The decision to close a business is never an easy one. Most of us want to honor the great American rally cry of “Winners never quit and quitters never win”. Nonsense. Sometimes it makes real sense to close a business when you have run out of cash or passion or both. As they say, “winners know when to quit.”
A women recently wrote me a note that described how she felt after closing her business:
“I am finally starting to feel the pain and sadness that comes with closing a business. At first, I was hopeful that I could transform the business into a different format. However, I was afraid of yet a second non-successful outcome. The first time I opened my business my instincts compelled me; now I am a afraid to trust or listen to them…”
Ah, business instincts. It is what makes us take the jump and the leap of faith when we start out. I always joke that entrepreneur’s are not risk takers- if we were, there is no way we would start a business since it is too risky. And when you use that instinct and you fail, its tough to trust it again. The advice I gave this women was that she should find a stable job or other less risky source of revenue stream to rebuild her instinct. Time has a way of rebuilding your confidence. She will find her footing again. What advice would you give her?
You only live once. If you enjoyed the experience of starting and running a business the first time, do it again.
More than anything else, make sure you are having fun and you can pay the bills. As long as you can keep paying the bills, start another business. If you can’t pay the bills, get another job and stabilize your financials – then start another business.