Welcome to Rule 5, we are nearly to the finish line! It’s been an incredible journey in which you have identified your idea, built a kitchen cabinet, put your financial dos and don’ts in place, and launched a product or offering that you continue to test. Now, it’s time to change everything. And then change it again.
Yes. You read that right.
If you’re going to be the entrepreneurial goddess you dream of being, you must have the flexibility and agility to pivot as needed, when you need to, or there’s a good chance you’re not going to make it. According to Harvard Business Review, 30% of startups fail due to founders’ reluctance to pivot despite clear signals from customers or the market indicating necessary changes. We nearly became one of those stats ourselves.
Fortunately, we learned to take cues from other famous Female Mavericks (especially those kind enough to put those critical lessons in their lyrics). One of our biggest inspirations, Dolly Parton, likes to say, “We can’t direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.” (Preach icon, preach!) This quote hits on one of the greatest challenges for any entrepreneur – adapting to unforeseen circumstances that most definitely will arise moments after putting the finishing touches on your business plan.
Here’s the thing about Dolly. She didn’t have to pivot that much because she was way smarter than the average entrepreneur at the ripe old age of 20. Realizing that being a shoot-out-the-lights singer wasn’t enough to secure long-term financial security, she started her own publishing company, and maintained the rights to her songs – the ultimate power move.
For us mere mortals, we can’t expect to be as prescient as Dolly. We will inevitably face business problems that we won’t get right on the first try, or even the second or third. In our entrepreneurial journey, we changed plans, products, leadership and sales strategies so often our daughters bedazzled the neck braces we took to wearing to prevent whiplash.
And we’re not alone! Famous blue box retailer Tiffany’s started out as a stationery store. The Gap was a record store that sold jeans in the back. And behemoth collaboration and community app, Slack, which now has 350,000 employees, was a nearly defunct gaming company in its first iteration. Indeed, according to Upwork, nearly 75% of successful entrepreneurs admit to pivoting their businesses at least once during their journey.
Reasons for pivots range from miscalculating the pace of market growth, to the speed of demand recovery after a regulatory or market shock, to the impact of a competitor that popped up out of nowhere. In all these cases, the toughest thing isn’t actually altering the plans themselves, but rather accepting the need for change. And it’s critical that entrepreneurs not consider this as a sign of failure, but rather proof of a company’s adaptability and resilience.
Ultimately, embracing this reality is essential, both for your sanity and for your business. And our Rule Five Female Maverick Must Dos—inspired by the voices and words of other Female Mavericks you already know and love—will help you do just that.
FLIP THE SCRIPT AND KEEP FLIPPING IT
Rule 5: Must Dos
- Oops I Did It Again: Get Used to Admitting Your Mistakes
- Rolling in the Deep: Dive into the Data Driving the Problem
- Wrecking Ball: Know When to Take One to Your Own Business
- What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger: Pivot from Mistakes
- Shake It Off: Move Past Business Failures Again and Again
Step 1: Oops I Did It Again: Get used to admitting your mistakes.
Bad things happen to businesses every day. The “what” doesn’t really matter. The “what do I do now” does. Your own business mistakes may not always be significant, but the speed at which you address them always is.
Step 2: Rolling in the Deep: Dive into the data driving the problem.
While intuition has its charm, data needs to be the Google Maps of your decision-making journey. It will help you identify the causes of your problems before they escalate, and it will help you figure out what to do and where to go next.
Step 3: Wrecking Ball: Know when to take one to your own business.
When part of your business isn’t working, it’s gotta go. And not with a surgical knife. With a hacksaw. Try our highly technical approach— “Do the Opposite” and see how trying something completely different is so often the answer you need.
Step 4: What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger: Pivot from mistakes.
Sometimes, a baby step pivot after a horrible mistake is good enough to get you back on the path to fame and fortune. But that little pivot won’t be your last. It’s critical to develop your pivoting panache now so you’re prepared to change course whenever you need to.
Step 5: Shake It Off: Move past business failures again and again.
The reality is that you will hit roadblocks and pivot multiple times throughout your career and your startup journey. Once you navigate one problem, more likely than not, another one is going to pop up. So, get good at learning your lessons and moving on to your next opportunity for success.
