As a new business owner, I dealt with this a lot in the last few months. Rejection! Not going to lie, it’s hard on me. I constantly used to self doubt myself and it was even spiraling out of control a few times where I just ended up being so frustrated and ready to quit. But dealing with rejection has taught me so much, so I wanted to share that on here.

Rejection means better things are coming

This right there! This was by far the biggest lesson I learnt when it comes to rejection. I tend to get very set on things and just wanting them so much felt especially rough once the company I was pitching myself to rejected me. But also it opened doors for even more wonderful things that I probably would have never experienced getting the other role in the first place.

It’s not meant to be for a reason

So far I was very lucky that some projects that didn’t work out, didn’t work out for a reason. They are either extremely messy or some of the stakeholders aren’t aligned – had that so often! So it really feels like I dodged a bullet on some of the projects that didn’t work out!

You are interviewing them, not the other way around

I like to say the first few calls and emails are a vibe check. If something feels wrong, chances are, the whole project will be wrong. So while I was going through my fair share of new client outreach, I noticed a few things that are now complete ‘nightclub ropes’ for me (got that from this new book I’m reading called ‘Book yourself solid’). The idea behind that are behavioral traits and things that your clients have which prevent them to get ‘into’ the club aka your business. So for me, getting my gut involved is huge. And when things don’t turn out because of other things – I am not that upset but mainly relieved.

Your worth isn’t determined by the amount of clients you have

Y’all! You don’t need 3M clients in order to show yourself and the world that you made it! Because you already made it!!

Do. Not. Take. It. Personal.

Go on a walk, play with your dog. Make yourself some coffee and catch some sunshine. Give yourself 3 minutes to think about it and then move on. And with that I actually mean it – Move. On.

You never know

You really never know what comes out of this situation. Could be that whoever rejected you comes back in a few weeks or months (let’s assume they passed your vibe check and you really want to work with them) or that they talk about you to someone and that someone needs your services. You just really never know! That’s why, no matter how crushed I was (not anymore, learnt my fair share to deal with it) I will always respond with a nice thank you email.

What are your tips to battle rejection in business?