Over the years, after talking with tens of thousands of entrepreneurs, artists and creatives, almost every success story we’ve heard has been filled with stories of failure. Unfortunately, in our view the media rarely covers these parts of the story – instead we often read summaries that make it seem like success happened “overnight.” However, what we’ve learned in our conversations with so many successful folks is that failure is core ingredient in the recipe for future success. Below, we’ve shared some fascinating stories of failure from folks who have ultimately found great success.

Largwe Jackson

I use to look at failure as something that’s unfavorable. Failure made me feel like I was inadequately fit for my purpose in life. As a person who’s always striving to grow, I found myself useless, and unworthy to continue a journey that no longer looked familiar. Read more>>

Nathalia Gorosh

Why would one make the choice to fail? Only when the obstacle is not “in the way” but “is the way”. Two years ago, I faced a pivotal moment in my business. I knew that whichever path I chose, I would succeed, but I also knew that the path that would make me the happiest – was by far – the harder one. So, I decided to take a leap into failure. Read more>>

Melissa Jeffcoat

It is crazy for me to look back now and realize my biggest failure led to my biggest success. Without one I would not have the other. I had been in business for 10 years and thought I was past all the benchmarks of when small businesses fail. Read more>>

TES Speaks

A few years ago, I was ready to become an entrepreneur and quit my 9-5. I was so eager to work for myself I jumped at the first opportunity to become a business owner. I got into real estate and trucking at the same time. Although these businesses were profitable, I did not feel fulfilled and free like I thought I would. Read more>>

Jessica Harvin

I opened my salon suite May last year. So, this year makes it one year. Unfortunately, at the end of this lease I have to close down my suite. This year I wouldn’t call it a failure, but more of a lesson learned. While, I was able to keep up with the rent I struggled tremendously. Read more>>

Ebony Rice

I don’t really have a story of failure but, a big mistake I made when I started my business was not promoting effectively. We’re in a time where influencer marketing is at an all time high so even though I took advantage, I wasn’t intentional. I was just sending my products to anyone with a big following but I wasn’t seeing a return. Read more>>

Natalie Bogwalker

We created our first online course in 2018. Several of our friends and colleagues had had success with online courses and we were excited to join them. Our school teaches hands-on skills, including traditional and primitive skills, and we chose to create a course on the all natural Braintanning method of making buckskin. Read more>>