“透視企業(yè)家”是《財富》雜志一個在線互動社區(qū)，美國最睿智、最有影響力的一些創(chuàng)業(yè)大咖會在這里及時回答一些與創(chuàng)業(yè)和職業(yè)有關(guān)的問題。今天的問題是：“如何知道何時應(yīng)該放棄你的創(chuàng)業(yè)點子？”回答者的是馮德布魯曼搜索集團(tuán)創(chuàng)始人兼CEO威廉?馮德布魯曼。

創(chuàng)業(yè)之難，難于上青天？也許是這樣。從總數(shù)上看，90%的創(chuàng)業(yè)最后都會以失敗告終。

出現(xiàn)這種局面的原因之一是，創(chuàng)業(yè)者很難知道何時應(yīng)該放棄自己的創(chuàng)業(yè)點子，因為警報通常不會伴隨著危險一起來臨。

在很多客戶身上，我發(fā)現(xiàn)了一些比較普遍的特質(zhì)，它們或許也是導(dǎo)致許多人創(chuàng)業(yè)失敗的原因。這些客戶都是一些對自身信仰堅定不移的創(chuàng)業(yè)者。他們生來就和常人不同，敢于打破規(guī)則，讓現(xiàn)實向他們的信念低頭，勇于超越自我。他們就是那種撞了九次南墻都不回頭，第十次迎著南墻撞上去的時候還會說“這次肯定會不一樣”的人。

下面列出的這6種情形，如果你已經(jīng)同時經(jīng)歷了3個以上，那么，你或許就該選擇放棄了。

1、你的產(chǎn)品沒有市場需求

現(xiàn)實總是在不斷變化，同樣，市場也在不斷變化當(dāng)中。昨天還大受歡迎的東西，說不定今天就不再受歡迎，更不用說明天了。如果過去20年里你經(jīng)常逛商場的話，你就會明白這句話是正確的。企業(yè)家在改變現(xiàn)實的同時，也在改變市場。你的產(chǎn)品也是一樣，它要么改變市場，要么就得滿足市場的需求。

2、創(chuàng)業(yè)破壞了你的家庭生活

并非所有創(chuàng)業(yè)者都是每天能花20多個小時開拓事業(yè)的單身漢。有些最優(yōu)秀的創(chuàng)業(yè)者也是有家庭的，而家庭就是他們奮斗的動機(jī)。別忘了，生活不止是為了活著。要想為你的家庭創(chuàng)造高品質(zhì)的生活，除了努力工作，你還要抽時間陪伴他們。

成功的創(chuàng)業(yè)者不僅追求事業(yè)成功，也追求個人成功；他們不僅要把時間和金錢投資到事業(yè)上，也要投資到他們的家庭上。所以，如果你的家庭已經(jīng)到了崩潰的邊緣，或許你就應(yīng)該考慮放棄創(chuàng)業(yè)了。

3、其他人也在做，而且做得更好

通常，創(chuàng)業(yè)失敗的重要原因之一就是做出的產(chǎn)品或服務(wù)沒有市場。但與此相反，僅僅局限于滿足現(xiàn)有需求，也是敗因。隨便在手機(jī)上登陸一個應(yīng)用商店，你會發(fā)現(xiàn)，任何一個熱門應(yīng)用都有它的山寨版。什么熱門抄什么，這當(dāng)然是很容易的——比如，已經(jīng)玩過《憤怒的小鳥》的人也會想玩玩《家禽伙伴》（Poultry Pal）。這一招在短期可能行得通，但它最終是很難成為一門長久生意的。

4、追求創(chuàng)新卻遠(yuǎn)離了市場需求

創(chuàng)業(yè)者喜歡追逐新概念或新商業(yè)模式，但通常來說，一些最優(yōu)秀的初創(chuàng)公司其實只是重寫了現(xiàn)有產(chǎn)業(yè)的運行方式，提供了一種更好的替代選擇。比如說，經(jīng)常有人抱怨打車難，而這個問題被Uber和Lyft解決了。同理，今天的智能手機(jī)正是廠商整合了一系列單一用途手持設(shè)備的結(jié)果。

盡管一種全新的產(chǎn)品會催生一種前所未有的需求，但如果你的業(yè)務(wù)離市場太遠(yuǎn)，那就依然難免會失敗。從這角度來說，花錢購買本地私人交通服務(wù)的需求，并非Uber首創(chuàng)，只不過它對這個需求迎合得更好，最終成為市場顛覆者。

5、風(fēng)險已經(jīng)超過了回報

一家公司要想盈利的話，其成功的回報必須大于或等于其面臨的風(fēng)險。賽百味餐廳之所以在全球開了一百多萬家店，就是因為它的運營成本不高，而且已經(jīng)在市場上打出了品牌知名度。如果潛在成本高于潛在收益，那就放棄吧。

