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I failed my business – a guide to aligning yours for success
20 Plays14 days ago
“I failed my business.”
That’s not easy to say, but it’s part of the journey we rarely talk about.
In this episode, I’m opening up about a recent launch that didn’t go as planned, the tough lessons it taught me, and how I’m using Human Design to realign my path.
If you’ve ever poured your heart into something and it fell flat, this episode is for you. I’m sharing why failure isn’t the end—it’s a nudge to realign, reset, and focus on what truly resonates.
I'll also be sharing the actionable steps you need to take to help you find alignment, even when things don’t go to plan.
CONNECT WITH ME:
FREE HUMAN DESIGN CHART & RESOURCES: Grab your Human Design report on the website
HUMAN DESIGN BRAND & BUSINESS BLUEPRINT: Get your personalised 40 page PDF report that explains your unique Human Design chart.
ALIGN & ACTIVATE SESSION: Get out of stuck mode and fully understand your unique Human Design with a transformational 1 hour 1:1 deep dive.
INSTAGRAM: @teresacrifo.co
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Transcript
Theresa's Vulnerable Business Failure Story
00:00:00
Speaker
Hi guys, today I am sharing something very raw and getting really vulnerable with you and sharing a failure yeah I recently had in my business.
00:00:16
Speaker
If you are feeling like things are not going right in your business and you need a bit of a alignment shift, this episode is for you because I'm also going to share not only my story, but some steps to help you regain alignment in your own business.
00:00:36
Speaker
Welcome to The Human Design Brand and Marketing Show. This is the podcast for solo printers who want to step up their brand and marketing and elevate their business through their own unique magic that is human design.
00:00:51
Speaker
My name is Theresa and I'm a brand and web designer. For me, discovering and studying human design was a game changer for my business. These days, I am passionate about guiding you to create your own growth and alignment throughout your own business. Ready to elevate your own brand and marketing? Let's do it.
Emotional Journey and Lessons from Failure
00:01:16
Speaker
Today, I'm going to take you behind the scenes of my latest launch where things didn't go quite as planned. Now, have you ever had a moment like that? Like you put in the work, put yourself out there, but the results just don't add up to what you're hoped for. If so, then I'm right there with you. And in this episode, I'm not just sharing my experience, but also some insights and steps that you can take if you're feeling the same frustration or confusion.
00:01:48
Speaker
OK, let's get real about the lessons, the pivots and the growth that really comes from these moments of failure. And I say that in quotation marks in our businesses. Now, I want to share this because I think it's an experience a lot of us know, but rarely talk about. And the truth is failure is just part of the entrepreneurial path. We take risks.
00:02:15
Speaker
We put ourselves out there and sometimes we fall short. And I don't see that as a bad thing. That falling short is teaching us something. It is guiding us or stopping us from going down the wrong path. It's teaching us something we need to know to get into the right path and get onto alignment. You know, we always see the shiny parts of success stories, but not so often the messier parts.
00:02:43
Speaker
the times when things just don't pan out. And today I really want to get into that.
Sales Funnel Course Launch and Self-Reflection
00:02:50
Speaker
So let's rewind a bit to my latest launch. My recent launch, you may have seen it. It was a course on creating an aligned sales funnel. Now I went into it with pretty low expectations, right? It was a spur of the moment idea. Like it wasn't something that I had planned for months prior.
00:03:14
Speaker
I just felt that it was something that I had to do. Right. But if I'm being honest, even though I had low expectations, I still expected more than what I got. And when it didn't hit, I felt that sinking feeling like that mix of, you know, self self-doubt and disappointment and I really felt really low, right? I had to sit with it for a bit. I even wondered, you know, did I just make a massive mistake? Have I like stuffed up my business lately? Like, you know, it was really I had lots of questions going through my mind. Am I not cut out for this? You know, all those scenarios going through my head. I didn't discount it. I just felt the wave, right?
00:04:09
Speaker
This is a side of the business, like I said, that ah doesn't always get the spotlight, right? But um you've probably been there and I'm pretty sure all a lot of us know this um side of things, you know, all too well. We take risks. We put ourselves out there. We pour.
