5 Signs You Should Give Up On Your Business Idea

Giving up is a word that no entrepreneur should ever use. However, there is this period of time where entrepreneurs think they have the next big idea, but things just don’t up working out no matter how hard they try.

Even though this means you should give up on your business idea, it does NOT mean that you should give up on your entrepreneurial journey. I started a business in August of 2012 that I thought was a great idea.

Turns out, it was a great idea. My third startup Vintelli.com had customers, traction and support from people. We ran the company for 1 year, but we eventually knew this company wasn’t going to be successful.

No matter how much revenue we generated, we spent 1.5x that in customer service/expenses. We quickly realized this business model was flawed and we began trying a few things. After those things failed, it became evident to us that this idea wasn’t the one.

We dropped the business altogether and decided to move on to bigger and better ideas. In this article, I’m going to share 5 signs you should give up on your business idea:

1. Your Debt To Asset Ratio Constantly Increases

With my startup Vintelli, this was a huge problem. No matter how many assets the company brought in, our debt would exponentially increase with it. That was a huge problem that we were lucky to figure out within the first 12 months of being in business.

If your business is suffering from subtraction with each addition, there is a flaw in the model. You can try fixing it, but you’ve got to do something quick. Eventually, you’ll burn out of all your cash and be broke.

2. You Lost The Love For Your Business

This is something that is completely normal. I’ve come across numerous entrepreneurs who’ve lost passion for their business after a few years because of the struggles they have had to deal with.

If you don’t love what you do, don’t continue doing it. Find something you do love. Giving up on a single idea is absolutely okay as long as you don’t give up on the whole journey. It’s all about having career happiness in life.

3. You’re Shoving Instead of Selling

There are times where you think you have a great idea, but your target market doesn’t agree with you. If you find yourself having to shove your products or services down peoples throats, that’s unnatural.

Great businesses attract customers without doing much work. Good businesses acquire customers by selling. Horrible businesses are forced to shove their ideas, products and services down peoples throats.

4. A Competitor Is Doing It Better

Unfortunately, there are some times that another company or competitor in a space just does better than you can. They may have more money or resources that is enabling them to have that kind of success.

I had a friend who had a startup that was trying to compete with Uber. With the amount of funding, publicity and resources that Uber had, he knew he didn’t stand a chance. He quickly closed that business down, created another startup and just raised $250,000 in seed funding.

5. If You Don’t Believe Anymore

With Vintelli, I had this gut feeling kicking me inside telling me that this wasn’t going to work. I tried ignoring it for a couple weeks, but it eventually began overwhelming me. As an entrepreneur, it’s crucial to listen to your gut feelings.

If you don’t believe in the success or vision of your business anymore, there is NO point of trying to save a sinking ship. Ask friends, family members and even your customers for valuable feedback on what direction you should take.

Conclusion

I think a winning quality that successful entrepreneurs share is knowing exactly when to quit. If you are experiencing one or more of the signs mentioned above in this article, it may be time for you to give up on your business idea.