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=This is tough question to answer because it's completely subjective on one's business and drive. How badly do you want success, are you willing to do whatever it takes? If this business isn't a passion and you aren't completely obsessed with it and convinced that you can't make money on it, even after the 3rd year of trying with all of your might then I would say throw in the towel cut your losses and move on to find the next business that will be successful. Sometimes calling it quits too early though also takes away the chance for success if done so too early. Just a super tough call. Can you elaborate more on the business?