00:04:34
Speaker
time and heart into whatever we're building but there are no guarantees and um that is you know If you've been there, if you've launched something, throw yourself into an idea only to watch it fall flat. Um, you're not alone. And these moments are just part of the path. They're part of the journey. And even if they don't feel so great when you're in them, they happen for a reason.
Using Human Design for Business Realignment
00:05:00
Speaker
So for me, you know, that feeling, it really hit a bit harder this time for two reasons. One, because
00:05:08
Speaker
I genuinely felt like I was on the right track with you so far. I listened to my human design. I trusted my gut and my intuition and I felt like all the signs were pointing to yes.
00:05:22
Speaker
so
00:05:25
Speaker
Because of that and then the failure, it made me question, do I even really know what I'm doing? You know, I thought it was a yes, but it obviously hasn't worked out. Right. Then the second reason was because it came right on the heels of a quiet period in my business. Right. I ah have spoken on about this on the podcast before um my husband and I recently we had a side project um, a renovation project that took me out of my business a lot. So, you know, my income did drop, but, um, that was something I fully expected. And, you know, I concentrated for a period on that renovation. But, you know, having these quieter periods, the resin renovation's now over. I wanted some, um, money flow to build back up again. I've never,
00:06:20
Speaker
I had to deal with this situation before where I don't have a backup of work booked in while in advance. So it really felt like a double hit for me. So I did what I always do when I'm feeling a little lost in my business. I took a step back. I looked at my business and my human design chart and I asked myself the hard questions. So where was my work? Feeling like it flows easily.
00:06:49
Speaker
Where in the past has it really flown and gone really well? Where do things feel off or heavy? and and And all those types of things. And basically I tried to separate what felt aligned from what didn't.
00:07:06
Speaker
using my past experiences as a guide. And what I realized was pretty eye-opening, right? The sales final course that I had just tried to launch, the idea behind it wasn't totally wrong. So I wasn't really off track, right? It actually You know, that that idea of it actually lit me up in a way I hadn't felt in a while. Right. So it turned out that I was actually on the right track, but had just viewed a little off course. Right. I'd simply like interpreted it wrong.
00:07:38
Speaker
So that took me back to about eight years ago. I used to call myself the marketing designer. Right. That title had felt right then. And, you know, for the first time in a long time, I felt a really pull back into that direction. That is, you know, some an area um of design where I'm really good at. And it's it's what my clients keep coming back to me and asking me about. Right. So I really felt a pull back in that direction and I could really finally see that blending human design with branding and marketing was the way forward but that human design didn't have to be front and center all the time. I was making human design the major part of my business right but really human design just
00:08:31
Speaker
could be part of the puzzle, you know, like a tool in the toolkit, not the whole picture. So here I am now, realigning my focus, bringing back that marketing piece into my business that You know, I've always enjoyed and introducing the services in that area that feel like me. So, you know, whereas in the past, some of the marketing services I had offered really did not align with my human design. And so I've really taken all that on board. And now I've come up with a range of services where I feel really tap into my strengths.
00:09:11
Speaker
and really align with my own human design. So, you know, within hours of making that decision, um I really felt a shift, you know, I really felt like Suddenly, I could see where the ease and flow were coming. They were coming back, right? And i'm I know I'm back on the path that's right for me. I've, you know, just magically started getting more people, downloading my price guide, more people contacting me, booking a call. It's just like, yeah, this is what ah the direction i I need to be, right?
00:09:52
Speaker
Sometimes we just need to zoom out, get some perspective and trust that what didn't work was leading us toward what will. If that um sales funnel course, aligned sales finals had of, um you know, been successful, I wouldn't have realized that I actually like working in closer, building the actual thing, not just telling someone how to do it. So I wouldn't have really tapped into the parts that I really enjoy and that are my strengths.
00:10:27
Speaker
So, yeah, trust that if something doesn't work out, there is a reason. And, you know, you just need to look at things a little bit
Failure as Feedback and Realignment
00:10:35
Speaker
differently. So today I want to give you some steps on how to regain alignment in your business, because, you know, this is a constant thing. You know, I don't think we're ever 100% aligned. We are always going to go to be adjusting, right? Because that's how we're going to keep growing and moving forward.
