How Resilience Can Help You Succeed in Entrepreneurship

Starting a business is not an easy job. It takes a lot of time, energy, and money to get off the ground. Many entrepreneurs fail in their first attempt due to a lack of resilience. Resilience is the ability to bounce back from failure, setbacks, and challenging times, and if there’s one group that needs that ability, it’s entrepreneurs. Tough times, fears, failures, and frustrations are part of business, and entrepreneurs must be resilient to stay focused, learn from their mistakes, and keep going despite the obstacles they face.

This article will discuss resilience, how being resilient can help an entrepreneur to outperform, achieve goals and take their business to the next level and how every entrepreneur can build resilience.

The concept of resilience has its roots in the 1970s in the field of psychology; and today, resilience is commonly referred to as “the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats or significant sources of stress” (The Road to Resilience – American Psychological Association). In other words, resilience is not about avoiding stress but learning to thrive within the stress. We all experience stress in many different forms; the difference is in those who choose to face it head-on and not let it get the best of them – they are resilient.

Whilst certain factors may make some individuals more resilient than others, resilience isn’t a personality trait that only some people possess. Quite the reverse; resilience involves behaviours, thoughts and actions that anyone can learn and develop.

How an entrepreneur views adversity and stress strongly affects how they succeed, and this is one of the most significant reasons why having a resilient mindset is so important, especially for entrepreneurs. Resilient entrepreneurs don’t dwell on failure, they move forward.

Living in a world that is in a constant state of instability will require entrepreneurs to be better at dealing with rapid change and to be flexible and responsive. Flexibility will also help them to deal with stressors and unexpected demands and allow them to let go of the original plan, switch tasks when needed and positively embrace change. Agility and speed of responsiveness is the key to success and a flexible approach will allow entrepreneurs to be able to adapt well in times of change and uncertainty.

There are certain factors which are essential to building entrepreneurs’ resilience, to name few:

Personality: Believing in their abilities and having a strong sense of control over life events, being “gritty” and passionate about their business.
Attitudes and behaviours: Positive mindsets, meaning, preparedness and reflection after experiencing setbacks further enhance entrepreneurs’ resilience.
Learning: Participating in entrepreneurial education programs, like university business courses, and learning how other entrepreneurs successfully cope with adversity and learning from their struggles and failures can help entrepreneurs learn how to bounce back from adversity.
Personal experiences: Resilience also develops from personal experiences, like overcoming the initial challenges of starting a business.
Social networks: Having strong sources of social support, whether through business networks, formal mentorship programs or feedback from potential investors.

Resilient entrepreneurs also tend to learn, innovate, exhibit more transformational leadership and are happier than those without resilience. Like building muscle, building resilience takes time, effort and the right technique. By investing in learning, believing in their capabilities and vision, using failure as fuel for growth and leaning on social support, anyone can become a resilient entrepreneur. With resilience, entrepreneurs can not only survive but also thrive in their entrepreneurial journey.