Are You Thinking of Quitting Your Business For Good?
Contributed by SBOC Member:
Pat Miller
Founder of the Small Business Owners Community
This content was first released in the new Small Business Summary Newsletter. Subscribe below to get insights like this straight to your inbox!
How To Know If You're Cut Out For Entrepreneurship
Someone asked me recently: “How do I know if I’m cut out for this?”
I hear variations of this question all the time. Running a small business is hard. Some days you want to quit. Some days you wonder if this whole thing was a mistake.
I see you struggling. I want you to know that before we get into the advice.
Now here’s the answer you might not expect from the guy who does a daily show on small business:
Quitting your business is fine. Provided your business is the problem.
The Naval Quote That Guides Everything
There’s a quote from Naval Ravikant written on my whiteboard: “The only real test of intelligence is if you get what you want out of life.”
Before we talk about fixing anything, before we dive into strategies and tactics – answer this honestly:
Are you getting what you want out of this small business life?
If the answer is no, we have work to do.
If the answer is “yes, but not right now” – we can fix the not right now part.
The Real Test
Here’s the test I give people:
When I say “you could quit and go work for someone else,” what’s your reaction?
Option A: “That sounds kind of nice, actually.”
Option B: “WHAT? Have someone TELL ME what to do?! I’m completely unemployable at this point.”
If you picked Option B, you’re an entrepreneur. The fire is there. Keep going.
If Option A sounded appealing? That’s okay. Really. Life is too short to be unhappy.
This Life Isn't For Everyone
Building a business as a solopreneur isn’t really a business challenge – at least not in the early days. It’s a lifestyle challenge.
You have to be driven enough to keep going when people tell you no for the umpteenth time. When your first 25 iterations don’t click. When you have painful sacrifices to make. When the debt starts piling up.
That’s when you find out if you have the fire.
Entrepreneurs aren’t normal. We hear “no” a thousand times and keep going. That’s not for everyone, and that’s completely fine.
The Checklist Before Quitting Your Business
If you’re still not sure, run through these questions:
Are you making enough money – or can you see a realistic path to making enough money?
Are the clients you’re attracting good to work with? Do they fulfill you emotionally? Are they enabling you to do your best work?
Have you cracked the code on lead generation? Are you finding enough potential clients?
Do you love it? Not “do you like it” or “is it fine” – do you actually love it?
I dream about this stuff. I think about it while I’m on the treadmill, while watching TV, while doing anything. You don’t have to be as obsessed as me. But if you don’t love it at all, that makes the hard parts much harder.
Permission To Quit
Here’s what I want you to hear:
If your business is stressing you out so much that your health is suffering, you’re losing money, and you have the option to go work for someone else – I won’t fault you for taking it.
Listen to who that’s coming from. I’m the small business guy. I do a daily show on this. If anyone should say “never quit,” it’s me.
But I won’t say that. Because life is too short to be unhappy.
Find what you need. Move toward it. No harm, no foul.
Listen to the full discussion on Businessing with Pat Miller.
Don’t Grow It Alone®
Subscribe to the Small Business Summary!
Contributed by
Pat Miller
Founder of the Small Business Owners Community
Pat spent two decades in broadcasting management and hosting. After leaving the radio industry, he spent time consulting small businesses and realized the support system for entrepreneurs was broken. Where could you find help for improving small businesses and building real connections with other like-minded people. In June of 2020, the Idea Collective Small Business Community was born.