Well ladies, we worked our booties off. We cried, we shouted, we laughed, we smiled, we got angry and we got happy. All of these things happened throughout this past month of our Kickstarter. And you know what? It failed.
I (Joanna) really believed we could make this happen. I know we were trying to raise a lot of money, but I really believed deep down that we had the power to do this, if only we worked hard enough. When I first realized this maybe wasn’t going to happen, it was really hard. I had migraines, got sick, cried a lot and felt extremely embarrassed and vulnerable. I just couldn’t take the thought that this thing I had poured so much of myself into, this thing that I believed in so strongly could fail.
If you and I were sitting and chatting over a cup of coffee, I would look you in the eyes and tell you at this moment, today, I’m ok, and that would be an honest answer. I’m actually more than ok. I feel really good right now. Ready to regroup and excited to celebrate this failure.
I had a mentor of mine sit down with me the other day, and after I told her that I was feeling really embarrassed for everyone to see this thing fail, she said to me, “Oh honey. You can not waste your energy on that. This will one of many failures that will happen in your life. It’s all apart of being an entrepreneur.” BAM.
Failures do not define us. These things that don’t succeed do not create our identity. We are more than what we do, and we can move on from failures and learn! One of my favorite scenes from one of my favorite movies, Elizabethtown comes to mind when I write this.
In the scene below, the main character has just been fired from his job because he invented a shoe design that lost the company over a BILLION dollars. See below:
My favorite quote from this scene: “You want to be really great? Then have the courage to FAIL BIG and stick around. Make them wonder why you’re still smiling. That’s true greatness to me.” What a great reminder, and a great encouragement to us all!
The reason I want to talk about our Kickstarter failing is because I want YOU to see that yes, this failed, and look, it’s ok! You can fail to! Let’s talk about our failures and learn from them. Let’s be open about the fact that this stuff we are trying to do is not easy. And let’s encourage each other to continue to take risks, be brave and know that even if you do fail- things are going to be ok. It’s what you learn along the way that will really make you great.
How often do you see inspirational quotes on Pinterest talking about failure? I see them all the time. But how often do you see people actually talking about their personal or business failures? Those you rarely see. So I want to talk about this and be completely open about the things learned along the way.
This Kickstarter may have failed, but this project is not a failure. We have learned A TON and we are not done here. We are regrouping, re-strategizing, and figuring out what’s next. The Yellow Room is still happening, it’s just a matter of when, where and how. Stay tuned. We’re not finished yet.
We had brunch as a Yellow team last weekend and decided that we needed to celebrate this failure. So because of that we are going to have a #freetofail party this Friday night- and you’re invited! Nothing fancy, just a hangout, closure and celebration of the end of our Kickstarter campaign. We would love to have you join us.
Space is limited, so if you’d like to come, RSVP here and let us know you’re coming.
Thank you to every single person who backed our Kickstarter. And thank you to everyone who posted about it on social media, talked to friends or sent an encouraging email or text. Every single one of you is apart of what we’re doing.
We’re not done ladies. Stay tuned.