Though not everyone is cut to be a serial entrepreneur, they have some qualities and skills that can help or might inspire you. Curiosity and interest are important.
Young Entrepreneur Council shared the secrets behind the accomplishment of five accomplished serial entrepreneurs and the expertise you need in fully running more than one industry and become a moneymaking serial entrepreneur too.
Don't Spread Yourself Too Thin
The hardest part of running more than one business is time management. In a day, we are having 24 hours of precious time. According to Colin Wright, co-founder of publishing company Asymmetrical Press among other ventures, finding out how to get everything done in that time is one big wall to overcome.
"It's all about focus. Being able to focus is vital. It's just so easy to become overwhelmed or to spread yourself too thin. If you can't compartmentalize and apply yourself completely to one thing at a time, it's unlikely you'll get very far with any of your businesses," he added.
Streamline Your Resources And Energy
Like Wright, Kristopher Jones, CEO and founder of full-service search engine Optimization Company LSEO.com finds it hard to manage his limited time and effort.
One scheme that's made his problem convenient and even cost-effective is the allocation of resources and leadership characters across companies.
"I converted the office space of one of my businesses into an accelerator and had three other businesses share the space," says Jones. "This strategic decision allowed me to not only save money by sharing resources between companies (a conference room, a printer, Wi-Fi, financial accounting, an office manager) but allowed me to share key leaders across companies. For instance, my director of technology serves as a technical advisor for other start-ups within the accelerator," said Jones.
Don't Lead Alone
Starting as a serial entrepreneur is very hard and that's just the tip of the iceberg. When your businesses starts booming you will find it hard to manage everything on your own so Lisa Song, CEO of alcohol-infused cupcake brand Sin City Cupcakes and other companies guided that to make this more convenient, my advice is simple: Don't do it alone.
"I have strong partners in every single one of my endeavors. Identifying key operational leaders is crucial. Most entrepreneurs, myself included, tend to be very type-A and ascribe to the ideology that you can do most things yourself. While that may be true, you probably can't do it all well. Two brains are better than one, and you need input from partners/staff that you respect and value in order to maintain longevity as a serial entrepreneur."
Bring Enthusiasm To Every Venture
Having many ventures at a time is a herculean task and to survive you need to prioritize. Fam Mirza, CEO of charitable watch brand 1: Face along with other ventures said that I have created eight brands in various different industries. The hardest decision to make when running multiple projects is the allocation of time. I invest my time into the project which will create the most amount of value in the shortest period of time.
"Switching your brain from one project to the next is a difficult task for most. Think of it like a white board that's wiped clean but sometimes leaves a shadow on the board. The main trait a serial entrepreneur must possess is the ability to go from one failure to another with no lack of enthusiasm. You should enter every new venture with excitement and an enthusiastic state of mind," said Mirza.
Get Out Of Your Own Way
Managing multiple business can be nerve wracking so Joe Olsen, CEO and co-founder of agency growth platform Rova, adviced that what we can do is to get out of our own way.
"Every entrepreneur I know is comfortable in chaos and uncomfortable everywhere else. Put your crazy aside so you can deal with the craziness you're creating," Olsen said.
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