Hooray, a failure! How letting go made me a stronger business owner
I have a love-hate relationship with social media.
Mostly hate. I don’t enjoy doing it for myself, so the fact that I took on a paid social media management partnership was, in hindsight, bold.
I told myself I was “adapting with the times.” After all, mastering social media is practically a requirement in business these days, right? So, when a client approached me about running their accounts, I said yes. Just one platform, they said. That was my first red flag, even I knew that wasn’t going to cut it in today’s world.
The truth was, I didn’t know much about the business I was representing, the owners didn’t know much about social media either (they admitted they were a bit old-school), and the budget was… let’s say “lean.”
Still, I wanted to give my best with what I had and try to master a new skill I could offer in my business.
90 days in, I had to face the facts: The growth wasn’t there.
The results weren’t satisfying for me, and I knew there were far better, more passionate, and more experienced social media pros out there.
So I did something that’s hard for a lot of business owners: I stepped away. I matched them with a partner who lives and breathes social media and now they are doing better than I could ever offer them.
One of my biggest strengths as a business owner isn’t just what I can do, it’s knowing when something isn’t for me and acting before the situation turns sour.
It’s not always easy to say, “I’m not doing great at this,” but saying it early can save relationships, protect reputations, and open the door to better solutions. Too many people hold onto roles or clients they’re not thriving in out of pride or fear of failure. The truth is, owning that reality sooner rather than later is a sign of good leadership, not weakness.
Was it a failure for me? Absolutely. But it was also a lesson!
One of the biggest gifts you can give your business is outsourcing the things you're not great at. It’s not about “giving up”; it’s about making sure every part of your business is in the hands of someone who actually cares for it.
For me, that meant letting go of social media management. For my clients, it often means handing over the admin, organization, and behind-the-scenes chaos that makes them want to pull their hair out… which happens to be the stuff I love doing.
Sometimes, failure is just your business pointing you back toward your strengths. And in that way, this “failure” was a win for everyone.