Mike Andes says entrepreneurs hide failing businesses because they fear judgment, which delays pivots and exits, damages finances, and contributes to high suicide rates among small business owners. Admitting failure early beats clinging to something broken.
And I found even when people fail in their business they will literally hide it for years because they're afraid of opo. They're afraid of other people's opinion of them having to admit failure. And the reason that people hold on to businesses that are failing and they go down with a sinking ship instead of bailing years before is many times they're afraid of opo. They're afraid of what other people are going to think about when they have to declare bankruptcy or when they say you know what, this is not working, I'm going to have to pivot and change the business model. And they're afraid that somehow other people's opinions are going to make them a less of a person. And then we wonder why in entrepreneurship and in small business owners why the rate of suicide is so high in our community is because we're comparing ourselves and we're always so concerned about other people's opinion instead of what is actually hitting the bottom line and on the P and L.
