In this week’s edition of Wash Wisdom, we discover tips for coping with setbacks and creating a successful business.

5 ways to keep sane during setbacks

In the article “5 Ways to Get Going Again After You’ve Survived a Setback” on Entrepreneur’s website, contributor Levi King notes that no entrepreneur is a stranger to setbacks and that the emotional and physical tolls can be high. However, he offers five suggestions for coping with setbacks:

• Don’t pity yourself. While it’s a natural reaction to feel sorry for yourself after suffering a setback, it skews your perception and makes you see yourself as a victim of terrible circumstances. Put things into perspective. Understand that you are not the only entrepreneur to have suffered losses, and you won’t be the last. Determine what you can control and use what you have, such as business credit scores or your profile, says King, to get going again.
• Don’t take your stress out on others. In times of great emotional turmoil, it can be all too easy to see everything in your life, and not just work, as stressful. Whatever didn’t cause you stress before the crisis ¾ family, friends, outside activities, etc. ¾ know that they aren’t the cause now either. The old cliché “count your blessings” truly applies here. It’s not that you should take your problems lightly and brush them off; rather, keep yourself from focusing solely on the negative. Remind yourself of the positives in your life.
• Don’t drown yourself in work. While setbacks do require great attention and concentration, don’t let work control your life. Now that you’re focusing on the positives in your life, concentrate on enjoying them as well. Make time for a life outside of work to relieve the strains of dealing with the business. If you don’t allow your mind to recover from the stress, you’ll only exhaust yourself further.
• Look for inspiration. Find the stories of others who have also suffered and coped with setbacks and gone on to do great things. Find audiobooks that you can listen to during work commutes or exercise times and stay inspired.
• Learn from your mistakes. Analyze your setback and learn from it. Write out your thoughts. How did you get here; what would you have done differently, in retrospect; what are you doing now to mitigate the problem? In addition, consider your mentality over the course of the crisis; reflecting on it can help you discipline your thinking.

Read the entire article here.

9 tips to make your business prosper

On Investopedia’s website, contributor Chris Seabury explains in his article “9 Tips For Growing A Successful Business” that, in order to succeed, you need to stay organized and flexible. The nine hints he offers are:

• Organize yourself. Make a daily to-do list and check off each task as it’s completed.
• Keep detailed records. You need to know exactly where your company stands financially in order to know what potential problems may arise down the road. Knowing this allows you time to plan counteractive measures.
• Study your competitors. Find out what your competitors are doing and see if you can learn from them. If there’s something they seem to be doing right, you may be able to use that method too.
• Analyze risks. You can’t get rewards without taking calculated risks, but make sure you know what the potential fallbacks of the risks are. As long as you understand the downside, you’ll know what your worst-case scenario is. Knowing the cons will also help you determine the risks that can lead to the greatest rewards.
• Stand out. Keep a constant lookout for ways to improve your business and set yourself apart from your competitors. Understand that you can’t know everything, so be open to new business ideas.
• Be patient. It takes time for word to get around and for a business to start making money, so stay focused and aim to achieve your short-term goals.
• Prepare to invest your time in work. Understand that once you open your business, you’ll probably be working harder and longer than if you were working for someone else. This will mean sacrificing leisure time with family and friends.
• Focus on the customer. A priority of yours should be providing excellent customer service. If you provide great service, customers will be more likely to return instead of turning to your competition.
• Develop positive habits. Staying consistent is crucial to having a successful business. You’ll develop positive, long-term habits by consistently doing what needs to be done to keep your business successful each day, and in the end, you’ll make more money too.

Find the article here.