This is something most of the Tech Collective team is very familiar with. There is often the opportunity, but can you take advantage of it by spreading yourself thin and managing multiple companies or services.
This can lead to stress or in some case, failure as you spread yourself too thin to manage even one company or service. We look at the wise words of Ron Swanson to understand more.
However, as a team, we’ve had some success in being able to manage multiple ventures and still maintain some form of sanity.
Over time, we’ve come to realise while there is no secret sauce, there are a few common aspects to how we run our businesses and still manage to be effective.
Can you run a successful startup as a hobby?
Evaluate the commitment required
Entrepreneurs can be very confident and often think they handle everything. We’ve all been guilty of this, but have learned from those mistakes.
After many years, we have a good understanding of what we can manage at any given time, and you really need to evaluate every opportunity on a case-by-case basis, as they all have varying levels of commitment requirements in terms of energy and time.
You need to love what you do
So there’s a difference between being successful at your job and being able to juggle multiple roles and companies.
When you are juggling several different ventures, you really do need to love what you do, or you will neglect the ones that you don’t. Think of it as managing passion projects rather than working multiple jobs.
Productivity is the only thing that matters
Managing multiple business ventures is complicated and requires time. The one thing you are in completely short supply of at the moment. However, there is a way around it.
You need to structure your day better and manage your time more effectively. This will make every hour more productive so you can assign time to each venture. This takes practice and a commitment to a structured way of working.
The joys and downside of working remotely
Your team is crucial
Do not, I repeat, do not be stingy in your hiring. You need to build a team that is self-reliant and does not need hand-holding of any sort.
One of the most eye-opening aspects of the team’s importance was in respect to their ability to give you a stress-free life. Mark Cuban once said that one of the most important traits of an employee is to make your life stress-free. These people will be invaluable as they can operate it successfully without you being present.
Understand the worst-case scenario
This may sound like doubt, but it is important to understand what could go wrong. New partners or founders can mean new dynamics and misunderstood roles and capabilities. One of the biggest mistakes was taking on a business partner that did not understand how my time was split between my different ventures. His immediate reaction was to try to secure a controlling interest in a company I built from the ground up.
The what-ifs are as important for the negative as they are the positive, when it comes to building your brand.
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Tech Collective Talks is a new segment where we discuss matters that our partners, startup founders, and staff feel is important enough to spend time around it. We discuss it as a group and from it, we craft a story to share with our readers.
If you’ve got something on your mind, drop us a note here and we’ll see if we can include it in the next session.