subject: Withstanding Rejection And Negative Feedback As A Entrepreneur [print this page] Virtually all entrepreneurs are going to run into negative reactions from various people along the way. To start with, your friends and family may express their disapproval and even ridicule your ideas. Are you ready to withstand this kind of rejection along the way to entrepreneurial success?
It can be very discouraging to have your own flesh and blood tell you that your business idea is a pipe dream and that you're better off getting a typical corporate job at some big company. Of course, many family members (especially those from an older generation) often fail to realize that you can lose your job at a big corporation quite easily and often without warning. Layoffs have become all too common and are especially threatening during a down economy. That reality is lost on family, and should be pointed out especially in this fragile economy.
Of course, having this kind of corporate job is much better than being unemployed and unable to feed your family, but there really is no such thing as a secure job these days. One easy to understand reason why family members may be reluctant to approve of your business idea is a matter of pride. They may simply be embarrassed to tell their friends that you have some new idea for a new business and are starting out in your bedroom or garage! It would sound much fancier and more impressive if they could simply tell everyone that you are an important manager or executive at a large corporation.
Even though you may be excited and exuberant about your business plans, not everyone will have the same kind of enthusiasm. Many people, including your closest friends and family members, may secretly (or quite openly) think that you're wasting your time and are headed for a big failure. Are you comfortable with these kinds of responses?
Of course, you shouldn't reject other people's comments or advice completely, since they may bring up some important factors that you have overlooked. There is no use in being stubborn and continuing with an idea after others have shown its major flaws. At the same time, you also need to keep in mind that most great ideas that have resulted in great success for the entrepreneur initially met some resistance and even ridicule.
You should be prepared to meet such resistance with calm but steadfast determination.Why an entrepreneur needs to withstand rejection and negative feedback
