Photo courtesy: swanksalot

No one likes to talk about the tough times.

It’s much easier to talk about a business that’s doing great, growing sales month over month and becoming ever more popular throughout its community.

But that’s not reality for every business.

While almost every entrepreneur struggles in the beginning to make a profit, some never get there, no matter what they do.

And for those in this situation, there comes a time when they must ask themselves the most difficult question of all, “Should I close?”

There are a variety of factors–and a lot of sleepless nights–that go into this decision-making process. Some of which involve the following.

Your Business is Not Profitable
After paying for general business expenses, employee salaries, inventory and more, struggling owners are often left without enough money to pay themselves a salary or repay loans that were taken out to open the business.

You Can No Longer Compete
Smaller companies often find it difficult to compete against larger corporations that come in with lower prices or offerings that they are unable to match due to pricing and resources. It takes marketing creativity and a thick skin to survive against competitors.

You’ve Lost Your Passion
If you’ve been in the business for a number of years and loved it in the beginning but now find it a chore to come to the store every day, your employees and customers will pick up on this vibe. Sales will eventually suffer as will your quality of life.

Are you facing any of these scenarios? There’s always time to turn things around with help from other operators, experts in your field, or resources such as the Small Business Administration‘s SCORE program.