As fledglings in the hospitality industry, my team has travelled the road (or ridden the rollercoaster, I might say!) with me as we have savoured the excitement of new prospects and signing deals as well as endured the disappointment of deals turning sour, falling by the wayside. I have never been one for clichés, but I must to say, in the face of our recent adversity and disappointment over four unsuccessful years in our pursuit of what we were hoping to be our flagship hotel, I can confirm this cliché: when one door closes, another opens. Lesson learnt: in the face of adversity, be tenacious.
I can understand why many entrepreneurs and start-ups throw in the towel. In fact, I have read the advice from successful people that each business experiences a period of ‘throwing your hands in the air’. The trick is to keep going, persevere, and remain upbeat because it’s this ‘throwing’ point that could very well be the turning point of a business, something we are definitely feeling at BON Hotels.
Being tenacious can be challenging, I admit. You are invariably not only dealing with your own disappointment, but also that of your staff, and if you are anything like me, you are managing your own reactions. When things don’t work out, it’s easy to slip into a state of bitterness and go on a quest for revenge, but I have learnt to curb my reactions, practise humility, regain self-control and most importantly, always keep the door open at least a crack. Here I go with other clichés, but burning bridges has never helped anyone and life has an uncanny way of turning full-circle.
Each interaction, whether it be financially fruitful for us or not, is most definitely worthy of lessons. For that, we need to be thankful. Once you realise this and release the negativity, good things begin to happen. We have experienced this once again at BON Hotels: as we released our dream deal, we felt an immediate shifting of energy and three new and exciting opportunities to pursue have literally landed in our laps!
Having absolute faith in your own ability and the abilities of people around you is imperative. Our ‘Good people’ strategy – putting other people’s interests first in any transaction – is becoming a positive force. We are truly making people happy.
