by Taylor J. Kovar – CEO/Founder, Kovar Wealth Management
–Hi Taylor – I’ve got a couple different business ideas that I’m toying with, and I’m trying to decide if I need to choose one or if I can start two (or maybe three) operations. What do you think?
–Hey Brittany – First off, I admire your ambition and proactivity! As someone owned and run a handful of different businesses, I think it’s a great way to take charge of your life and career. That said, being a business owner is a lot of work—if you’re trying to start three at the same time, you might not have the energy to get any of them off the ground. Fortunately, a good plan and a sensible timeline can help you achieve all these goals.
- Don’t overextend yourself. This goes for both your time and your money. In the early stages, you have to tend to your operation pretty constantly. If you think you can multitask your way to running multiple companies successfully, you have to understand your attention really can’t be divided on vital business matters. Trying to handle all the paperwork for three fledgling companies would make anyone’s head spin. Worse still, you might overextend yourself financially. Even world-class entrepreneurs tend to lose money out of the gate, and if you’re losing money in two directions you might not be able to keep both engines running. If you’re honest with yourself, do you really think it’s feasible to start two companies at the same time?
- What’s your motivation? There are two ways to consider this question. First, why are you motivated to start a business in the first place? Are you looking to get rich, or do you want to be your own boss, or do you have a unique service you feel that only you can provide? If you don’t have a clear answer to this question, you have to be really careful about starting any kind of business. Since you’re considering multiple business ventures, which of those ideas gets you most excited? When you’re overworked and exhausted, what will motivate you to keep going? It can’t just be the prospect of making money; you need to care about what you’re doing so you keep at it even when the going gets rough.
- Plan out first steps. If you’re still not sure which direction you want to go, think about the first steps needed for all of your ideas. What can you accomplish today? What can you get done by the end of the week? If you take a practical approach, one enterprise might become the obvious choice just because it’s the path of least resistance. If you truly can’t decide between two different companies you want to launch, map out the initial steps for each of them and get started; one will become the clear frontrunner or you’ll end up with two businesses.
Running your own business is as challenging as it is rewarding. There’s nothing wrong with owning multiple companies, but you want to be strategic and not overwhelm yourself right out of the gate by doing too much. Good luck, Brittany!
