Learning from Failure & Hard Times
If you spend enough time in business circles, you start to notice something: we mostly talk about the wins.
The launches that worked. The years we doubled. The customers we landed.
But behind every highlight reel is a messier reality — one most entrepreneurs know all too well, and few feel safe talking about. The near-misses. The layoffs. The existential dread when your runway gets tight and the math stops working.
The truth is, most businesses don’t make it. Nearly half fail within five years. Even the ones that survive hit moments where everything feels like it’s teetering.
And when those moments come, it doesn’t just feel like your business is failing.
It feels like you are.
Why We’re Talking About This
We’re writing this because no one talks about this stuff enough.
Because shame thrives in silence. And because when you're in the middle of it — when your world is collapsing, when the numbers don’t add up, when the stakes are high and the options are few — you start to feel like you're the only one who’s ever been here.
You're not.
As Utah’s Business Commons, this is exactly the kind of conversation we’re here for.
Durable exists to make business ownership less lonely. That means celebrating the wins — yes — but also acknowledging the low points. The pivots. The panic. The stretch where you’re just trying to keep it alive.
We want to normalize that part of the journey.
Because pretending it’s not there helps no one.
A Founder’s Story
One of Durable’s founders experienced this firsthand.
“The company was everything. I’d called in every favor. Poured in every waking hour. When it fell apart, it felt like I did too.”
“What people don’t talk about is the aftermath — the irrational thinking, the shame, the loss of identity. It took years to feel whole again.”
It was more than a business setback — it was personal. And that’s what makes failure so hard to talk about. It doesn’t feel like a learning moment while you’re in it. It feels like an unraveling.
We’re Opening the Door
We’re not here to glamorize failure — but we are here to make space for it.
Because every owner will face hard seasons.
And when those seasons come, community is everything.
That’s why we’re hosting a candid conversation later this month to open the door on this topic:
Fireside Chat: Failure & Bankruptcy Unfiltered →
Wednesday, September 24th | Salt Lake City
You’ll hear from three seasoned business owners who’ve been through the thick of it:
Andrew Heer, CEO of Summit Mountain Cleaning
Caroline Chapelaine, CEO of Northstar Photonics
Damon Chlarson, CEO of Pacific Insulation Supply
They’ll share what it was like to face layoffs, bankruptcy, restructuring, and even total closure — the emotional toll, the hard calls, and what perspective looks like on the other side.
The conversation will be moderated by Chase Murdock, of Durable.
No gloss. No spin. Just real talk about the hardest chapters of ownership — and how they found their way through.
We hope you’ll join us. Not just to listen, but to be part of something we’re building together:
A culture where struggle is normalized.
Where hard seasons aren’t hidden.
Where showing up honestly makes you stronger, not weaker.
Because this is the underbelly of small business.
And in the commons, you don’t have to build alone.