Three failed businesses, I’ve just closed down a marketing agency I’ve worked on for the last two years, and now I’m broke, in debt, and unable to land a job

I’m 29, male, living in London. I’ve been on the job search for years—yes, literally years—and despite sending out thousands of applications, I haven’t been able to secure a job. I’ve applied for everything, even entry-level, low-paid, non-skilled positions, and I still get rejected from those too.

To make matters worse, I’m buried in debt, and my third business, a marketing agency I’ve been working on for the last two years, just failed because I couldn’t land clients.

I’m dealing with credit card debt, overdrafts, student loans—more than just broke at this point. I had hopes that these businesses would succeed and pull me out of financial hardship, but instead, they’ve left me even deeper in it. I’m just so exhausted and feel like there’s no reason to keep pushing forward anymore.

It’s especially tough knowing that I can’t even get a job—just constant rejections, leaving me with no way out. If I could at least land a job, I could get back on my feet and maybe give another business idea a shot in the future, but right now, even that feels impossible.

What I am wondering is why you have’nt tried getting a job

It seems like you might struggle with selling, especially when it comes to your services.

You don’t appear to have given up on the idea of succeeding, but running a marketing agency while having difficulty with sales suggests a lack of sound judgment. This could potentially reflect poorly on anyone doing business with you.

Man, just get a regular job for now. Based on your profile, focusing on entrepreneurship and starting your own venture shouldn’t be your main priority right now. You need a stable job to secure a steady income. Even working at McDonald’s for a year can often lead to quick promotions and a decent salary.

Once you’ve established a better financial situation, you can then start planning to pursue entrepreneurship.

You’re undervaluing yourself. I’d prefer to hire someone who’s experienced failure in three businesses over someone who hasn’t started any. View your setbacks as an investment in your learning. You’re not alone—I’m in a similar situation with only a few months of runway left. I might have to take a salaried job to cover my losses for the next seven years. My biggest fear is that spending those years digging myself out will make me too apprehensive to take risks again.

This kind of situation is exactly what should be more prevalent on YouTube. We’re so accustomed to only seeing “success” stories that no one talks about what happens when things go wrong and the importance of having a career or skill to fall back on.