downs in your journey.

In this article, I'm going to outline some of the key ways you can prepare yourself for the ride. You'll want to make sure you've done everything possible before launching your startup so that you can better handle any problems that arise along the way. If you've followed my advice from my article on how to start a startup , then you have already taken some of these steps. Now it's time to focus on yourself and prepare.

“You build on failure. You use it as a steppingstone. Close the door on the past. You don’t try to forget the mistakes, but you don’t dwell on it. You don’t let it have any of your energy, or any of your time, or any of your space.” —Johnny Cash

Prioritize your objectives.

You can learn to establish goals if you aren't already one. Define a few short-term goals that are aligned with your approach, and then map out the steps to get there. Goals offer your job a sense of direction. There is so much to accomplish in a company that it's easy to lose sight of why you're working on certain activities. A goal-first strategy aligns your tiny, daily efforts with the reason you started your business in the first place.

Fix a single issue.

Startups frequently feel as if they are flying blind, with so much to accomplish in such a short period of time. Trying to multitask by handling all difficulties at the same time, on the other hand, will almost certainly lead you astray. Instead, choose one client problem to tackle and focus all of your efforts on that aim. When you put all of your efforts into solving one problem, you'll rapidly discover that you'll run into other issues.