The good news? Peaking too early as an entrepreneur isn’t like peaking in high school—you’ll get a second chance. In fact, it’s pretty much the same thing as any business experiencing accelerated growth at a speed you can’t handle. Whether it’s breaking into foreign markets or getting 15 minutes of fame on, “The Today Show,” when you were 17 and started your first business, don’t feel like you need to constantly best your achievements. Entrepreneurs and businesses alike go through various growth stages and you can’t always be on an upward trajectory.
If you sense a crash and burn coming in your gut, trust it. The earlier you address issues or embrace preventative measures, the better off you’ll be. Seek out a mentor, tap free resources like those offered by the Small Business Administration, and don’t try to, “fix” mistakes by making more (like taking out a second loan). The reality is that there’s no such thing as, “too soon,” for an entrepreneur. Some success stories started when the entrepreneur was still in elementary school, (take a look at Shark Tank kids episodes for some key examples). There are only business mistakes, and those are inevitable—but prevent the ones you can.
You don’t have a limited amount of success
Business growth should be slow and steady. It’s tempting to get caught up in a whirlwind of fast growth, and for awhile some Type-A’s can handle it. However, it’s impossible to keep up that breakneck speed, and you’ll eventually burn out or allow other aspects of your life to suffer. Yes, as an entrepreneur you’ll need to make sacrifices (especially in the early years), but you should have a POA to move towards balance. What’s the point of a successful business if you don’t have the time to enjoy it?
Simultaneously, work on making your own luck, perhaps with tips by Inc. for starters. Different people were born with different resources and strengths (and weaknesses), and they may have worked at different levels to better themselves—and their odds of entrepreneurial success. However, “luck,” alone isn’t a lottery system. You can put yourself in a better position to succeed, but timing still plays a factor. Just because you’re 55 years old when you became an entrepreneur doesn’t mean you’re automatically going to be less successful than someone who’s 25. Yes, they have time on their side, but you have experience they’re nowhere near nabbing.
Starting over
Sometimes all your entrepreneurial dreams need are some tweaking, but other times you need to know when you should call it quits. Failure is the foundation of successful entrepreneurs, with some (now millionaires) blowing through several company startups that died before finding success. Arianna Huffington’s second book was rejected by 36 publishers before she got a nibble. Failure is your means of learning and doing it better the next time. The earlier you fail, (and peak), the quicker you’ll move on to the next, better thing.
As an entrepreneur, you need to practice when to say "no," and when to say, "yes." Saying either too much can lead to a stalemate, excessive growth, or a combination of both. Peak too early? You’ll know better next time—or you’ll keep repeating the mistake until the result is so painful you’re forced to change tactics.