Ramit Sethi: Why ‘No’ Is One of the Best Things Entrepreneurs Can Hear
Written by
Gabrielle Olya
Edited by
Gary Dudak
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When you start your own business, there are many instances when you might hear the word “no.” Perhaps you are seeking outside investments or are applying for a bank loan. Maybe your business is off the ground, and now you’re trying to sell your products or services to businesses or customers. Wherever you are in your journey, it’s likely that you are opening yourself up to rejection.
Money expert Ramit Sethi believes that hearing the word “no” is actually a good thing for entrepreneurs. Read on to find out why, and also check out Sethi’s questions you must ask yourself for a rich retirement.
It Builds Up Your Resilience
In a recent newsletter, Sethi wrote that “hearing ‘no’ is a gift.” One big reason for this is that it will make you a more resilient entrepreneur.
“It builds your armor,” he wrote. “It makes you indestructible.”
Sethi said that when he put out his first e-book, many people were not interested. Instead of focusing on the “nos,” he focused his energy on the 1,000 people that did buy his book.
“In the process of doing that, I built my emotional armor,” he wrote. “I didn’t take the ‘no’ personally. Instead, I focused on serving those 1,000 people who trusted me with five bucks.”
He continued, “That openness and perseverance is hands down the most valuable quality I’ve cultivated as an entrepreneur. It makes me a better business owner, because I know ‘no’ doesn’t mean the end. Even outside of my business, this resilience makes me a better person: more empathetic, slower to judge and able to weather bad news.”
It Provides Valuable Feedback
Sethi said that when you hear a “no” you shouldn’t take this as an absolute statement.
“It’s ‘No to this offer, because it’s not right … yet,'” he wrote. “That’s incredibly valuable information!”
Instead of letting the “no” discourage you, look at it as a jumping-off point to get more feedback.
“Follow each ‘no’ with a question: Will you tell me why it’s a no for you?” Sethi said. “When you ask this question, you learn more about who your customers are (and aren’t). You start to understand more about what they want (and don’t want). Once you get past the sting of rejection — and you will — each ‘no’ is an opportunity to learn.”
Many Successful Entrepreneurs Heard ‘No’ Before ‘Yes’
Many of the most successful entrepreneurs of all time experienced failure and rejection before they got their big “yes.” Bill Gates’ first company, Traf-O-Data, never really made it off the ground. Steve Jobs was fired from Apple. Arianna Huffington was rejected by 40 publishers before she found someone willing to publish her second book.
“Failure is not the opposite of success,” Huffington told The Guardian, “but a stepping stone to success.”
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