- All right, So you've put your idea in play
and you're an entrepreneur
and you're so passionate about it,
but now things may not be going the way that you
envisioned.
Well today on The Journey,
we'll be talking about eight things to consider
before giving up on that business idea.
All right. So how do you know when it's time
to end the business?
A lot of people just keep on going
until they just can't go anymore.
- Yeah. There are a lot of things to consider.
So before you throw in the towel,
here are eight things you should ask yourself
before deciding to move on.
- So for our first question,
is there a demand for your product?
Revisit your business plan and see if things
have maybe changed since you first wrote it?
Maybe the market has changed.
- Yeah. Look at that market analysis,
look at that target demographic you're trying to reach,
and really your plan for not only attracting,
but retaining that customer base.
- So are people just not buying your product
because it's just not interesting to them,
or they find it useful.
Maybe some things you can tweak, add another feature,
maybe make it more appealing,
so that they'll start to buy your product.
- Yeah. And take a look at your competitors
if they've stepped up recently.
What are they doing differently?
And maybe take a step back and realize,
you know, what is going to help differentiate me
from the rest of the competition.
- So number two,
does your business have a core group of fans?
people that have been loyal at the very beginning
of your business,
making sure they push it forward
and give you that patronage.
They can be a reliable source to help you keep going.
- Yeah. Those loyal customers are your ride or dies.
I mean, they're gonna stick with your business,
not only to be a repeat customer,
but they can also help share that great word of mouth
by leaving positive reviews.
That's definitely a support base that you can lean on.
The third question you should ask yourself is,
have you talked to your mentor?
A lot of times that entrepreneurial journey
can really feel like you're at it alone,
but it's important to take a step back,
give yourself some perspective
and talk with the people who have helped you
get to that point.
You know, maybe they can offer a different outlook
of maybe it's not such a big deal versus maybe it is
more towards the end of the line.
- And also these mentors
are people that have real world experience
in what you are going through.
They don't give you theory,
they talk about what they've experienced themselves.
- The fourth question is,
have you already made substantial progress?
So take a step back I know as an entrepreneur,
it can be really easy to get frustrated
with where you're at in that process,
but look at your business plan.
Okay. What did I, what was my goal for three years,
five years?
and take a look at how far along you've come.
And if you're actually checking off those milestones.
- I love to say documentation beat speculation
every day of the week.
So for our fifth question,
are you able to financially continue?
Now for this, you really have to take a step back,
separate your emotions because I know this business
is your baby.
You put your sweat, love, tears into it,
long hours and even an investment into it.
But at the end of the day,
you really have to make sure that financially
you're able to sustain this business venture.
- Yeah. You've got to be real with yourself.
Are your products or services not selling?
You know, Are you having to take out loans
to cover these costs?
If you're continually not getting a return on investment
and you're losing money,
it may not be the most sustainable option to keep going.
Question number six is,
do your partners or co-founders know how you feel?
I mean, if you're in this and it's a partnership,
you can't make that decision on your own.
You've got to have that open dialogue with them
and be able to communicate directly.
- And many times when you have co-founders
that start this business together,
it started with the same passion that you have.
So when you talk to your co-founders,
maybe they will feel the same as you
and you'll go along and decide to end things,
or the other side, maybe they don't feel like you,
and then you do need to actually have that conversation
to figure out where you're gonna go next.
- And maybe that'll reignite your own passion.
You know, having that conversation with them,
it may seem a little bit uncomfortable at first,
but maybe they are super passionate about it,
and that's gonna feed off on you
and maybe that's the little extra kick that you need.
- All right, So if you've heard
everything from your co-founder
and as Alex has said,
their passion for it doesn't necessarily ignite in you,
then you may wanna consider a voluntary withdrawal.
- Yeah. And that cause typically gonna be outlined
in a written partnership agreement.
- And you wanna make sure that everything
that's within that agreement is taken care of,
so that all your I's are dotted and your T's are crossed.
- Question number seven is,
will you need to dissolve the business?
So if you're not in a partnership,
and you're running the business on your own as an LLC,
you will need to file for dissolution
if you wanna give up on the business.
- And you may be asking, what is dissolution?
Is simply is wherever the state is that you incorporated
you're letting them know that your business is done.
- Yeah. Filing for a voluntary dissolution
is a pretty straightforward process.
The first step you have to do
is file articles of dissolution.
- And in these articles include they information
about your business, such as your business name,
the date of the solution, and the reason why.
- Our final question is,
do you still believe in, and have passion for the company?
That is the number one thing that you have to have
as an entrepreneur.
So if you're starting to feel unhappy,
you know, that lack of passion is starting to creep up,
you're going to know.
So here are some warning signs to look out for.
- So is your heart still in it?
Do you wake up every morning and you're excited to go
and do what you're going to for your business?
Or do you dread every aspect of your day-to-day?
That is a telltale sign
that you're no longer passionate about what you're doing.
- Or maybe you're completely unmotivated
whenever you see that long list of hurdles
that you still have to overcome,
and you just keep getting beaten down, beaten down.
That can be definitely a huge sign
that you're losing some of that motivation.
- And another sign
is whenever you think about your business,
if it just tears you down, you get emotionally uneasy,
and it's just not something that you look forward to,
that's another indicator.
- However, there's definitely a difference
between being temporarily burnt out and done.
So there are still a few ways where you can kind of rekindle
that passion.
- Revisit your mission statement.
Think about why you really got into it in a very beginning.
Is it still the same?
Do you still believe all of those core values?
Maybe you wanna edit it,
or maybe you want to think of some new core values
that really gets your passion going again.
- The next thing you should consider
is what's your plan B?
Are you ready to go back to a nine to five job?
You know, what are you gonna do
if you do leave the business?
- Or you can just take a break.
It's nice to just get away.
Maybe taking like a nice long vacation,
where you can just decompress from all of the stress
from running that business.
Maybe take a digital detox.
I know for my wife and I,
we actually have a vacation set every year that we go away
we tell everybody,
"You can't reach us during this time."
And we don't look at any social media,
so that we can totally disconnect so we can reconnect.
Now, if you don't have a significant other,
it's not a problem, just do it for you.
Where you can just be one with yourself and your thoughts,
and just really get away from all the stress of the business
and just do a self-inventory and think about yourself.
- It helps you come back to reality
and come back refreshed so that you're re-energized
to take on your business.
- So, remember this may not be it.
Entrepreneurs sometimes have one business
that this didn't go well.
They'll still think of another business,
which is a really important thing to have a community
of other entrepreneurs that have gone through
what you've gone through.
So your business idea didn't work,
maybe you can think of another one down the line,
so you can still be an entrepreneur.
- So you've just learned eight things to consider
before giving up on your business idea.
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This is The Journey,
see you next time.