Why Making Mistakes at Work Helps Your Small Business Grow

When you are actively running your small business you will make some mistakes at work, right? I read a quote over at 99 signals that got me thinking about it more.

“Those who do a lot often make mistakes.”

Think about it: When you are not doing much you are not bound to make mistakes.

Another quote there also sums it up nicely:

 “If you don’t make mistakes, you’re not working on hard enough problems. And that’s a big mistake.” –

— Frank Wilczek

Oftentimes, a mistake is something you learn from. When you learn from something you grow.

Have you ever made a mistake so bad you wanted to hide under your desk? Yes, I’ve been there! Misspelled words in a newspaper obituary made me feel that way. Another time I misspelled good and typed in God. It totally changed the sentence around. There was no Grammarly tool back in those days!

So, if your business has mistakes it can learn from them and grow as well. Many times, businesses become agile when customers need more from them. It is often from a mistake or a new need in the marketplace.

You must be aware of this in order to address it and grow your business.

How To Spot Mistakes

If you don’t spot these mistakes, it can be a disaster for your business. If you begin to blame others for something – look down deeper. Are you managing them? Maybe if you stayed on top of what was happening the mistakes would not happen. Did you hire the right person?

According to Life Hacker, “ The kind of mistakes you make define you. The more interesting the mistakes, the more interesting the life.”

So first you must ADMIT you made a mistake. Then, of course, apologize for the mistake. It takes courage to own up and apologize but it helps you get past the mistake.

What Can Be Better?

Now, do you know what can be better from the mistake you made? That is the big question and lesson to learn along the way.  You must analyze what went wrong. What was the actual error?

For example, when I started my business I charged a low rate for services. I became frustrated because I was spending so much time on these services for clients. It was hard to raise their rates.

As time went on, I began to charge more for new clients and added more for current clients to make enough for the time I was spending.

Once I took charge of my rates I felt I was a valuable asset. I could also spend more time on clients or outsource some of the work, and provide better services. It was a win-win lesson from my mistake.

Get Over Your Fear of Making Mistakes at Work

Albert Einstein summed it up well: “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.”
― Albert Einstein

Once you get over the fears of making mistakes at work you can grow. You will try new things, test things and learn what works best. You learn by doing!

I didn’t close my business because I was not making enough money. However, I improvised and tested new rates with new clients until I reached the right amount of work and pricing.

I learned from the mistake at work and adjusted along the way. You can too!

How To Stop Making Mistakes At Work

• Slow down
• Do one thing at a time
• Keep track of patterns
• Have a to-do list

Aside from getting over your fear of making a mistake, slow down. Take your time when doing projects and always double-check your work along the way.

You could even triple-check it to avoid making mistakes at work in the future. 

Furthermore, do not try to multitask. Do one task at a time. This will help you to focus better on the moment and what you are doing. 

Next, keep track of patterns. When I used to be a typist, I’d make 3 errors in a row. I had to be aware of it to break the cycle of making mistakes at work. 

Lastly, have a daily to-do list so you don’t forget something. That can be the biggest mistake of all. 

Learn the Lesson of Mistakes at Work

That’s why it is important for business owners to really learn from their mistakes early on. Of course, you can learn from others’ mistakes as well. Learn as much as you can from other similar businesses. You can do this by joining masterminds, a Chamber of Commerce, BizSugar Community, or any networking group nearby.

Experience enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again.

– Franklin P. Jones

Another way to learn from others’ mistakes is to read and engage in blogs like this one. There is enough information online today that anyone can surely learn a lot of lessons.

Your Turn on Making Errors At Work

I’d love to know what mistakes you have made at work or in your small business and how you overcame them. Please drop a comment below so we can discuss it.