It’s that time of year again – exam results looming in 2 days time!

With nerves currently being frayed in many households whilst awaiting exam results, it makes me think that running and marketing a business can often bring the same anxieties. You pour your heart and soul into doing all the ground work and preparation you can, entering each project with precision and calmness, then wait with baited breath to see if the results come in.

Will it be champagne…or vodka?

In truth, even in business no amount of study can prepare you for a bad outcome, we have to grin and bear it, but have we lost the ability to hold our hand up to this I wonder? Most businesses have (come on admit it…) at least one bad result now and again. It can’t always be champagne celebrations or we wouldn’t be learning anything along the way. But it doesn’t mean we need to hit the vodka either, as most of us know it’s only by sitting back and gently taking stock of the odd mistake that we can learn to do things better.

And the reality for those of us running a business is that, unlike students, we can’t take a gap year either!

Business has to keep running and adapting along the way. I like to be realistic, yes I do aim 100% for sure fire results, those that can be measured and accountable, so that I can see what’s working and what to drop, but I’ll also keep a sharp eye out for those times when the ball gets dropped – and take some time out. The creative (and especially the marketing) industry has rapid growth spurts that require us to keep up… with technology, with trends and more importantly with our clients. Any downtime should undoubtedly be used to re-charge, so that when back in the hot seat we can give it our creative all again.

So for all those awaiting results, I say “don’t panic” – even as seasoned professionals we don’t always get it right, it’s what happens afterwards that matters. Having the ability to see beyond ‘now’ and stay focused on your goals is really important at ANY time of life, not just when starting out.

Ok, so I hear  you thinking “is Jen talking from experience here?”. Too right!! I’m not afraid to admit I haven’t always achieved the expected results. I’ve not got any recent examples, but looking back on my career, what I can say is perhaps expectations were often set a tad too high. And perhaps we need to be more realistic, and set out to achieve the achievable. And then now and again, we should push to achieve more – but if it doesn’t happen, we simply need to learn from it.

Wise words… what do you think?