I Lost Money Before I Made a Dime, And I’d Still Do It Again

My first product launch was what you’d describe as “typical disaster”. I rushed into it, with no market research, no validation, just me and my elementary knowledge of “Business Studies”. I ordered 300 silicone phone stands from a supplier on Alibaba without asking for a sample. Silicone phone stands? You know those things people stick to the back of their phones? Yeah, those. They arrived, and half of them were shaky. Some literally had crooked logos. My “store” never took off. I ended up giving them out at a youth conference just to get them off my shelf. But weirdly, that failure gave me a bit of clarity. I learned how to ask the right questions, how to test a supplier, and how to even negotiate MOQs and shipping. Now I request samples, do small test orders, and down to validating the idea before scaling. My current niche (can’t jinx it by saying yet) is working way better. So, this is just a friendly reminder that your first try might flop, but that doesn’t mean the dream has to also flop. How many of y’all had a rough first run in your business journey? And what did that “L” teach you?