When does a new business make a profit?
Right now, damn it!
That is to say, there is no fixed time frame. We all are just trying to become profitable as soon as we can, especially beginners who are afraid of losing money. Many factors will shorten or lengthen the average time to get out of the red, primarily the type of business.
Let’s get into more details.
Per my experience as an online entrepreneur, I would say, launching a startup can be done as quickly as you want, but turning it into a functional business is going to take more time and involve more waiting. Experienced entrepreneurs with a platform of some kind on their side could launch a profitable business in 24 hours, probably. But let’s focus on first-timers.
Sometimes, first-time business owners succeed as early as six months after they begin, the bulk takes about two years discounting salary, a few take seven to ten years, and many do not succeed at all. I do not intend to discourage you, but it’s reality. Not everybody is willing to learn and change until they have what they need to succeed. But let’s assume that you have what it takes, that you’re a contender, and move on.
Let’s define profit as “total revenue gained from business activities, after accounting for operational costs, taxes, and other dues.” In most cases, it takes years to recover the initial investment, but profit can start as early as from the first month. How? Easy, start a business with as little operational cost and startup capital required as possible, that will ALSO offer substantial scaling potential. There are plenty out there, lots of stuff works, it’s mainly just about consistency.
Not all of my businesses are currently profitable, and that’s okay. I am constantly in a flux of new, failing ventures and older ones that succeeded after all. Because that’s what the new ones turn into eventually. Every startup is failing at first. Since I exclusively run online businesses, usually based around a single website at a time, I have no problem trying anything I think of. I recently got a really weird idea for a new type of furniture, and you never know! I might just attract the right investor and make it a reality someday.
To conclude, if considered statistically, it does usually take more than one year before a business is profitable. However, it depends on the business idea and niche, your effort, the strategies you use, luck, and above all, people. Your team members and employees, your fellow entrepreneur connections, everybody.
Good relationships with the right people is the only secret sauce to instantly level up your business to profitability way, way faster than everyone else. For most people that advice is not good enough, so I say do both. Work at it on your own consistently, but also try to make connections, and then see if you can bank on one of the two working out and cutting down your time to profitability.
Don’t forget, you’re getting closer every day. Every day that you did something to push your business’s profit higher.
Feel free to reply if you need clarification.
Good Luck!
Thanks,
Cleo