6、不再相信創(chuàng)業(yè)時的理由

每一個成功的創(chuàng)業(yè)公司背后，都有一位真心相信公司創(chuàng)業(yè)理念的創(chuàng)始人。正是這種信念，幫助創(chuàng)業(yè)者挺過了最艱難的日子。可以說，成功的創(chuàng)業(yè)者都是堅忍不拔的人。但是，自尊心有時會蒙蔽人的雙眼，會讓你看不到自己做這件事的理由已經(jīng)不存在了。

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當(dāng)你的公司真的出了問題，上面這6個警示跡象往往不會單獨顯露，而是會同時冒出來。這就像是“打地鼠”游戲一樣，問題到處冒頭，有時它會傷害你的家庭，有時它的成功幾率會顯得十分黯淡。創(chuàng)業(yè)者要經(jīng)常保持警惕，如果你意識到已經(jīng)有太多問題同時出現(xiàn)了，那么，選擇暫時放棄或許就是最明智的選擇。

須知，暫時的放棄并不意味著永久拋棄，而是在更多可能性上選擇出路。（財富中文網(wǎng)）

譯者：樸成奎

審校：任文科

The Entrepreneur Insider network is an online community where the most thoughtful and influential people in America’s startup scene contribute answers to timely questions about entrepreneurship and careers. Today’s answer to the question “How do you know it’s time to drop your startup idea?” is written by William Vanderbloemen, founder and CEO of Vanderbloemen Search Group.

Knowing when it’s time to give up on a startup business doesn’t always come with a warning sign. About 90% of all startups fail, and Dallas-based legal firm Allmand Law mapped an infographic that uncovers possible reasons for failures of well-known startups such as MySpace and Airtime, including growing competition and programming bugs.

Perhaps the failures can also be attributed to the unique characteristics I’ve seen common amongstmy clients, who are both entrepreneurs and church planters. They were born to be different, break the rules, and bend reality to their will. They push boundaries. They are the ones who have the ability to step on a rake nine times in a row, get hit in the face every time, and look at that 10th rake and say, “This time will be different.”

If you ever simultaneously experience three of the below factors, you’ll know it’s time to throw in the proverbial startup towel:

When market research shows there is no need for your product

Reality changes, and with it so does the market. What is sought after yesterday is different than today, and will definitely be tomorrow. If you’ve walked inside of a mall in the past 20 years, you know this to be true. Just as entrepreneurs change reality, they change the market. Your product either needs to do just that, or satisfy what the market demands.

When it breaks your family

Not all entrepreneurs are single and dedicate 20 hours per day to their business. Some of the best entrepreneurs have families, and those families become their motivation for succeeding. Do not forget to make a life while you are making a living. Creating a better life for your family includes hard work and quality time with them. Successful entrepreneurs who want long-term business and personal success invest time and money not only into their startup, but also into their family. So if your family is at a breaking point, it might be time to give it up.

When you realize there are others already doing it, but better

The opposite of an unneeded product or service is satisfaction with its current existence. If you log in to any app store on your phone, you will find knockoffs to every popular app out there. They’re easy ways to ride on the coattails of something popular—like getting people who already play Angry Birds to want Poultry Pal. This might work in the short term, but it’ll be an uphill battle in the long term.

When it’s a brand new business model that has never even been tried

Uber did not create the need for people to pay for local, private transportation. It disrupted the market by doing it better. Often, the best startups are simply re-workings of already existing industries, creating better alternatives. Complaints about the taxi-riding experience were solved with Uber and Lyft. Similarly, the smartphone of today exists because it consolidated a variety of devices that had all at one point been single-purpose, handheld devices. While a brand new model may create a need that didn’t exist before, thereby altering reality, businesses that are too far removed from the market will fail.

When risk outweighs reward

If a business is to be profitable, the outcome of success must weigh equal to or greater than the risk. The reason you see a million Subway restaurants is because they are inexpensive franchises that aren’t costly to maintain and already have brand awareness in the market. If it costs more to bring the product or service to market than the potential it can bring, move on.

When you find you no longer believe in the cause or root reason for the business

Pride can get you wrapped so far into the endeavor that your reason behind doing it no longer exists. Successful entrepreneurs are gritty folks, but their grit isn’t just a personality trait. You can draw a direct line from successful startups to a founder who truly believed in the reason for the company. That’s what sees founders through the dark times.

There are no single warning signs or stop signs to your business. Several of them come up at once or converge. It’s a game of Whack-A-Mole. Startups face challenges, and growth is hard. Sometimes it will hurt your family, and sometimes it will simply seem bleak. But when you constantly stay on alert, and realize that too many issues converge, be wise, and know that it’s time to give up and get out.