3 Signs to Quit a Failing Business

Starting a business is hard. Pretty much every entrepreneur considers walking away from their dream at one point during the process. This is especially true in the early stages of the business when you’re losing money and working terrible hours.

Entrepreneurship will never be easy. If it were, there would be fewer stories of failure and disappointment, and more success stories like Oprah’s. To get through the rough times, you usually have two options: keep going or quit.

It is easy to feel like quitting, even when you are only a short distance away from a goal. Quitting is the easiest thing to do when you’re broke, you need a nap, and nothing seems to be working.

But one of the best skills you can learn as an entrepreneur is knowing when to stick it out and when to walk away. Pushing too hard for something that is not worth the price is a common side effect of the desire to be successful; it can often cause you to stand in the way of your own success.

Quitting is okay. Sometimes it is even the right thing to do. Here are three signs that it is time to walk away from a failing business.

You Hate Your Job

Passion is key to success in entrepreneurship. If you don’t love what you do, how can you expect anyone else to love it?

There will be days that you hate your job or certain aspects of your job. This is normal. Few people in this world wake up every single morning ready to start another day at their favorite place in the world. It happens. But these people are the exception, not the rule.

If you find that you loathe not only what you do but the whole concept that you are working on, it is time to quit. You will never succeed in drawing people into your vision and goals if you do not believe in them yourself.

Passion is the key to success in life. But the problem with passion is that it is hard to measure. There aren’t any KPIs or metrics that can tell you if you’re passionate enough to succeed.

But if you’re struggling to make it through the day, or even out of bed, you need to consider your motivation for continuing your work. If your motivation is not legitimate and your passion is extinguished, it is time to quit.

You Don’t Have a Market

It’s possible that you have the best product in the world. But if you don’t have a market to sell it to, then you do not have much of anything at all.

Developing a product without developing an understanding of the market is one of the key mistakes that you can make as an entrepreneur. It is very hard to come back from an expensive launch that did not reach anyone.

Sometimes, the market was never there. Sometimes, you could not identify the right market. Sometimes, your target market outpaced your development and has already moved on.

When you do not have a customer development strategy, it is often time to scrap the project. This does not mean that you are done for good–it just means that you should quit your current trajectory and try again.

You’re Holding on Because It Hurts to Let Go

Letting go of your business is painful. For some people, the pain score can rank as high as the death of a family member.

But holding on to a failing business just because it hurts too much to let go is not a good reason to stay on. In fact, it is a clear indicator that it is time to move on from that venture.

Letting go does not depreciate the time, money, and tears that went into building your business, In fact, it demonstrates respect for your idea. You cannot cling on to something that doesn’t work. It will only make it hard to try again later.

Letting go when there is no other reason to hold on is the best thing that you can do for your business. Embracing failure is good for you now and in the future. It gives you the freedom to recognize that this venture may not have worked, but you can use what did work and revamp it for your next company.

Starting your own business is one of the best things that you can ever do–it is also often one of the hardest. It requires every ounce of your energy and passion. As a result, many people find it hard to cut the cord when it is time.

If you’re struggling to recognize whether to battle on or let go, think about whether you recognize these three signs to walk away from a failed business.

The post 3 Signs to Quit a Failing Business appeared first on AllBusiness.com

The post 3 Signs to Quit a Failing Business appeared first on AllBusiness.com.