Baby startups
This past week, I received an email from a fellow entrepreneur. It was a notice, that after five long years, he was taking his company off the respirator and closing it down.

The news was sad.  I know he and his team gave it their all. I could feel his pain in the letter he sent to his customers and friends, it was as if someone had died.

My friend lost more than money. His entrepreneurial soul took a traumatic hit too.

It’s never easy to pull the plug on a business you started. Especially when you are an eternal optimist, which most entrepreneurs are.

You cling on to hope. You believe in miracles. Your ego screams, “No freakin way can you bail and be branded a quitter”.  Egos do not always give the best advice.

There comes a time in business, when quitting is the wisest action to take. Postponing it will just delay your next success.

If you do quit and call it a failure, know that failure is a temporary state and you control the schedule.

Winners quit every day.

The day you stop the train and get off is the day you are able to get on a better one.

  • Don’t beat yourself up.
  • Morn for a short period of time, after all, you are human.
  • Reflect on what you learned and journal your lessons.
  • Do the right thing concerning your responsibilities.
  • Be grateful for what you gained, the experiences, the network of contacts, the knowledge, and you don’t have to give them back.

When we lose a friend to an untimely death, we often say they are in a better place. I believe my friend is in a better place too.