00:10:58
Speaker
So step one, embrace that failure i again in quotation marks as feedback. So when a launch or an idea doesn't go to plan, it's really natural to feel disheartened and and feeling like that failure, but it's actually valuable feedback. So Our immediate reaction is to shut down or feel like we miss the mark and you know, but this is the time to ask yourself, what is this experience trying to tell me? Spend some time reflecting, going, you know, through some journaling or, or even have a conversation with someone, you know, business party or something. Look for the lessons in what went wrong. Sometimes,
00:11:50
Speaker
These experiences are the guideposts telling us what's not aligned or encouraging us to refine our focus, which, you know, like I've just explained, that's exactly what I've done. Step two is look at your business business history for patterns of alignment and flow. So take a step back and look at your business as a whole. Where have things felt like they're flowing?
00:12:16
Speaker
You know, where did you feel like you were on top of the world? You know, you had that steady stream of clients coming through, you know. Where did you feel your human design signature, the sign your inner alignment? Where did you really experience that? And where have they felt like an uphill battle?
00:12:34
Speaker
Sometimes it's easy to get swept up in ideas that really seem strategic or on trend, but if they don't match your strengths and your passion and your way you need to be heading, right? They're not going to work. And this can be a real reminder to get back to what you love, to look at what your clients come to you for and tap into the things you can do with ease. Business should not be hard, right?
00:13:05
Speaker
Step three is realign with your strengths and interests. It's really important to revisit your own strengths. So what are you naturally good at? What lights you up, right? For me, like I said, I'd rediscovered that marketing and design are the core of what I love doing. It was my initial calling in business. Yes, I I've fallen in love with human design. I love human design, but I feel like human design is the tool that I can use to compliment those natural skills that I have. I also really looked deep into
00:13:47
Speaker
my unconscious Mars gate, which is your vocation. And that really gave me a real strong signal of what my talent is. So I really encourage you to look into that. So Try and find that thread in your own work and see how you can realign with it. Even if it means pivoting like I'm doing right now or reshaping your offers, you know, your clients and audience will feel the shift when you're doing something that feels truly authentic and enjoyable. Like I've
00:14:26
Speaker
three days ago, messaged a few of my past clients that um I've either done some marketing services for or that I felt like would complement the work we've done in the past. And, you know, the response that I got was so great. Like, you know, I had messages like, oh my God, I'm so glad you're back doing that. I haven't done any of that since you you stopped doing it and things like that. So, um you know, people will feel the shift and they're really going to respond positively to that.
00:15:04
Speaker
And step four, trust the process. So even when it feels uncomfortable, trust the process. I know it's easier said than done, but when things aren't going as planned, remember that these moments of discomfort can often lead us exactly where we need to go.
Guidance from Discomfort in Business Purpose
00:15:21
Speaker
When I made that decision to lean back into marketing design and realign my focus, I felt that shift straight away, right?
00:15:30
Speaker
It started flowing, ideas clicked into place, and I could feel the ease coming back, you know, that that feelings that I had before. So trusting that these bumps in the road really have a purpose can help you stay grounded and help you stay focused on where you're truly meant to go.
00:15:50
Speaker
Now, if you're feeling a bit lost or disappointed with where you're at in your business right now, know that you're not alone, right? This is part of the journey and it's through these moments that we're really gonna discover what truly matters and what aligns with our path. So take some time this week to reflect on what's working and what's not and where you might need to realign. yeah Even small shifts can make huge differences when they're aligned with who you are and what you're here to do. So if that is you, if you are needing a bit of guidance with that, you know, I do offer an align and activate session. It's a one on one call um where we can look into your business, look at your human design and really look at, you know,
00:16:41
Speaker
where you're sort of going off track and how you can get back on the right track. So if that is you and you feel like you would love a one of those sessions, I'll leave a note, a link in the show notes. But I really want to thank you for tuning in today and letting me share this real side of my journey journey with you. um Thank you for listening to the end.
00:17:00
Speaker
um Please let me know um you know if you liked this episode. I'd love to hear your stories also or chat further if you need some assistance in that area. So stay tuned for what's next in this journey. I am actually documenting everything that I'm doing to get my business back on track. And you know if I feel called, I will share that ah later on.
00:17:28
Speaker
in my journey. But yeah, keep showing up with courage, alignment, and authenticity. And I will talk to you soon.