How to Know If It’s Time to Close Your Business

Written By Francie Hinrichsen

Maybe you launched your business last year, only to find out it’s really freakin’ hard.

Or maybe you launched your business, and you love it, but you still feel like your wheels are spinning…

A female entrepreneur friend of mine, Hannah, owner of a local yoga studio here in Peoria, taught me a life-changing question and I use it often as I decide how to use my time wisely:

Is it life-giving in this season?

As females, we have many unspoken responsibilities. Running a business must serve a purpose to be worth your precious time.

I often talk about building a business around your life and not a life around your business. If we aren't diligent about decision making, it can feel like our business runs us and life revolves around it.


Am I suggesting you just up and quit your business if it feels hard in the moment? No… I’m suggesting this…

  1. Focus on the mission: when you set out to run your business, what was your mission? Ask yourself if your priorities still align with that mission.

  2. Make changes in your business so the business works in alignment with your life priorities. Want to run your business and care for your kids? Fine, fire clients who don’t understand that your family comes first to make room for more clients who get it.

  3. Take time to think ahead about your values and goals in the next 1-3 years. If the business challenges feel hard in the moment, but the business still fits into the bigger picture, you're just in a rut. If the business challenges are creating unhappiness because they’re tied to a value or goal you no longer uphold, it might be time to let go.


Here are two examples of how I use the “life-giving in this season” question:

When I receive an invitation to participate in the local university’s entrepreneurship actives, I ask myself, “Is it life-giving in this season?”. I value giving back to the community and my heart loves being on a college campus, but if the opportunity feels more draining than life giving, it’s a hard “no.”

When someone asks me to grab coffee for a free brainstorming session, I ask myself, “Is it life-giving in this season?” Of course I love talking business with fellow female entrepreneurs, but if it feels more like an obligation than an opportunity, it’s a hard “no.”

It’s okay to say “no” or “not right now.” It’s okay to take your power back. It’s okay to focus on your top priorities during busy seasons of life, and if running your business doesn’t fit in with those priorities, it’s okay to pause and re-evaluate.

You should run your business, your business shouldn’t run you.

Now what?
It’s easy to get in a rut as a business owner, but here are three things I know to help you out of that rut: Community, Clarity, and Rest.

Community - Entrepreneurship isn’t for the faint of heart, so it’s important that your community of peers include others who are also facing similar hardships and wins. Speaking the language with others who understand is cup-filling for the soul and insightful for running a better business.

Clarity - What exactly is bringing you down about running your business? Knowing exactly what feels so heavy helps the struggle become much more defined. If your business feels more like a hobby than a revenue-generating career, it’s time to talk about profitability (The Profit Plan mini course does exactly that. If your business is sucking all your time, leaving little room for other things that bring you joy, it’s time to talk about boundary setting. Whatever it is, pinpoint the root of the uncomfortable feelings and face them head-on.

Rest - Many entrepreneurs are wired to go, go, go. But rest is so important running the marathon, not the sprint. If you’re in it for the long haul, rest must become a regular part of your daily routine.

Here are a few resources that will help you do exactly that:

Profitability Mini Course - If your business feels more like a hobby than a revenue-generating career, it’s time to talk about profitability. The Profit Plan Mini Course explains several proven ways to up your profitability game so you can stop browsing job ads in your free time.

Founding Females Communities - Our Founding Females® Community. Inside the female entrepreneur community, we talk through business challenges, meet monthly for a group coaching call, and run the Start Your Business Bootcamp.

’Dream, Build, Grow: A Female’s Step-by-Step Guide for How to Start a Business’ - This guided journal walks women through building a successful business on their terms, around their lifestyle. It takes the reader from ideation all the way through scaling and adds tons of clarity for anyone asking, “Am I doing this right?”. Purchase in Target or Amazon.

Founding Females | Central Illinois In-person event - Join us on October 1, 2023 for our second annual female entrepreneur empowerment event. Being in community with other women along the same journey adds spark to your business experience and motivation in your heart like nothing else can.

Downloadable resources - Our Dream, Build, Grow resource suite houses more than 10 business resources that will be helpful your journey.

Rest, don’t quit.

If business feels hard right now, but it’s still a life priority, then it’s only time to rest. Then, when you’ve caught your breath, change things up. Consider outsourcing tasks that don’t light you up. Take a course to dive deeper into your specialty. Join a community of women who get it.

Whatever you do, don’t quit your day dream.

P.S. Here are some of my top favorite female small business resources:

Meet Francie Hinrichsen

Francie Hinrichsen the owner of Founding Females and a SEO and conversion rate optimization services business called Simply Integrated. She is a business sage empowering female entrepreneurs to breathe life into the business dreams God called them to.

After feeling like a misfit in the corporate world, Francie discovered a life she loved waking up to through business ownership.

Francie is the author of Dream, Build, Grow: A Female’s Step-by-Step Guide for How to Start a Business, a guided journal helping hundreds of women start businesses.

She’s a passionate entrepreneurship hype girl, female leader, public speaker, and community enthusiast.

Her MBA and 10 years in a corporate career and in business ownership positioned her to teach women modern strategies for starting and growing successful businesses.

As a community leader, Francie realized other women could thrive with the right guidance and support. She created the Founding Females™ Community entrepreneurship communities that coach women through improving their business mindset and operations.

She believes that anyone with a dream on their heart can pull up a seat to change the world through entrepreneurship. 

Francie Hinrichsen
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