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=In an average years a start up business could be profitable in 2 to 3 years time. That is right if your business is not earning within 36 months you probably shut it down or if you still want to revive it you have to change your marketing plan and assess what is wrong with you current strategy why you are not able to generate profit. That it is possible that your business is not profitable in the first 3 years then it would boom on the 4th year. That is why businessmen has a high risk tolerance in creating his own business. To be able to have a profitable business you should have a lot of patience, capital, a good marketing strategy, and also you do know your specific goal, know your customer as well.