As a new (or aspiring) entrepreneur, you will make mistakes (and lots of them).

I’m afraid you cannot avoid this, although would it make you feel better if I told you that some of your mistakes are a good thing (as in, they help you turn your good idea into a great one)?

It’s true, and I know this because I’ve yet to meet an entrepreneur who hasn’t (and I’ve interviewed a lot… 200+ to be specific).

Each successful person you admire and look up to has made plenty of them. They have failed. They continue to failure to this day, no matter how much experience, money, or fame they have. 

In many ways, they’re exactly the same as you, but along their journey they’ve figured out a few secrets that allow them to turn failure into success.

That’s what this post is all about; specifically, why you need to make these three mistakes in order to become a true success story - and how to overcome them so you come out on top.

1. You Need to Make a Wrong Hire

If there’s one topic that cropped up more than any other during my research for ‘The Successful Mistake’, it’s hiring and recruiting.

It’s a minefield, to say the least, and depending on your business, it may be a fundamental aspect of what you do. But no matter what your business involves, hiring people plays a role in your entrepreneurial journey (and everybody makes a bad one at some point).

Not only will you make a bad hire, I believe you NEED to.

That may sound strange, but there are two reasons for this:

• A bad hire means you’re hiring, which is always an important thing to do (if you’re not hiring, you’re doing too much yourself)
• A bad hire helps you appreciate what a good hire looks like (and how important it is to find the right members for your team)

Simply put, you need to hire people. Some of them will be amazing, whereas others will drive you insane. The sooner you start this process; the sooner you develop a culture that takes your business to the next level.

To do this:

• Make a list of ALL the tasks you do during an average week
• Estimate how much time YOU spend on each of these tasks
• Highlight ALL the tasks you DO NOT need to do (be ruthless)
• Pick two tasks to outsource, and commit to filling these roles over the next month

 Start small, but make sure you start!

2. You Need to Say Yes to The Wrong Client

As an entrepreneur, you will come across new opportunities, people, partners, and clients each day.

You’re programmed to say yes to new customers because these are the people who help you grow. But the fact remains your customer isn’t always right.

At some point, every successful entrepreneur says yes to the wrong client. You become blinded by the impressive brand or large sum of money, giving far too much and placing too great a strain on you and your team.

I’ve heard stories like this countless times before, and I myself have suffered this pain.

Indeed, I believe you need to suffer the same.

Not only does it help you realise how precious your time is (and what you and your team are capable of), but it helps you hone in on who your perfect client is (and what they look like).

There are good clients and bad clients in this world, and the bad teach you a lot about who the good are.

To do this:

• Go to a low-quality networking event and say yes to a job that you know you shouldn’t…
• Commit to this job, and do it to the best of your ability…
• But whilst doing so, make a note of EVERYTHING (time, how you feel, what issues crop up)...
• When it’s done, reflect on this job with your team and create an avatar for what your ideal client looks like…

 A ‘wrong’ client like this WILL help you appreciate what a good one looks like (this I assure you).

3. You Need to Assume You Know Best

Nod your head if this sounds familiar: you have a new idea for a product or project, make a few notes in your notebook, get all excited and ask a few people for their thoughts, and once you get some thumbs up, you dive straight into it.

Sometimes this works, but more often than not you end up working hard, spending money, and wasting your time on something you’re unsure anyone actually wants.

I’ve done this before, and I’ve met a lot of people who have suffered the same fate.

It’s a business killer, but it’s also offers a valuable lesson that helps you hone in on what your business is, because the true secret to business success is this: ensure what you offer is what your customer needs, and you WILL thrive!

To do this:

• Come up with 5 ideas that you think are amazing…
• Choose one, and then commit to launching it in the next week or so…
• Launch it to your existing audience, and observe their response…
• Make your sole aim to learn… to listen… to see what they do and don’t like…

 Once you discover what your customer wants, you’ll find success much easier to attain.

Do Not Fear These Mistakes

As a new (or aspiring) entrepreneur, YOU WILL make mistakes (and lots of them).

This is fine. Do not beat yourself up, and do not fear them.

Learn from them, especially these three mistakes.

If you do, you may turn your good idea into a great one.

And if you would like to learn more about how successful entrepreneurs transform failure and adversity into success, you may like to check out my latest book, ‘The Successful Mistake’ (you can read the first chapter for free here).

Author: Matthew Turner

Matthew Turner is the author of ‘The Successful Mistake: How 163 of The World's Greatest Entrepreneurs Transform Failure Into Success’. After interviewing 163 authority figures, Matthew’s unearthed how successful people craft their greatest successes out of adversity. To learn how you can too, visit: successfulmistake.com/book