Despite this uncertainty, we often hear about how \u201csimple\u201d it is to start a coaching or consultancy business from entrepreneurial influencers<\/a> banking on clicks and views from those desperate to earn some extra cash. And while it may prove easy for some, bulldozing into self-employment could prove catastrophic without a realistic idea of what to expect.<\/p>\n We spoke to three business owners about the mistakes that led their businesses to fail, and the steps they took to recover. <\/p>\n Ismael Dainehine, CEO, EverGive The desire to build a business that is both personally fulfilling and purposeful for its service users has led Ismael Dainehine down an ever-changing path of entrepreneurship<\/a>. <\/p>\n Ten years ago, fresh out of university, he started working on \u2013 and eventually co-founding \u2013 his first business. He landed on an app that helped people living in flat shares manage and organise their chores in one place. \u201cIt failed fairly quickly,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Despite raising an initial \u00a3150,000 through the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS), his team was unable to secure further investment of \u00a31.2m which would have gone towards hiring more people and overall expansion.<\/p>\n \u201c[This time] investors were a bit more prudent, they were just like \u2018no, you guys are idiots\u2019. That was the first real lesson that I learned about failure. We tried to build something that was clever but not what people needed.\u201d<\/p>\n Undeterred by this setback, Ismael set his sights on a second business, this time with no financial backing. \u201cThe idea behind it was to create a hyper-localised Snapchat for University campuses.<\/p>\n \u201cThat failed quicker \u2013 I\u2019m talking literally in three months or so. But again, we made the same mistake, to a softer degree. We built something that we thought was clever, but not what people need for a sustainable period of time.\u201d<\/p>\n He eventually saw success at the helm of an ecommerce company which he ran from 2016 to 2021 before he exited. \u201cOptically it was very successful but internally it wasn\u2019t, because after it satisfied the monetary goals, anything beyond that started to feel very soulless. That\u2019s what led me to EverGive.\u201d<\/p>\n Dainehine is now the co-founder and CEO of EverGive<\/a> \u2013 a platform that invests charity donations into a central Bitcoin reserve which can be used by charities to unlock long-term funding.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like everything I\u2019ve done in the last 10 years has taken me to this point. As clich\u00e9 as it sounds, EverGive combines things I\u2019m really passionate about, which is philanthropy and tech, with humanitarian activism, freedom and human liberties. The cautionary tale is that the biggest risk isn\u2019t failure. It\u2019s being successful without having clarity. Get clarity. Really work out what your principles are, and let your success be guided by that.\u201d<\/p>\n Cameron Harris, Managing Director, TRUTH Fitness Having formerly worked as a personal trainer and strength <\/a>and conditioning coach, Harris and his business partner began managing the gym of a prestigious London members\u2019 club in 2018. It wasn\u2019t long before things took off. <\/p>\n \u201cWithin the first 18 months we went from five clients to 55 clients,\u201d he says. \u201cWe were training CEOs of big insurance firms, legal firms and accountancy firms, along with a lot of independent entrepreneurs who were very successful.\u201d <\/p>\n Though things seemed to be going well, Harris noticed signs that the club was beginning to decline in 2019. \u201cWe had all these top end clients that were really happy with us, but then complaints started coming through [about the club\u2019s services].\u201d <\/p>\n More bad news was to follow when, a few months later, the Covid-19 pandemic <\/a>saw the members\u2019 club \u2013 along with Harris business \u2013 cease trading overnight. \u201cLiterally within 24 hours we\u2019d gone from overseeing a thriving gym space in the heart of London to doing training sessions on Zoom from our bedrooms. We lost around 70% of our clients.\u201d<\/p>\n After toying with the idea of setting up his business in another members\u2019 club, an unexpected Christmas lockdown prompted him to change tack. \u201cI decided to go all in with our online offer. It was safer, we could grow it, and people were already doing really well with it.<\/p>\n \u201cFast forward to today and things are going well. We\u2019ve now got B2C and B2B parts of the business, we\u2019ve got our own supplementation <\/a>range, we\u2019ve got private medical doctors who we work with in Harley Street, and we also do physical workshops.\u201d<\/p>\n Sian Lawley-Rudd, Founder, Lavender Garden Animal Services While the pandemic thwarted many businesses (record numbers<\/a> of firms went bust in 2023), some founders were able to flourish during this period. <\/p>\n After a decade of unfulfilling corporate jobs, Sian Lawley-Rudd launched her dog <\/a>walking business, Lavender Garden Animal Services<\/a>, in 2019, and it quickly became a victim of its own success. She admits that she \u201cdidn\u2019t really know what proper marketing was at the start,\u201d so decided to post about her service on local Facebook groups. \u201cI was lucky as another dog walker was closing down and passed me over some of her clients.\u201d<\/p>\n Before long it became clear that the business was growing faster than Sian was able to keep up with. \u201cIt grew to a point where it became completely unmanageable. I had no systems, no boundaries, and I genuinely used to call the business a monster,\u201d she says. \u201cFive months in I was full to capacity, and I\u2019d taken one person on to help me with walking. I only hired one person at the time as I couldn\u2019t afford to pay anyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n But demand only increased. \u201cI continued to grow through Covid because key workers still needed to go to work, so I was taking on more walks. I got to the point where I ended up with three walkers supporting me and we were full everyday.\u201d <\/p>\n Sian was regularly working seven days a week, and it wasn\u2019t long before the pressure started to take its toll. \u201cSomeone would miss a key for a house, or there might have been scheduling issues. Obviously I\u2019m human and I make mistakes, but I noticed I was making them more often.\u201d<\/p>\n She decided to scale things back, putting an end to her dog walking service and focussing the bulk of her efforts on dog training. \u201cI dropped a big portion of my income thinking my training was taking off. My classes were always filling up and I had enough months of that happening to feel comfortable.\u201d <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SEI_263759204.jpg\")
\u2018We tried to build something that was clever but not what people needed,\u2019 says EverGive CEO Ismael Dainehine<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SEI_263759207.jpg\")
Within 24 hours, Cameron Harris\u2019s business lost around 70% of it\u2019s clients<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SEI_263759295.jpg\")
\u2018I was just scraping by, paying bills for the business but not paying myself a penny,\u2019 says Sian.<\/p>\n