Entrepreneurs, when to give up?

The hardest decision you’ll make, is to give up. Sink in your mistakes and suffer the position of a failed entrepreneur. While you may gleam at the idea of the “next big one”, running your own empire or even just a proof of concept. The drive to make it happen can become too much for anyone individual. The joy of success and learning can be quickly trampled on by mistakes, misfortune and failure. 

While this opening paragraph reveals a cynic, I’m quite the opposite. If all the assets were aligned I’d try again tomorrow, with no doubt. I believe in work ethic and passion behind the idea. No amount of silicon valley positivity or motivational quotes will drive you forward once you hit that wall however.

What does the wall look like? It’s physical and emotion, it exists in your personal and work life. For the lack of a better analogy, the term ‘wall’ is not correct. The premise would symbolise a complete or stop. However in this regard, it’s a barrier in which the entrepreneurism seeks to continue, no matter what. No matter who it’s hurting or how much damage you've caused. It’s not even about success anymore, it’s about failure. "It’s too late to give up". There’s a fear of embarrassment among your peers. The solution is not to give up only to work harder and pump more resources into the project. 

No result is on the horizon and the snowball effect is long wore off or never occurred at all. Your peers are enriched with your bravery and enthusiasm but the ones closest to you can see you slipping away. 

It’s time to step back and view your results and progress. Block out all your drive and passion. Look deeper than failure and embarrassment and make a business decision. This will supersede as the best personal decision you’ll ever make. It will be like a death in the family. The emotion is incredible but sooner or later the overwhelming relief will confirm everything.

Sadly the disease that is entrepreneurship will kick in again and you’ll be battling with another idea or concept but you will be comforted with the knowledge that walking away is no failure at all. 

Many have asked me to reflect on my journey. They feel I may have knowledge to impart or advice to share. I'm not confident in this but I do think it's nice to reflect and capture big life decisions. It's a source of therapy and closure in many ways. I do thank you if you've taken time to read this. Hopefully there will be more stories to tell in the future.