The Broke Entrepreneur | 2

So, the last time, I promised to mention how to know when to give up and throw in the towel after a failed business venture.

Perhaps you have been struggling and searching for years, have deployed all the principles you have been taught and still haven't made any progress.

There is one simple technique to decipher whether you should give up. Maybe we should call it surrender instead of giving up. No matter the nomenclature, it is wise and sensible to "give up" sometimes after giving it your best shot time and time again.

Whenever you think of giving up, what exactly comes to mind? Do you feel a sense of years of wasted effort, or a vague guilty sense of relief?

You might want to ponder on that for a second. The sense of relief may feel "guilty" because relief is not a feeling you expect when you contemplate giving up on years of resources and investment.

Take a look at many of the great business men and women, they all went through times when they had to swallow their pride and bite the bullet.

The key is to look back and know that you gave it your best shot. That hindsight should cleanse any sense of guilt.

Sometimes, this cooling off period is just what you or the universe needs to arrange things in your favour or to get your priorities sorted

The truth about business is that there is a "cosmic, spiritual, metaphysical" aspect to it. There is no universal formula for success.

Each person's individual formula seems to be tailored by so many variables like their personality, background, industry, country, era etc.

And so, you cannot copy or try to be "like" anyone because the things going for him might just work against you.

So what do you do during your cooling off period? You can focus on another business, volunteer at church or a local group or you can go back to paid employment.

It's nothing to be ashamed of and it would most likely be for a short period of time anyway.

It’s a sensible, realistic and practical way to "cool off" and build up capital for your next venture. That is if you are still convinced that business is the way for you. The networking done at the new place might even be the golden goose you've been looking for.

In life, we have to pay the price for greatness and the greater or more successful you will be is almost always in direct proportion to your periods of trials, failures and errors.

This is a universal principle found in politics, business and even the bible. So, you just have to continue sucking it up and encouraging yourself with glitzy images of the future before it actually materialises.

Until next time, hang in there and hope to conquer the world.