Starting a business and building it into a successful one will place you in a position to face countless challenges and obstacles. Fortunately, even though it is often difficult, running a business is not impossible. So, if you’re sick of running your business, you’ll have to carefully consider why you’re feeling that way before you make an irreversible decision.
How Do You Know When It’s Time to Give Up on Your Business?
Many things are challenging about running a business. From establishing yourself in your market or creating sustainable business growth to achieving profitability, the business landscape can be difficult to navigate. However, an even more difficult challenge is to remain inspired and motivated, even despite business setbacks.
When business challenges become too extreme, some entrepreneurs may feel like it’s the right time to give up on their business. This is where it’s good to remember that success doesn’t come overnight. If you don’t feel like your business is doing how it should, evaluate factors within your business that could shed light on why.
How Long Should You Give a New Business to Succeed?
If you’re thinking: “I want to quit my business,” give yourself some time. Likely, your business will not be an overnight success, but this doesn’t mean you can’t achieve success in the long run. For most businesses, they don’t become profitable until year two or three, which means if you’re just starting, you’ve got a ways to go.
During the first year, focus on smaller wins, like building your customer base, incorporating your business, or developing a website. In the second year, you’ll want to focus on achieving growth milestones. If your business isn’t growing, it’s not a good sign and doesn’t point to long-term success. But, if you are still in business after two years, you’ve already made it longer than the 20% of businesses that fail within this time frame.
How Do You Revive a Collapsing Business?
There are many reasons that a business may be on its way to failure, but the most common are access to capital, no market fit, tough competition, and a flawed business model. Even if you think your business is failing, it’s possible that you can reevaluate your business and make adjustments to turn things around. Before shutting down is even on the table, put your effort into saving the business if you have the same motivation and passion as when you started. You can begin exploring how to prevent business failure:
