[pbhjpbhj]

Our new business just "failed" after 15 years (it was designed to support our family, which unexpectedly grew). But, regardless, when I checked the failure rate reported in gov stats in UK was far lower than the common wisdom held; which surprised me somewhat.

Do you have a source of solid figures to back up that 90%?

[opencl]

The whole "90% of businesses fail" thing is pretty meaningless without a timespan attached to it. Obviously almost all companies eventually go out of business for some reason or another.

About three quarters last more than a year, about half last to 5 years, and about a third last to 10 years.

https://www.fundera.com/blog/small-business-survival

[TeMPOraL]

Also if you forget the whole startup "go big or go home", what also matters is whether the company left the people involved - the founders, the employees - richer than they were before, or did it ruin the founders. Because a business that lasted 5 years and closed because the market dried up, but in that time netted the founder more than a regular job would, is pretty successful in my books.

[pbhjpbhj]

Thanks for posting that, TeMPOral. It helps to put things in a good perspective - our business has given us much joy, far more joy than a regular job would. Not so great on the money aspect; which I guess is why no-one has stepped up with interest to take it on.

[pbhjpbhj]

Yes, sorry, the phrase repeated by nearly everyone was "90% [of [small] businesses] fail in the first year". Which compared to your 25% figure is pretty markedly different - that's the sort of discrepancy I was seeing.

[sgift]

> But, regardless, when I checked the failure rate reported in gov stats in UK was far lower than the common wisdom held; which surprised me somewhat.

Does the UK government split into VC backed and not VC-backed? I always thought that number only holds for the "go big or go home" type of business (i.e. VC backed), not for normal ones.

[Simon_says]

How did your family unexpectedly grow?

[not2b]

Well, Simon, when a man loves a woman very much, he ...

[Simon_says]

Nothing unexpected about that ...

[ascar]

Birth control can fail. Depending on the kind of birth control more or less unexpectedly...

[Retra]

That depends on your expectations.

[Simon_says]

Truth.

[HenryBemis]

Perhaps they were aiming for 1 and they got 3 or 4? I remember a colleague a few years back had that 'problem' (planned 1 turned to 3) and he got a very generous raise that year.

[djakjxnanjak]

I think if they wanted to go into more detail about that, they would have done so.

[Simon_says]

It's just an unusual concept to think about. Long-lost relatives re-appearing or something along those lines?

[djakjxnanjak]

It’s also possible for someone to become a child’s guardian if their parents lose the ability to fill that role. I don’t know how widespread this is across cultures, but in my family, parents of newborn children name a “godfather” and/or “godmother” (usually an aunt/uncle) who become responsible for this by default.

[Simon_says]

Yea, I didn't think of that. Lots of possibilities. That's why I asked.