Managing Multiple Businesses
The Real and Raw Behind the Scenes.
I have a brain that is perpetually restless, and I realise that this is both a strength and a hinderance. I get bored quickly. Sitting down and “just doing nothing” really isn’t for me. I need the next challenge, the next experience, the next adventure.
And so, it stands to reason that when I started my first business 9 years ago, it was unlikely to be my last, and events since then have proven this theory to be true.
I now run three separate businesses, that have common ground between them, but nonetheless have different client bases, require different management, different marketing, and are structured differently.
The seed of each business came as my experience in the online industry grew. I saw gaps that needed filling and I saw behaviours that didn’t align with me or my ideal clients. So, rather than just accepting this, my immediate reaction was to create solutions. The growth of these seeds led to more tangible action and planning, and ultimately a new business that needed more resources, more investment, more management and more strategising. If only I could just sit still!
“If you dabble in the stock market and you have a diversified portfolio of different types of stocks you are spreading your investment.“
Whilst I spent a lot of time planning and preparing, what I didn’t do was allow myself to think about the consequences and challenges that managing multiple business would provide.
The balancing of priorities and keeping my eye on the ball across different ventures to ensure consistent performance sat at the heart of these challenges.
So why had I done it? Well, the aforementioned constantly active brain that thrives on new challenges played a hefty part in my decision making, but there were other factors that I took into account.
I’d read a study somewhere that said multiple business owners are more likely to be classified as high income and high wealth, so of course, that was something that appealed to me!
I mean, if you dabble in the stock market and you have a diversified portfolio of different types of stocks you are spreading your investment, so why not do the same thing with multiple, diversified businesses?
“Running multiple businesses can easily mean higher stress levels and sacrificing personal time.“
This then was the principle, to utilise the skills and knowledge I had learned over the time I’d spent creating and refining my first business to expand my reach and therefore, ideally, my profits without running myself into the ground while I did it.
But whilst the prospects were exciting, the reality was challenging to say the least!
I thrive on being busy, but this was a different level. Managing the conflicting demands from different businesses initially made it hard to focus on the high-priority tasks.
I also wanted to me ensure that my existing staff were fully clued up on what was happening, in some cases creating new roles for them where I thought their skillsets would be better utilised.
This needed different management approaches, tools, and systems, which all took time, while at the same time ensuring that all the businesses were running smoothly and in sync without overlapping or creating confusion for my amazing team.
Then there was the financial management to worry about and getting the leadership and management right while working hard to ensure my employees didn’t feel feel neglected or less engaged if they though that the new business was receiving more of my focus attention than another.
And most importantly, the curse of all driven entrepreneurs, there was the potential impact on my personal life to take into account.
Running multiple businesses can easily mean higher stress levels and sacrificing personal time, both of which lead to impaired decision making. My health isn’t always the greatest for a number of reasons, so this was something I had to put at the top of my priorities list.
I have learnt and I have grown so much through this process, and as a result of this pretty steep learning curve, I feel I am well placed to give you my top 5 tips to take into account if you are planning on running more than one business. (Or even if you weren’t planning to but things just happened!
Lisa’s Top Tips
Devote time blocks to each company
I’m a massive advocate of time blocking, which is a simple but effective time management method that asks you to divide your day into blocks of time. Each block of time is dedicated to a specific task, or group of tasks, and only those specific tasks.
This does away with the bad old to do list, that is never completed, only added to. With this system you start each day with a schedule that clearly states what you’ll work on and when.
So, using this method, I set aside certain hours or days to only focus on one business. I try to allocate certain times of the week for each business, so it gets the attention it needs without getting mixed up.
Having these specific windows of time stops me constantly switching between businesses, losing my train of thought, and therefore not performing at my best.
Set achievable milestones
I create and work towards clearly defined targets and objectives for each business on a steady timeline, like quarterly goals.
Setting milestones can be tricky because they need to be realistic but still challenging, so take time to get them right. Always celebrate small wins and share these with your team, as you want your progress to feel motivating for everyone involved rather than stressful and frustrating.
It’s always worth seeking out other multiple business owners in your world. You’ll be surprised how often they will be willing to help you out or answer your questions. Learning from their experiences can be invaluable.
Get the right people around you
It’s so important that you divide leadership duties among trustworthy teams, instead of trying to control every little detail yourself across all the businesses. A lot of entrepreneurs, myself included, struggle with this but by putting together strong management teams for each company, allocating leadership roles and duties to reliable employees or partners you trust, the growth of each business will be way more stable and consistent, which will translate into success.
Make sure you have clear organizational structures in place and create an environment where people feel confident to communicate with honesty. Let the people you have put in positions of responsibility feel trusted to make the day-to-day choices, with your goals and values in mind.
By sharing control in this way, you can focus your attention where it is most needed instead of feeling pulled in too many ways.
Outsource!
As I said earlier, it’s important to remember that just because the buck stops with you, this doesn’t translate as you need to do the work yourself.
Have a look for positions or tasks that are not crucial to your company’s core functions. These could be roles that require a certain skillset, or perhaps ones that are time consuming but not overly creative. It makes sense then to outsource these kinds of tasks m to freelancers or third-party services.
For example, you could have a virtual assistant look after your administrative or customer support duties on certain projects, or contract an accounting firm to handle bills and taxes across your businesses rather than trying to learn accounting yourself.
Outsourcing non-essential functions lets you stay focussed on running and growing your businesses without getting tied up in the less strategic, but still important stuff.
Don’t forget to meet up!
When you are juggling a lot of balls, having a steady schedule becomes even more important.
Regular check ins, whether they are daily progress reports, weekly or fortnightly team meetings or monthly strategy sessions are crucial because these meetups give staff clarity on priorities and accountability, plus they allow you to keep an eye on everything that is happening inside each business.
You can hold different kinds of meetings — some may focus on day-to-day actions, while others can be more strategic, or look at improvements or ideas that your teams may have.
Ensuring you have regular channels for communication maintains direction and momentum, without you having to monitor everything yourself on a day to day basis. Just make sure you stick to your meeting calendar diligently or your staff will lose their motivation.
Regular Columnist: Article published in Brand You Magazine – Edition 33
Lisa Johnson, founder of Lisa Johnson Strategist
Lisa is an inspirational leader, business strategist and Sunday Times best-selling author who helps ambitious people create passive and semi-passive income streams. She has over 50,000 followers on social media.
Instagram: lisajohnsonstrategist
Website: lisajohnson.com
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