When Things Go Wrong in Your Business, React!

I’ve heard many tales of things gone wrong in a business, like…

• Partners stealing
• Outrageous debt
• Employees that disappear when needed most
• Stacks of bills and no new customers
• Overwhelming amounts of work and not enough time to get it done
• Computers crashing and no back up
• Paying an outside contractor who doesn’t deliver the goods

The list goes on. It’s inevitable that you’ll hit a glitch or two in your business’ life span. But how you react to it will be the linchpin for bouncing back to success.

In my experience, it’s not easy to get to the bright fluffy positive thought place when you have to deal with urgent and important small catastrophes. Go for something easier and more powerful in these moments.

The first step is to give yourself ‘full permission to be where you are’. Throw your hands up in the air and acknowledge that this circumstance completely sucks, it’s not fair and you want to scream obscenities at the person who is at fault (Who is clearly not you!)

There is no reason to keep your emotions together here. In rough moments, it’s fine to be rough around the edges. Surrender to what it is.

The second step is emotional release. If your website is down and you’re in the middle of an important marketing launch you’ve got to let off some steam before you take any actions to move into solution. You’ve got to get it out.

Scream it out. (I love screaming in the car and saying all the stuff that I would never want anyone to know I'm thinking.) Walk it out. Exercise it out. Talk it out. Write it out. Do whatever works for you and do not feel wimpy doing it. Be loud and proud for taking control of your emotions in this empowering way.

Remember, anger and frustration are higher up on the emotional food chain than despair. You instantly feel a smidgen better by intentionally expressing yourself. If someone witnesses you falling apart, so be it. They’ll get over it and later you can use it to create learning for your kids, team or clients.

And the last step is to give yourself extreme self-care. If you were really sick, you’d stay home, right? Or you’d take some other action to remedy what ails you. When the chips are down in your business, the same is necessary. Go do whatever you need to do to feel back in balance. Watch a movie, get a massage, go sit in nature, or have a glass of wine with an uplifting friend. Distraction from the mess at work is a great way to step back into your go get ‘em attitude.

And if you’re one of those business owners who think you should not have bad things happen to you and when they do, you should be able to stay composed…get over it! There is no rule in business that says you should be able to handle everything with grace. It’d be nice to be that way but if you’re not, don’t sweat it.

The truth is, you will bounce back no matter how grave the circumstance. Once you’ve got a grip on your emotions, the next steps to solution will reveal themselves. And until they do…chill out.

The number one rule when things go south in your business is not to resist the stress. Don’t try to hold it all together when inside you feel like falling apart. Be where you are powerfully.