Lessons from a recent failure.
They say in entrepreneurship that it is inevitable that one of your businesses will fail. And until now I thought I was in the business of laying golden eggs, as I’ve never had that happen to me.
Well this was my first big failure lesson and I want to share my learnings with you.
Yes, I’ve failed a lot but never invested so much time and money for no return. And while there was great fun and reward in the venture, financially and time involved did not work out.
As you all know Auctus was launched this year to help chiropractors on scale change their practices and their lives. A spin off coaching with Lee and I from the Aligned Podcast.
Unfortunately we closed it down this month and here are the key three reasons why, and the lessons there in.
Time and attention. This project took a lot of time and focus, thinking of new content, weekly calls, daily messages, as well as promotion. The hustle was fun, you know I love that, but the price was rising. Less time with my family, less time in my practice, and as such those were feeling the strain. A choice had to be made. Do I prioritise family or Auctus? My practice or Auctus? This was the first consideration, and of course my family is my priority. The lesson here? Don’t loose sight of what’s important.
Finances. I have said it before, I have never taken a dime from my coaching over the last 10 years. I always reinvest it. But the numbers were not stacking up, I invested a lot to start the project and to finance the ongoing. Our business model was based on scale. But the group did not scales quick enough. I had to pull the plug. The lesson here? Things always take longer and cost more than you expect.
What’s my gift? I know I am a talented coach and mentor, having seen dozens thrive with me one on one. And it was great to see the same with this group. However, there was a constant nag in my mind that I could do more to help each member individually, more focus and better results. My gift is in speaking to many but coaching one on one. So to help others in the best way I can, I decided to commit back to that. The lesson here? Audit your gifts, be sure to focus on them and not the shiny distractions.
So there you go, it was a wild ride but the wrong ride. I hope that in being open here it gives you permission to question what you are doing and focus on the right thing.
With love,
Tom