Should I close down my business and go back to working for someone else?

This morning I was getting a fire going as it was pretty chilly waking up. Usually my partner, Mark, would be the one to do that, but he is off overseas on a business trip … how exciting that we get to travel again! Anyhoo, I had almost given up as it just wasn’t getting going. Grrrrrr. And then just as I walking away saying to myself “bloody useless fireplace”, it started in earnest and it’s been keeping the house warm all day ever since … cozy, lovely, pretty.

It made me think about small business ownership. How many people find it so hard to get going with their business. Really going. Getting their business to a place where it just keeps running beautifully, easily, with grace, where it brings you joy, where it brings in enough to give you the lifestyle you wanted for you? I hear a number of stories of people who were about to give up, and then some little spark ignited and they are, in hindsight, ever grateful that they didn’t give up. I don’t want to use any of those standard, trotted out sayings like “it’s always darkest before the dawn”. Those types of sayings don’t help do they, when you are in the thick of it, wondering whether to just shut down your business and go back to working for someone else.

It’s a question I asked myself many, many times with my skincare company, Cor Silver, as it was growing, growing, growing becoming a cash-eating monster that I was beginning to despise! All at my own doing, so who was I to blame? No-one. So thank goodness I discovered how to run my cash flow in a way that worked for me, the owner, before I gave up. It’s now a beautiful, smoothly running, lifestyle business that works for me, rather than the other way around.

How did I do that? Simple. I implemented Profit First. That’s all. I organised my bank accounts + therefore my cash flow, in a way that made sense for my industry, my geography, my size …. And that was in alignment with my goals for my life.

It’s also why I became a certified Profit First Professional Coach several years ago: so I could help other small business owners get the clarity they need to know whether to keep going with their businesses, or to make the decision to shut up shop and go back to working for someone else. There is no shame in the decision, but the first step is getting the clarity. And that is the number one benefit of Profit First: it provides the clarity as to where the money is coming from, and where it is going. It gives you the clarity to ask the questions about can I make this work in a way that works for me?

Are you wondering:

Am I making enough from this business?

Should I close my business down?

Can I turn around my business?

What’s the best thing for me + my family: keep going or move on?

If you are, but you can also answer yes to these questions, don’t wonder alone. Reach out.

I still believe in the vision for the business

I love most of everything about the business except for the financial worry

I’m really good at what I do, except for understanding the financials

Reach out. By implementing Profit First we will jointly develop a plan where, like me, you are able to turn your business around to create a business that provides you with everything you always dreamed it could, including financial stability and freedom. Click here if you want to learn a little more about how Profit First can answer those questions for you.