Recently, I had a couple coaches share with me that they were on the verge of a major decision:  They had reached a point where they were either going to completely shut down their business or make one more serious push to bring it back to life.

Fact of the matter is, Retirement Coaching is a relatively new business and more than a couple people are struggling to make consistent money at it.

So here are three signs that it’s time to wake-up instead of shut down:

1) You Feel Like Quitting

You’re not a real coach or business owner until you feel like quitting.  So do it!  Quit for an hour or two. Walk away from what you are doing and frustrated with and focus on something else.  I do it all the time and either go workout, fishing, or work on a fun project I personally enjoy. Sometimes my wife and I even have contests to see who is going to quit first.

Quitting has a lot to do with two key things. First your mindset. Reality is, 90% of what good marketers and business owners do actually fails. Once you understand that, it’s easier to work through challenges and focus on finding the 10% that works rather than getting overwhelmed by the other 90% that doesn’t go as planned.

Second, failure is a keen trickster with impeccable timing. It tends to come just before your reach a break through point. So when you’re feeling your worst and ready to quit, buckle up and refocus on your goals because a major breakthrough is around the corner. Also, let’s not forget, few people are successful in the business world. As a result, one could say success is not natural. Therefore, you can’t do what comes naturally in order to achieve it.

2) Your Big Idea Is Still On The Backburner

I drive by a cemetery every day and often wonder how many people died without doing that one thing that they really wanted to or hoped to accomplish. Maybe the timing wasn’t right, they didn’t have the support of others, or their idea flew in the face of conventional wisdom. Either way, don’t send your business to the grave with any regrets.

We live in a constantly deteriorating world, where our influence and abilities diminish over time. So quit waiting for the stars to align, for you to have everything figured out, or for the right people to come around, the time is now… and you can’t quit your business until you bring you biggest and best idea to life.

3) You Love Starfish

You’ve probably heard the Starfish story. An old man is stooping down to throw one of thousands of starfish back into the sea when a younger man comes along and asks why he’s doing it. The young man points out that there is no way he can save them all or really even make a dent in the sheer volume of starfish destined to wither away on that beach. That’s when the older man stoops down again, picks up another starfish and as he tosses it back into the foamy sea replies, “It made a difference to that one.”

One challenge for business owners is how they measure success. Do they need to make a certain amount of money, have a specific number of clients in a set time frame? Or do they need to help one starfish at a time. Reality is, building a business takes time, and you have to do it one situation, one starfish at a time. More importantly, you have to do the little things that matter to you and others each and every step of the way, even if it feels like you’re not making a dent in the sheer number of people who may shrivel up in retirement, helping that one person is reason enough to keep going.

Robert Laura is a retirement expert, Forbes.com syndicated columnist, and determined voice for the retirement wellness and coaching industry. He can be reached at rl@robertlaura.com