Being an entrepreneur comes with its fair share of challenges. Starting out her hustle in 2006, Linda Ikeji understands the rigours and struggles that come with being an entrepreneur. In a message she shared to encourage entrepreneurs to strive to succeed, Linda emphasizes the importance of knowing when it’s time to walk away from a business venture after years of struggling with it.
Here are three things every entrepreneur should take away from Linda’s message.
Giving up on a business venture does not mean you are giving up on your dreams. It’s ok to end a venture that isn’t working, take a step back and figure out a better route through which you can achieve your dreams.
In Linda’s words, “I started FM&B (Fashion, Modeling and Beauty) magazine in 2006 until 2009. Managed to produce 5 editions of the magazine before I gave up on it. I gave up on this particular venture but I didn’t give up on my dreams of being successful, of making it in life. I always believed if I failed in one thing, I could succeed in another.
You can always be successful in something else. Don’t blindly hold on to a failing business because you feel letting go will make you a failure. Even if it fails, you can learn your lessons and apply it successfully to another business venture.
“For hustlers out there still fighting for their dreams, it’s okay to give up on some ventures you believe without any doubt is going nowhere and start something else, put energy into something new. You can be successful in something else.”
You must be willing to let go and try other things. By all means, give your business the very best. Pursue it with grit and be determined to succeed. When you’ve done all that you know how to do and you’ve taken the necessary steps but the business still isn’t thriving, it’s ok to let it go and pursue something else.
We love Linda’s words of wisdom here, “Those of us who have made it always advise ‘don’t give up, never give up until you have made it’, and that’s good advice but sometimes it’s okay to let go of a business venture that is draining your spirit, taking all your time, money, resources and giving nothing back to you. Some ventures are fruitless, and what you can hope is to have discernment on time to tell which is and move away from it asap. What if there’s something else out there that you were called to do? To be? What if your destiny is on some other venture? You must be willing to try other things. You must be willing to let go of the life you planned so as to have the life that is waiting for you.”
Most importantly, find your own path.
“I started the mag because Betty Irabor succeeded in it and I wanted to be like her, the next great magazine publisher forgetting that I had my path to follow in life. Thankfully, I found myself.
I hope you discover your path in life soon and do what you were truly called into this world to do and not what you THINK you should be doing.”
