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=The question is rhetorical!
Situations are different. It all depends on the real reasons for the unprofitability of the business, and a real assessment of the prospects.
A business can be really "calculated" incorrectly, all the nuances, market conditions, purchasing power, etc. are not taken into account. Here it is necessary to make a willful decision, and simply close the business, or sell it to someone.
Maybe - the business is really good, but its time has not yet come. Then - "freeze" and wait for "your time".
There may be a situation when the business is good, and "for its time", but the situation in your country is not the most suitable - for example, as in my country - an external terrorist large-scale aggression of a neighboring country, as a result of which many were forced to either close the business, or sell it or just lose it...
In this situation, business migration to more comfortable conditions (city/region/country) is possible.
And to sit and wait is only to increase your costs ....