When to give up

Discussion in 'General Business' started by photomoto, Nov 15, 2005.

  1. #1
    When does one no that the idea or business they were trying to reach isn't worthwile, and won't work out. Just say you've been working on your website for over 6 months and still not one penny profit from it yet and just in debt a few hundred dollars.

    Basically when would you no its not worth it and you need to give up and try something new?
     
    photomoto, Nov 15, 2005 IP
  2. Smyrl

    Smyrl Tomato Republic Staff

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    #2
    I am convinced all hard work teaches us something. You domain name and hosting must be paid for for a year. I would just leave web online and see if it catches on. Six months is not a sufficient time to see if it is going to work out in my estimation. Some sites are not money makers but serve a purpose. My first web was designed as an online tuturial for my math students. It has gotten a trickle of visitors for 10 years. It is not going to make money (was not designed for that purpose) but is being used so all is not lost. If it does not catch on you might consider moving to fre hosting.

    Hopefully you now have more skills than you had been when you began so will be in a better position to try somthing which will be more successful in the future.

    Good luck,
    Shannon
     
    Smyrl, Nov 15, 2005 IP
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  3. Chrissie

    Chrissie Guest

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    #3
    If that was happening to me, i would stop spending on the site, and just maintain it monthly by updating it and keeping the search engines happy, and start working on something else at the same time, then months down the line when its page rank is higher, maybe try to give it a boost with some advertsing and a revamp on design maybe and see if you can get it to work for you. If not sell it with a decent pagerank and try to get some of your cash back and start again with another venture :)
    Thats just my opinion though may not be best thing for you..
     
    Chrissie, Nov 15, 2005 IP
  4. aeiouy

    aeiouy Peon

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    #4
    I think you potentially need to diversify.. Not every concept and idea is going to work the best... One of my first sites was a labor of love.. It is probably my least popular site and makes the least money. I have set up sites since then that I invested 1/1000 of the time and make 500x the revenue. As Smyrl said, let it percolate... You can branch out into new areas for a very small sum, especially if you are already paying for hosting and such.

    Obviously this is not always the case for everyone. Some people hit on something right away, and don't have to do anything more than one site. Reality is a lot of it is just time too... There is sometimes only so much you can do, besides just wait... You may be at that point now.
     
    aeiouy, Nov 15, 2005 IP
  5. Solicitors Mortgages

    Solicitors Mortgages Well-Known Member

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    #5
    that really depends on the site, and the domain name.

    if you have imightbeabletobuildyouawebsiteperhaps.com ...give up.

    if not, add a forum, make some subdomains get some adsense on there and a few affiliates, get some PR, join the co-op, sell some sitewide links, sell some banners and ...and ...and ...thats just for the first week :)

    good luck
     
    Solicitors Mortgages, Nov 15, 2005 IP
  6. clickhandbags

    clickhandbags Peon

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    #6
    I've been like that with one of my projects recently, it took 8 months to stop losing money, every day was self-doubt. Bout's of depression, day's stuck indoors. I decided to do a big final push, exhaust all my mental resources, it worked.

    I would say you have two things going against you, 6 months is some sort of mental boundary and xmas is approaching so you are particularly reflective.

    If you have any hint that this grand scheme might pan out, regardless of what others beleive, (Everyone has advice.) Keep on trucking.
     
    clickhandbags, Nov 16, 2005 IP
  7. musman

    musman Peon

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    #7
    maybe you're doing something wrong. get advise from someone experienced from that field and he can help. but i would say keep on trying you will benefit at the end.
     
    musman, Nov 16, 2005 IP
  8. RectangleMan

    RectangleMan Notable Member

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    #8
    What's the site?
     
    RectangleMan, Nov 17, 2005 IP
  9. mhdoc

    mhdoc Tauren

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    #9
    External events which you do not anticipate may also improve you situation over time. In my case, I wrote the site years before AdSense was invented. It didn't start making money until then. Something is always better than nothing.

    In other words, I would suggest leaving it up while you take what you have learned and apply it to a more promising niche.
     
    mhdoc, Nov 18, 2005 IP
  10. Blitz

    Blitz Well-Known Member

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    #10
    Hard to say with no site.

    Give up when you don't feel the idea will work. I don't think there's any timeframe, some of the best ideas take years and years before they're established. I just saw some company on the TV which spent over a year and $60,000 just fighting the trademark battles before they even really started the business, now it's a success.

    Again, I don't know what the site/idea is, but a few hundred dollars isn't too much to lose over 6 months :) I've lost thousands of dollars in a few days, I'm sure others on this forum have some pretty suicidal stories to tell :)

    If *you* no longer think it will work, then quit. It's really a personal thing, if the idea/site doesn't have your passion, it won't work.
     
    Blitz, Nov 20, 2005 IP