 All right, so you've put your idea in play and you're an entrepreneur and you were so passionate about it, but now things may not be going the way that you envisioned. Well, today on The Journey, we'll be talking about eight things to consider before giving up on that business idea. All right, so how do you know when it's time to end the business? A lot of people just keep on going until they just can't go anymore. Yeah, there are a lot of things to consider. So before you throw in the towel, here are eight things you should ask yourself before deciding to move on. So for our first question, is there a demand for your product? Revisit your business plan and see if things have maybe changed since you first wrote it. Maybe the market has changed. Yeah, look at that market analysis, look at that target demographic you're trying to reach, and really your plan for not only attracting but retaining that customer base. So are people just not buying your product because it's just not interesting to them or they find it useful? Maybe some things you can tweak, add another feature, maybe make it more appealing so that they'll start to buy your product. Yeah, and take a look at your competitors. If they've stepped up recently, what are they doing differently? And maybe take a step back and realize what is going to help differentiate me from the rest of the competition. So number two, does your business have a core group of fans? People that have been loyal at the very beginning of your business, making sure to push it forward and give you that patronage, they can be a reliable source to help you keep going. Yeah, those loyal customers are your ride or die. I mean, they're going to stick with your business not only to be a repeat customer, but they can also help share that great word of mouth by leaving positive reviews. That's definitely a support base that you can lean on. The third question you should ask yourself is, have you talked to your mentor? A lot of times that entrepreneurial journey can really feel like you're at it alone, but it's important to take a step back, give yourself some perspective, and talk with the people who have helped you get to that point. You know, maybe they can offer a different outlook of maybe it's not such a big deal versus maybe it is more towards the end of the line. And also these mentors are people that have real world experience in what you are going through. They don't give you theory, they talk about what they've experienced themselves. The fourth question is, have you already made substantial progress? So take a step back, I know as an entrepreneur, it can be really easy to get frustrated with where you're at in that process. But look at your business plan, okay, what was my goal for three years, five years, and take a look at how far along you've come and if you're actually checking off those milestones. I love to say documentation be speculation every day of the week. So for our fifth question, are you able to financially continue? Now for this, you really have to take a step back, separate your emotions, because I know this business is your baby, you put your sweat, love, tears into it, long hours, and even an investment into it. But at the end of the day, you really have to make sure that financially you're able to sustain this business venture. Yeah, you've got to be real with yourself, are your products or services not selling? You know, are you having to take out loans to cover these costs? If you're continually not getting a return on investment and you're losing money, you, it may not be the most sustainable option to keep going. Question number six is, do your partners or co-founders know how you feel? I mean, if you're in this and it's a partnership, you can't make that decision on your own. You've got to have that open dialogue with them and be able to communicate directly. And many times when you have co-founders that start this business together, it started with the same passion that you have. So when you talk to your co-founders, maybe they feel the same as you, and you'll go along and decide to end things. Or the other side, maybe they don't feel like you, and then you do need to actually have that conversation to figure out where you're going to go next. And maybe that'll reignite your own passion. You know, having that conversation with them, it may seem a little bit uncomfortable at first, but maybe they are super passionate about it and that's going to feed off on you, and maybe that's the little extra kick that you need. All right, so if you've heard everything from your co-founder, and as Alex has said, their passion for it doesn't necessarily ignite in you, then you may want to consider a voluntary withdrawal. Yeah, and that clause is typically going to be outlined in a written partnership agreement. And you want to make sure that everything that's within that agreement is taken care of so that all your eyes are dotted and your T's are crossed. Question number seven is, will you need to dissolve the business? So if you're not in a partnership and you're running the business on your own as an LLC, you will need to file for a dissolution if you want to give up on the business. And you may be asking, what is the solution? It simply is, wherever the state is that you incorporate it, you're letting them know that your business is done. Yeah, filing for a voluntary dissolution is a pretty straightforward process. The first step you have to do is file articles of dissolution. And in these articles, they include information about your business, such as your business name, the date of dissolution, and the reason why. Our final question is, do you still believe in and have passion for the company? That is the number one thing that you have to have as an entrepreneur. So if you're starting to feel unhappy, that lack of passion is starting to creep up, you're going to know. So here are some warning signs to look out for. So is your heart still in it? Do you wake up every morning and you're excited to go and do what you're going to for your business? Or do you dread every aspect of your day to day? That is a telltale sign that you're no longer passionate about what you're doing. Or maybe you're completely unmotivated whenever you see that long list of hurdles that you still have to overcome. And you just keep getting beaten down, beaten down. That can be definitely a huge sign that you're losing some of that motivation. And another sign is whenever you think about your business, if it just tears you down, you get emotionally uneasy. And it's just not something that you look forward to, that's another indicator. However, there's definitely a difference between being temporarily burnt out and done. So there are still a few ways where you can kind of rekindle that passion. Revisit your mission statement. Think about why you really got into it in a very beginning. Is it still the same? Do you still believe all of those core values? Maybe you want to edit it. Or maybe you want to think of some new core values that really gets your passion going again. The next thing you should consider is what's your plan be? Are you ready to go back to a nine to five job? What are you going to do if you do leave the business? Or you can just take a break. It's nice to just get away. Maybe take a nice known vacation. Time where you can just decompress from all of the stress from running that business. Maybe take a digital detox. I know from my wife and I, we actually have a vacation set every year that we go away. We tell everybody, you can't reach us during this time. And we don't look in any social media so that we can totally disconnect so we can reconnect. Now, if you don't have a significant other, it's not a problem. Just do it for you where you can just be one with yourself and your thoughts and just really get away from all the stress of the business. And just do a self inventory and think about yourself. It helps you come back to reality and come back fresh so that you're re-energized to take on your business. So remember, this may not be it. Entrepreneurs sometimes have one business that just didn't go well. They'll still think of another business, which is a really important thing to have a community of other entrepreneurs that have gone through what you've gone through. So your business idea didn't work. Maybe you could think of another one down the line so you can still be an entrepreneur. So you've just learned eight things to consider before giving up on your business idea. Be sure to like this video and comment down below. 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