Stephen Newton: Find resilience through failure


.
Authored by Hiscox Experts.
2 min read
 
Read Stephen Newton's unskippable advice

My advice to someone who’s starting now is you have to have the resilience to follow through. If you are going to give up before the dawn, you’ll never see the sun rise.

Hi, I’m Stephen Newton, and this is my unskippable minute.

I’m the founder and CEO of a company called Elixirr. I was 30 when I tried my first business, my son was 6 months old and I re-mortgaged my house.

I mean I remember when I started Elixirr, people said to me, you’re mad, no one needs another consulting firm.

Real lessons in life only come from when you try something and don’t succeed. And I think it’s a mindset thing, I think it’s having the willingness to say ‘I will fail’ and I’ll have to. It’s a basic human characteristic of resilience.

If you get things right actually, you don’t really learn much. Failure is the way you learn.

It’s also the failures I had in the past that help me know that I’m on the right track, or that there are things that I should avoid doing.

Successful entrepreneurship requires a real commitment, and the world doesn’t owe you any favours.

I think in actual fact more entrepreneurialism happens by virtue of swimming in the opposite direction regardless.

Take failure in your stride. Analyse it, and learn from it. Be honest with yourself, and know that you can take knocks and that you're ok to deal with those knocks when everyone's telling you you're wrong.

Disclaimer:
At Hiscox, we want to help your small business thrive. Our blog has many articles you may find relevant and useful as your business grows. But these articles aren’t professional advice. So, to find out more on a subject we cover here, please seek professional assistance.


people making notes seminar

How to start a consultancy business: 5 steps to setting up as a management consultant

There are some key considerations to know if you’re thinking about starting a consultancy business. Learn more in our article.

typing on laptop

4 business metrics every consultant needs to understand

Bernard Marr explores the most important business metrics. Read our article to find out what they are and how to apply them to your small business.

anju unskippable minute

Anju Solanki: The strength of vulnerability

Former investment banker Anju Solanki shares her unskippable minute with Hiscox and talks about the strength of vulnerability - discover more in this video.

Hiscox Experts

Hiscox insures over 400,000 businesses (based on the number of policies sold in 2022), has a Defaqto five-star rating and is the proud winner of the Feefo Platinum Service award (2020-2023), rated by real customers.