Talk to someone who closed a business: the interview.
To replace your imagined failure, talk to someone who closed a business at least two years ago. First, write down your own film in three lines. Then ask five gentle questions, and compare their answers with yours.
Find your person and ask gently.
Your person could be a relative, former colleague, or a neighbour who once ran a shop. If nobody comes to mind, ask three people whether they know anyone. Then send a short message asking for fifteen minutes, with no pressure at all.
Write your film, then talk to someone who closed a business.
Before meeting, write three lines: your money at six months, your work at twelve months, and non-financial costs. Keep that page out of sight, so it doesn't steer what you hear. The questions to ask a failed entrepreneur cover money, work, costs, changes, and trying again.
Compare, then keep the useful lines.
At home, mark each line as worse, better, or different from their story. The lines where your film was worse are worth rereading late at night. That is how you learn from failed business owners. Still, one story is not a forecast, and memory edits numbers, so collect the shape.
Prepare to talk to someone who closed a business.
Write your three-line film about money, work and non-financial costs tonight.
Send one short message to a person who might know someone who closed a business.
From the book.
Find someone who closed a business at least two years ago. It can be your relative, your former colleague, your neighbour who once ran a shop, or someone your friend can introduce you to. If nobody comes to mind, ask three people you know whether they know anyone. Most people know at least one person who has closed a business, even if they have never talked about it.
I Want to Start a Business but I'm a Coward, chapter 6: What happened to the people it happened to
Questions about talk to someone who closed a business.
Why should you talk to someone who closed a business?
Because it gives you real footage of the part your imagination leaves blank.
What five things should you ask?
Money at six months, work a year later, non-financial costs, what they'd change, and whether they'd try again.
Should you trust the exact numbers they give?
Treat them as rough, since memory edits the past. The shape of the story is what matters.
Read the whole chapter.
This lesson covers one section of chapter 6, “What happened to the people it happened to”. The book goes further, with the full evidence, the stories and every exercise.
Lessons in this chapter.
- 01 Worst case scenario business failure: the real shape.
- 02 Earnings after failed startup: what records show.
- 03 Hidden costs of startup failure: what it cost me.
- 04 Starting again after a failed business: two stories.
- 05 Grief after business failure: the harder evidence.
- 06 Talk to someone who closed a business: the interview.
- 07 Startup failure post mortems: when nobody will talk.