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By Marlo Richardson
Ask any financial expert, and they will tell you that a diversified portfolio is the best way to avoid the ups and downs of market volatility. Like riding the investment waves as they ebb and flow, having businesses in multiple industries can help entrepreneurs diversify their income streams and follow a host of passions.
Entrepreneurs are creative people by nature. They can also suffer from a bit of multi-passionate lack of focus if they’re not careful. However, if business-minded people play their cards right, investing in multiple industries can be very rewarding — personally and financially.
The Serial Entrepreneur
Many business owners can’t get enough of it once they catch the entrepreneurial bug. After years of owning multiple businesses and founding a resource for multi-passionate entrepreneurs, I know the life of a serial entrepreneur all too well.
The first place I started as an entrepreneur was investing in real estate. I was young and knew I needed something to help offset taxes. I ended up loving building and constructing my visions and seeing them play out in real life.
My visions ran the gamut following the founding of my real estate business. I soon moved on to owning a restaurant, film production, podcasting, cryptocurrency, and the cannabis industry.
You have a better chance of success when you’re not tied to one specific industry that may fluctuate. However, I would caution budding serial entrepreneurs against having too many pokers in the fire too quickly. The goal of any entrepreneur is to build something great. Being too diversified can sometimes lead to one’s ability being limited, perhaps leading to some “good” but very little “great.”
Entrepreneurs can avoid the trap of being too diversified by maintaining proper focus. I would urge people who want to start a business to focus on their time and not necessarily money.
People should take their time and do enough research so that they’re not wasting time or money. You can always make money. Time is irreplaceable and has proven to be very expensive in and of itself.
Focus and Success
A multi-business empire can certainly be achieved by maintaining proper focus and keeping time as your currency. There are several ways of approaching your bevy of businesses that will set you up for creating greatness, not just something “so-so.”
There are some things to consider when running multiple businesses that could help ease the more complicated parts of being multi-passionate:
- If they wish, people who have brick-and-mortar locations can run several businesses out of the same central location. This allows some streamlining and simplification of your operations. If you have staff for one business, they may be able to assist with another if they are working out of the same place.
- Strong business plans for each passion are essential to keep things organized and keep one’s goals for each discipline clear.
- Delegation can be crucial. Entrepreneurs should know their strengths and delegate out the tasks that are their weaker points.
- I encourage people to involve those they know and love in their various ventures. If there’s any way possible to include your loved ones in your ventures, I highly recommend doing so. People spend more time working than they do with loved ones. Including them in projects is a great way to help them develop skills and spend time that would otherwise be lost.
With a multi-passionate life as an entrepreneur, time should always be an important consideration. Time is a precious commodity and can be in short supply with each business a serial entrepreneur adds to their portfolio. We get so caught up in the day-to-day operations of the business. So many things in life can pass us by because we are too busy or tired.
Running multiple businesses can be challenging and is not for everyone. It takes a special kind of entrepreneur to have so many plates spinning in the air and keep them all aloft, spinning away, serving the public, and creating a dynamic career path. However, running multiple businesses successfully can be done, and it is undoubtedly an exciting way to scratch that entrepreneurial itch.
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