How long in years should I go before I give up and close down a business that is unprofitable?
I was listening to a podcast where Kelvin O'Neal
1 was featured. He said, "If you are not making money after 36months(3 years), you've gotta take a behind the barn and shoot it. It's just a hobby. It's not a business."
According to him, "people can get so stuck on a bad idea that they just keep thinking that if I keep working on it, it's going to fix itself. It doesn't fix itself. It was put on your journey to teach you, what not to do."
- To what extent do you agree or disagree with this assertion ?
-Have you had a business that even though it wasn't profitable in the first three (3) years, then it kicked off to bring in good returns in the fourth (4th) year?
1
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CqVbhNCt0yF/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=I would not be so quick to put a number or a limit on the amount of time you should wait until you close down a bad business. It is really a subjective matter. Why is the business failing and can it be fixed? Are you willing to invest more time to bring the business up again? How dedicated are you to this venture? There are a lot of questions you need to ask yourself before deciding to break away from something that took you years to build up.
I think that if you truly feel there is no longer a point, and that feeling is not just a split second emotional decision, then you should quit that business and cut your losses.
But putting a time limit on things will not give you clarity on whether or not the business has any chance left to make it.