How to Transform Failures into Successful Businesses?

When discussing entrepreneurship in Brazil, a dangerously romanticized illusion persists: that passion, courage, and persistence are enough to make a business thrive. In practice, however, the reality is harsher. According to Sebrae, 50% of companies close their doors within the first five years of operation. This means that, for many, failure is not a remote possibility but a common outcome. The problem is that most business owners are not prepared to deal with it productively.

In a country that lacks formal education focused on business management, it is common for entrepreneurs to begin their journeys with limited knowledge of strategic planning, leadership, or business modeling. Many still mistake a good idea for a viable plan. And when execution does not yield the expected results, the feeling of failure sets in as a definitive verdict.

But what if failure were not the end? What if it were, in fact, the first stage of business maturity? Making mistakes is inevitable. Persisting in error is optional. Failure, when properly understood, becomes a powerful tool for learning and repositioning. However, for this to happen, a shift in mindset is necessary. One must move from being a victim of circumstances to taking on the role of the protagonist in their own growth.

Businesses do not fail solely due to lack of sales or capital. They collapse due to lack of clarity, direction, and structured leadership. Most fatal mistakes are linked to the absence of strategy: weak positioning, misguided metrics, decisions made on the fly, and management focused only on operations.

Harvard Business Review classifies a company's life cycle into five stages: existence, survival, success, bureaucratization, and maturity. Each phase requires different skills from the leader. Often, what brought the business to a certain point is precisely what prevents it from growing further. What was courage becomes rigidity. What was total involvement becomes dependency. What was agility turns into chaos.

In this context, failure can be the clearest sign that it is time to change. To stop trying to "do more" and start "thinking better." To move off autopilot and adopt a more strategic posture.

But this cannot be done alone. The business owner who believes they must solve everything on their own is doomed to repeat their mistakes with greater sophistication. The key to turning things around lies in seeking environments that challenge their way of thinking. Advisory boards, structured masterminds, specialized mentorships, and in-depth diagnostics help identify the blind spots that are hindering growth.

Often, the problem is not with the team, the market, or the competition. It lies in the mindset that still governs decisions. It is common to find business owners with high revenue but low profitability. With a large volume of work but no time to think. With pride in their brand but fear of the future. This reveals management operating at the limit, sustained by personal effort rather than structure.

Business maturity begins when the leader understands that it is not about working more, but about working smarter. When they allow themselves to move from urgency to strategy. When they stop seeking miracle solutions and start building systems that support consistent growth.

For this, it is essential to develop three pillars: clarity, structure, and connection. Clarity about where you are and where you want to go. Structure so the business can operate autonomously. And connection with other leaders who have overcome similar challenges and can accelerate your learning curve.

There is no mature company with an immature leader. And immaturity, in this case, is not related to age or time in the market, but to the ability to reflect, reposition, and build legacies—not just revenue.

Failure should not be feared. It should be understood. It shows the limits of the current model. It reveals that what brought you here will not take you further. And instead of being hidden, it should be used as fuel for redesigning a new cycle.

Every company that is a reference today has gone through periods of instability. What sets them apart is that, at some point in their journey, their leaders decided to stop operating on the fly and began building consciously. They moved from the role of firefighters to that of architects of growth.

Therefore, if you are going through a difficult period, perhaps what is missing is not effort. It is direction. It is the courage to think differently. Because companies that grow with structure do not depend on luck—they depend on method.