A GOOD friend of mine saw her fledging business go under last year and, not surprisingly, she took a sharp knock to her confidence. Having worked her fingers to the bone and given her absolute all, she was left exhausted and demoralised.

It took quite a while for her to work up the strength of resolve to start applying for jobs. When you’ve had your vision shattered it seems hard to start dreaming again. Plus, she wasn’t at all sure she wanted to be employed again, having tasted the freedom (as well as the risks) of running her own show. Quite apart from that, she found she just wasn’t getting many interviews.

“Too experienced” was a common one, but in fact it was more likely that potential employers were worried about her motivation and whether she would stay the course once the market picked up and a new business opportunity knocked again.

She knew she had to change her approach and quite possibly her attitude.

The entrepreneurial life still attracted her, but she now chose to focus more on what she had really loved about being an employee. And to see how her commercial skills (including everything she had learned from business failure) could be applied to her own and an employer’s benefit.

I saw her last week and she told me she had finally started working with a great company, and was happy as Larry. She could now see her entrepreneurial episode as a big learn, not as her future direction. Dusting yourself off doesn’t just mean picking yourself up and starting again. It really does mean shaking off old dusty thoughts and wishes that might be keeping you stuck, which at least in her case, was an outdated and ill-fitting dream.