9 out of 10 businesses fail within their first 10 years. Even worse is the fact that every day, at least one entrepreneur is considering shutting down a business they’ve put in a lot of their time and money into. Sometimes the reasons for shutting down are as a result of poor management and other times, it’s a result of the market. But irrespective of your decision to want shut down your business, you need to ensure you’re doing it for the right reasons and not the wrong ones, so you wouldn’t go on to have regrets many years down the line with the knowledge that your business could have thrived.
While there are several things to do before shutting down a business, here are 5 things to do before you give up on your business:
See Also: 5 Questions To Ask Yourself Before You Quit Your Job To Start A Business
1). Talk To Successful Entrepreneurs In The Same Industry:
When you’re trying hard to grow a business in an industry and only keep going from one failure or disappointment to another, it means something is wrong about your approach and that you need to study what the successful businesses are doing, emulate most of them, and create a USP for yourself. Successful businesses in every industry are always doing something right.
Before you throw in the towel, try to speak to a successful entrepreneur in the same business or hire the services of a consultant with your industry’s experience. As long as there are successful businesses operating in the same industry, there will be a way to enable your business to thrive, except in the cases of a few industries like the search engine business and several others.
If finding a successful entrepreneur in your industry is difficult, you may as well start up something new.
2). Determine If There Is a Lack Of Trust Or Lack Of Need For Your Product Or Service:
A problem most business owners face is they’re trying to sell products or services people either do not need or do not trust enough to buy from them.
If you want to grow a successful business, you need to offer products or services that do not only solve people’s problems but also enhances their lives. This way, they’d come to value your products and build a connection with your organisation, depending on how your brand connects with them.
If the problem you’re facing is that people don’t trust your company enough to buy products from you, then you need to promote campaigns showing you’re not just a great option for them but they stand to gain a lot more from your organisation. An example is in the area of food sales. People could simply avoid your company because they have no way to verify the meals you serve are healthy. Here you’d need to show you’re registered with multiple health bodies and have their seals, publicly show testimonials from happy customers, and much more.
Depending on whether customers trust your organisation or you’re solving a problem, implementing the right measures with respect to the problem will take you far or not.
See Also: How To Quit Your Job And Follow Your Dreams Without Going Broke
3). Re-Evaluate the Experience And Value Of Each Member Of Your Team:
Most times the experience or lack thereof of each team member can be stunting the growth of a business. Have a good look at every area of your business and compare its progress to each individual that’s largely responsible for its managment and development. When you do this, you can easily identify the weak link, and then take a decision on whether to retrain the individual or part ways with them.
4). Determine If The Product Or Service Is Too Expensive:
An expensive product can take a long time before it starts getting any significant sales. But then again, some products may just be too expensive for the market its targeted at.
What type of products or services are you selling and what market are you targeting? When you understand your market well enough, you’ll know the best price that works with them and can then adjust your products and service price offerings better.
See also: How To Sell Expensive Products To Cheap People
5). Remember Why You Started The Business:
Why did you start your business? Was it to solve a problem? Change people’s lives? Or simply make money?
When businesses are started with the sole goal of just making money, the founders are always quick to shut it down and move on to something else when it’s not going their way. But when businesses are built to solve a problem, change people’s lives, and then make money in the process, the founders tend to stick to it for the long haul because the end result, in this case, is always richly rewarding.
If you’ve lost the vision you had when starting your business, you may need to first retrace your steps and remotivate yourself. You should only close shop when you’re sure there’s either no market for your product or the market is extremely competitive for small players with little to no significant funding.
To Sum It Up
Throwing in the towel and accepting failure can be a difficult thing for many people, but can be necessary at some point. But how do you know this point and ensure you’re not missing out on an opportunity that may turn things around for you?
Before you make the decision to give up on your business to start something else, always try to ensure you’ve covered the points listed in this article and you’d be able to make better decisions you won’t regret in the future.
See Also: How To Spot A Million Dollar Idea
You’re really blessed wahali. Any one who has a struggling business and reads this will be filled with lots of hope
Thank you for reading, Kelvin.