3 Lessons from My Failed Business(es)

Like a lot of entrepreneurs, I had a business that failed. 

Your Best Run was a coaching program for runners. It lasted for two years, only made ~$2,000 in revenue, and cost me $30,000. I made a lot of mistakes, but the one I see other folks also making is spending a ton of time focused on the competition.

I can’t recall how many hours I spent on other people’s websites and socials, comparing their content, pricing, and offers to mine. It was a lot. Far too many. Looking back, there are three lessons I took away from my experience and want to share with you that are relevant to building a successful business and getting a six-figure traditional book deal.

I could have done the math. 

Instead of sitting there steaming over my competition going viral, I could have crunched the numbers. How many people were paying to work with them versus simply following passively on Instagram? Was this even a sustainable business? 

I could have tested my content and concept before investing.

A lot of people come to me with results — of their own. Or maybe a small cohort. 

But in order to land a book deal, your advice needs to work at scale. 

For thousands of people. 

A huge mistake I made was going big with a brand launch (and a ton of money invested) instead of doing the work and coaching people for a while . . . which would have made me realize I love running but hate run coaching. (Whoops.) 

I could have looked to other industries for inspiration. 

A few months ago, a client told me that she needed to write a different book. This client was under the impression that everyone in the world knew about her area of expertise, when in reality, she was simply surrounded by folks who were saying the same thing. 

By going outside our industries and niches and subject areas to get inspiration, we step out of our own echo chamber. When we stop obsessing over every little detail of what our competitors are up to, we can hear our own voice. That allows us to be creative and stand out — because usually it’s not what we say that matters, but how we say it.

I also want to note that it wasn’t just Your Best Run that failed. 

This business — Meghan Stevenson Books — came close to failing too. 

Here’s the last mistake I made that has everything to do with me and nothing to do with my competition.

I could have gotten visible and marketed to my audience.

For eight years, I was a solopreneur who relied on referrals. 

But then those stopped coming in. 

I had to choose — was I willing to change, or did I want to give up? 

Today, I’m the proud owner of a business with four employees (including myself) that consistently produces results — at scale — for our clients. 

Don’t make the mistake I did — of waiting eight years to create what you want.