An entrepreneur's advice on failure and success

I RECENTLY had a chat with Anis Hafiqah, owner of Ombre Florist, an awe-inspiring floral arrangement service in Kota Baru.

She spoke about the things that have helped her business flourish.

Confucius said: "It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop."

We may not realise that sometimes we hinder our own growth because of a negative mindset.

Here are four excuses we often tell ourselves and what Anis says in response.

Excuse number one: "I don't have the resources."

Anis says: "We can always say 'I don't have this and that, so I can't achieve this and that'. But we cannot focus on things we don't have. Focus on what we do have."

So true. It is easy to compare ourselves with others who have much more resources.

Anis started her business from home, and as it grew, resources grew, too. Her shop is now in a two-storey building with an event space included.

Excuse number two: "I have failed before. I will never succeed."

Anis, however, says: "In business, we have to be consistent. Go through failures until they don't affect you any more."

That's perseverance. Anis shared an experience of not having the fresh flowers she promised her customers. She had to change to different flowers, and this upset the customers.

From that experience she learnt it's important to confirm the availability of flowers before offering them to customers.

Excuse number three: "It is too scary."

Anis says: "You can start a business without experience. The most important thing is to be brave. If we face failures in the beginning, future problems become easy to overcome."

There you have it — be brave! Change your mindset by thinking, "there will be mountains ahead, but I will climb them and get to the other side".

Excuse number four: "I can do everything myself. I don't need help."

Anis says: "My mother-in-law's advice is that in business, you have to delegate and trust your staff. You cannot do everything on your own."

We are only human. There is only so much we can handle. You have to choose: do you want to manage, or do you want to do the hands-on work?

Do you want to entertain clients, or do you want to be in the back office? If you want your business to grow, you have to realise that it takes more than one person – you need workers!

Whether you are at a workplace, at home, or at school, you will always need help because you deserve help. No one deserves to struggle alone.