How to Fail Forward

Girl Gang Craft The Podcast

Girl Gang Craft the Podcast is back! It’s our first episode of 2023, and we’re excited to be back on the (digital) air.

On this week’s episode, Phoebe takes the mic solo to reflect on some of the experiences that have contributed to her success and personal growth - citing “failures” as a student, early employment, college, and most poignantly, in the process of launching a new business. She explains the extreme discomfort that can come with feeling you’ve come up short - especially in a space you’re passionate about. For Phoebe, that discomfort came from failing her AP Art Portfolio, freshman Environment Science in college, and venturing into the world of biz - craft fair rejections. Long story short, it can feel pretty uncomfortable to sit with shortcomings, especially when they’re happening in a space you’re passionate about.

While acknowledging that failure can happen on a large scale of severity and consequences, Phoebe speaks to her own experiences processing her failures as opportunities for growth, leaning heavily into the need for those creating a business to be able to pick themselves up - no matter how bad it might feel - and try again (or try different!)

Phoebe concludes that the ability to encounter, sit with, and move beyond failure is one of the hardest skills we have to learn - but it’s never without benefit to whatever life throws at you next.

Quotes

“I remember feeling so awful when I got denied from these (craft) shows. It made me question my worth, my work, my plans - my life plans. If I had quit - GGC would not exist today. Maybe I got practice failing.”

“Failure sucks. But that failure is a part of business - a part of life. The difference between a successful entrepreneur and an unsuccessful one?...The successful ones keep going. They keep trying despite all of the failures - despite the shitty views, the low sales, the unsuccessful launches. They try it again - maybe with something slightly different - and they learn along the way.”

Show Notes

GGC Craft Fair Applications Open Now Throw Your Own Craft Fair