IT’S TIME TO SAY GOODBYE: HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT IT’S THE END OF THE ROAD

You’ve been hustling all this time, and you’ve been pushing and grinding. You have your blood, sweat and tears molded into your startup, and by all means, some things went well. You got to get out there and pitch your idea to a bunch of strangers a few times. Some angels and VCs said they might be interested in funding you, and you managed to find a great team and start working together.

But. There is one big but. Things haven’t really been going too well. You’re struggling to find your first clients for a second year in a row now, and none of the angels or VCs actually came back to you with a proposal. You were bootstrapped, but now you’re running out of funds, and on top of that, your cofounder wants to exit and sell all his or her shares.

Where did you go wrong? Was that the last straw? How do you even know if that’s the end of the road for you? Here is a quick list that will help you identify if there is still some gas in the tank or if you should just jump ship:

• Your motivation: Why are you thinking of quitting in the first place? Is it because you’re frustrated that not everything is going according to the plan and expectations you set in your head, or are you battling with demotivation and unwillingness to see things through? If it’s just a matter of being late, rather than giving up, and the deadline not matching what you expected would be your runtime and so on, then there is no reason for you to not keep pushing. You need to manage your own expectations and try to ask yourself objectively if you gave it enough time. Sometimes, a lot of things can happen very quickly, and you could have been through an event desert the months before. Check if it’s an expectation issue or a motivation issue. If it’s the latter, and you feel like there is no point to keep pushing, then you might want to call it.

• Goals: Are there any core goals that you missed and didn’t hit? Perhaps you didn’t see digital marketing through or didn’t truly allocate a budget for advertising to see whether or not you are getting to your potential clients. Did you take any shortcuts? If yes, and you know that you pushed too quickly and didn’t do something properly, go back and give it another chance. If everything feels perfect, talk to your team. Do they feel like you’ve pushed a bit too far, a bit too quickly? Speak to observers and third parties and get their read on whether there are some things you missed.

• Last shot: Speak to a business coach or a mentor. Book one session and tell them about the issue. Ask them of their expert opinion and see if they can give you some pointers. You won’t be able to get much detailed feedback from just one session, but you might hear if you are headed in the right direction with your thoughts, or if you should hold your horses. Sometimes, another person’s perspective is what you need to see where you are misstepping. If this doesn’t help, try and reverse-engineer it yourself. 

• Untapped potential: Is there any other niche, nook or cranny left unexplored that you can lean on? Famously, the creator of the Final Fantasy Franchise only hit gold when he was about to give up, hence the name of the game. Is there something you know could work better, or something you want to experiment with? If you are giving up on it anyway, why not give it one last shot? This way, if it’s meant to be this way, you’ll know you’ve done everything you could, and tried every which way you could think of to get this show on the road.

Did any of these pointers help you see something you missed? Comment down below, and if you need mentorship and guidance, contact us!