

My Startup made $290,475.48 in 26 month and I'm shutting it down - zeynalov

I started a startup about 26 month ago. At the beginning it looked pretty good. Now it&#x27;s 4 employee a service industry small business, which makes me very depressed.<p>I have no motivation more, I think I&#x27;m burned out. Not because it&#x27;s failing, but I really have no interest in this industry. It made about 500k in 2 years and appr. 290k was pure profit. But it&#x27;s still a boring constant revenue small business which makes me money for living.<p>As a kid who loves gadgets, coding and computers I&#x27;m going to shut it down and start something better that can probably change the world.<p>What would you do?
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avenger123
How much time are you putting into this every day? You said you think you are
burned out. You probably are.

You need to think big picture on this. You have worked hard to build a
business that makes real money. It's not sexy and you don't have the passion
for it anymore but it's still generating a lot of revenue for you.

If you are doing 12-13 hour days and such, slow it down. Start doing it like a
regular job and do 8 hours a day. You might make less money but it will give
you better perspective on it.

Don't lose sight of the fact that you are able to save a ton of cash from this
every year. Work less on it, give yourself some downtime so that you can
figure out how you want to proceed. I think completely shutting down the
business is very immature. If you sell the business, it's the new owner's
responsibility to figure it out or not. There is no honor in killing your own
baby when its still alive and well.

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Im_Talking
"But it's still a boring constant revenue small business which makes me money
for living. As a kid who loves gadgets, coding and computers I'm going to shut
it down and start something better that can probably change the world."

I'm sorry, but these last comments confirm, to me, that you are an idiot with
no business sense at all. You need to step back and look at this whole thing
objectively. Jeez.

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zeynalov
For those who say that it's an option to give or sell it to someone - I think
if the company still works, it's all because of me, I did really great amount
of work and some of them are the things that others can't do. It sounds
arrogant, but I think someone who will get the company in this Level, will not
be able to take it further. I prefer that it dies with honor, like a sir,
instead slowly with bad reputation.

edit: one more point which press me about this decision is that the new idea
that I came of. I have saved $ 100k money and this idea which I shared some
days ago here in HN really excites me, after some possible clients sent me
emails that they would subscribe my new webapp. The thread about the idea:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7494337](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7494337)

~~~
logn
If your employees are happy, groom them to take it over and then make them
owners.

~~~
2810
Yup, I agree with you

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thenomad
As someone else has said on this thread: if you're definitely planning to shut
it down and you have no interest in selling it, try just stopping working on
it instead.

(It'd be a good idea to at least have a discussion with your employees about
this plan first, and of course put measures in place for payroll and so on.)

The worst that can happen is that it all grinds to a halt and you subsequently
shut it down. The best thing that could happen is that it keeps rolling
perfectly happily and you now have a substantial passive income.

On a similar note, if you haven't read "Four Hour Work Week", now would be a
very good time to do so. FHWW is a bit sketchy on the process of building a
company that makes money, but once you've built one, it's a _fantastic_ manual
on how to minimise your time involvement.

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joshdance
You are in a position of strength. You are making money. So solidify your
position, sell it off or automate it, take the money and then go try the next
thing. Many great companies that did change the world started as something
completely different. Nintendo made paper trading cards.

~~~
Johnvoisin
You made my night

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bwagy
Off a small base those numbers aren't bad.

You have a few options \- Exit, sell to someone else. \- Explore a management
buyout, if you have a strong number two who wants to run it. You can remain as
advisor / chairman. \- Find a partner who you can bring on to help grow it.

I suspect you probably just need a bit of a break to rest refresh - come back
and look at what can you can do to achieve breakout growth. And I'd try get a
partner to help, businesses with two partners grow 30% faster.

Year 2 of our business we were similar, we built a game plan anchored on
achieving 20% month on month growth - we didn't know how we could do it but
figured it out as we went. It certainly doesn't sound like you lack ambition!

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Im_Talking
Just read this again and still shaking my head. Ladies and gentlemen, this
article describes the typical techie: a techie who happens to make money from
his craft. Never, never be this guy. You want to approach software this way:
you want to be a businessman/woman who uses software as a tool to create a
business. Do you understand the difference between the 2 approaches? Repeat:
never be this guy.

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sireat
Boring constant revenue is the small stuff that many dreams are made of.

You have the kind of startup that I would love to have, what some call a
lifestyle business.

As other posters should have stated, there should be some way of making it run
at a surplus (that is you with minor supervision + manager + employees).

Is it software based or is it more towards IT service, where if you stop
coming for a month you will not get any revenue?

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nm_101
Outsource management to other people/employees with some form of incentive for
growing the business on a strictly hands-off basis (3-6 month process) - then
use the income stream to enable you to do what the hell you want.

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27182818284
>I have no motivation more, I think I'm burned out.

Recently found myself in the same situation. Partner was generous with buying
me out. Best possible outcome.

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andretti1977
You helped a lot of people with your startup: maybe somebody of those good and
well talented people would be very happy to manage it :-)

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rajacombinator
Sounds silly to consider shutting down a profitable business with employees.
Get real and sell it to someone.

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alecsmart1
Can you please contact me or provide me with your email. I'd like to discuss a
possible acquisition.

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johnny22
why not give it to someone who wants it?

~~~
peachepe
I'd bite the bullet : )

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travisshreve
how old are you?

where are you from?

~~~
zeynalov
I'm 27, married, from Germany (but not german)

~~~
travisshreve
As someone who is new to the startup community, this is a tough call. I
believe that you should follow what your heart tells you. I know that being
married adds a curveball in there because you have to do what is right for you
and your wife. At this point it's not just about you and it's about your
future together.

I'm going to launch my company based out of Seattle and I'm going into it
blind. We are working to develop and everything is new to me. This idea though
is pushing me through all the tough times and it actually makes me happy. I
want to do something that I enjoy everyday. Currently I work in corporate
America and while it's a great job, I definitely don't love it.

I know that's not a real answer but hopefully it gives you some perspective.

I hope the best for you!

