Entrepreneurs are, arguably, the most inspiring, most passionate contributors to the U.S. economy we have. We’re completely awestruck by those who’ve braved the question mark that is the U.S. legalization of weed. We are openly rooting for those who have responsibly opened shop in the relatively uncharted industry of cannabis. And those not suckered in by get rich quick schemes – i.e. those genuinely committed to giving this a go – must know that being successful in legal pot isn’t an automatic slam dunk.

The legal marijuana trade, with its state specific legislature and federal status as an illegal drug, promises to have plenty of setbacks. And failure.

Entrepreneurial F Word: FAILURE.

That’s right, we said it.

But what’s true entrepreneurship without that F word anyway? Failures come in all shapes and sizes and can rattle even the most competent of business moguls.

Many, many, many successful entrepreneurs have had their share of failure. Have you tried Virgin Cola? Familiar with Virginware? Us either. And that’s because both were complete and total failures of Richard Branson, wildly successful entrepreneur and marijuana legalization advocate.

If failure meant game over, the breed of disruptive American entrepreneur as we know it just wouldn’t exist. So what’s a brave, inspiring, passionate aspiring individual who wants to turn a profit in this industry supposed to do after hitting one of those F(ailure) bombs?

Successful entrepreneurs process failure differently. And, for our sake and for the sake of our partners – you fearless cannabis entrepreneurs, you – we are taking a look at some ways we can follow suit. Advice like:

Remember that failure is a chance to learn.

Every mistake, every misstep is an opportunity to get it right the next time. Adam Osborne, the creator of the first portable computer has been quoted as saying, “The most valuable thing you can make is a mistake – you can’t learn anything from being perfect.”

Remember that failure isn’t a status on Facebook.

Failure is not a state of being and it’s certainly not permanent. If one venture fails, experienced entrepreneurs know to press on to the next without wallowing over what didn’t work out. Be too busy busy planning your next move to wallow.

Let failure fuel your fire, not vanquish it.

Let that F(ailure) bomb become part of the driving fire to succeed in your gut, not an excuse to never try again. Winston Churchill once said, “Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” Find yourself a cheerleader, or several, and get your enthusiasm in order. You’ve got to keep going now.

Because say you do fail one day, in some way. We still want success to wash over you. So we’re going to challenge you to not want to crawl under a rock to die. Come back to us to help tune out the self-deprecating dialogue, pronto.

Because, as Henry Ford once said, “whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t, you’re right!”

Have you had setbacks in your journey? Willing to share and help others? Please send us your story and let us feature you!