001 Why Fail Forward? with Henri Ghijben

It takes more than determination and long hours to build a sustainable business.

 

Setting the scene for the rest of the season, this episode reflects on my journey from leaving school with no qualifications, bouncing from job to job before setting up my own business in my 20s, growing it to a team of almost 50 and then losing it all.

 

But that's not the end of the story. Armed with a "What went wrong?" document, I made peace with the uncomfortable recognition that I just wasn't good enough and set about rebuilding my life, my family and my business.

 

I was determined to fail forward. That whatever came next, I wouldn't waste the lessons I'd learned and I would do things differently this time around. But it goes deeper than that. I came to the realisation in 2021 that my story isn't actually that unique.

 

People lose their businesses, homes and families every day. But not everyone has the help and support they need to rebuild their lives. Fast forward several years (and a pandemic) and I'm well on the path to building a network of businesses that will allow me to give back to the community of Southampton and to help people facing the same challenges I did.

 

You can follow me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/failforwardhenri

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/henri-ghijben-539132101/

TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@failforward12

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/henrighijben/

 

In this first episode of Fail Forward, I'm interviewed by Amy Rowlinson about the experiences that inspired me to launch this podcast. A world-renowned podcaster herself, Amy heard my story in 2021 and has been pivotal to moving the project forward.

 

You can find out more about Amy here: https://www.amyrowlinson.com/