My Biggest Business Failure, and What It Taught Me

People usually talk about their successes. I think the failures teach you more, so here's mine.

Which failure taught me the most?

Fairways Golf Range and Resort. I took it on at about 28, so I was fairly young, and it was a big project: 14 rai of rented land, around 12 rooms, a couple of golf shops, a restaurant, the driving range, a swimming pool, plus a golf society and golf events.

Looking back, I was a bit inexperienced and probably didn't take it as seriously as I would now. But that's not why it failed.

What went wrong?

I'd signed a three-year lease with an option to renew. When it came up, the landlady wasn't keen to renew. In the end she said she would, but at a higher rent, and wouldn't tell me what it would be.

The timing made it impossible. The nets around the range were starting to break, and golf balls were getting out because the netting wasn't good enough. Fixing it properly meant new netting and extra frames around the whole perimeter, which would have cost an awful lot of money. I couldn't put that in without knowing whether I'd still have the lease. So I walked away. The business lasted about three years.

What did it cost me?

A fair amount of money, and it wasn't even my money. I'd borrowed it from my parents, so I had to pay it back after the business failed.

But the money wasn't what hurt most. It was the first time I'd really failed at anything significant in my life, and that was a new feeling. In hindsight, it was the best thing that could have happened to me. It changed how I see business and made me take it far more seriously, knowing there are no guarantees and that there's a real downside.

What came out of it?

Pattaya Rent a Car. A couple of years into Fairways, residents kept asking to rent cars and motorbikes. A good friend of mine had money to invest and had always liked the idea of a car rental business. We had a big car park and a ready-made customer base, so it made sense. He became my business partner, and when Fairways ended, I put my energy into growing Pattaya Rent a Car instead. (Here's the full Pattaya Rent a Car story.)

What about the businesses that didn't work out?

Fairways was really my only outright failure. With the others that weren't working as I'd hoped, I always found a way out. I sold my share of the Outback Bar back to my business partners, though that was more because I wanted out than because it was failing. I had a pie-making business, London Pie, which was struggling, and I sold it to another pie manufacturer.

Most times I got at least some money back, and sometimes even a profit, because there are always people here wanting to start or buy into a business.

My advice if your business is struggling

I know the feeling. Right now, Hemingways Lakeside isn't doing as well as I'd hoped.

I think most businesses fail because they run out of money. So if you have real conviction in the concept and the location, and it just needs time, keep it going for as long as you can financially. The exception is a business that clearly will never work, because you didn't do your research, or the location or concept is just wrong.

Either way, drop the ego and look at the numbers. Try to take out the emotion, the passion and the fact that you started it. Weigh up the emotional cost of keeping a failing business, not just the financial cost. Letting it go is hard, especially when you're taking a big loss, but it frees you to move on to the next business and, hopefully, make that money back.

For more, read from bar manager to seven businesses, business partners and starting or buying a business in Pattaya.