There are many globally notable entrepreneurs running multiple startups. It is characteristic, even in Zimbabwe or anywhere, for people to have more than one business. One business is already daunting as it is, so having more is no easy task. Regardless, having multiple businesses can be a good way to diversify and widen your revenue base. In this article, I want us to discuss tips on running multiple businesses effectively. This will help those already running multiple businesses or those aspiring to. It is possible just as long as you do what we shall talk about.

Order Your Business Rightly And Handle Them Proportionately

No two businesses are ever the same. They will always differ in size, complexity, revenue, and so on. From your multiple businesses, you should determine their levels of priority. For example, Elon Musk divides most of his time between Tesla and SpaceX. However, he does have several more companies e.g. The Boring Company, Solar City, and Neuralink. That suggests to you that his top priority companies are Tesla and SpaceX.

Typically from Monday to Wednesday, he mainly focuses on SpaceX. Then Thursday and Friday, he focuses most on Tesla. In between and the rest of the week, he mixes up allocating time to wherever urgent attention is needed. That is an example of the system you should adopt. Prioritize rightly and allocate time proportionately – build a weekly schedule from that.

Delegate Tasks As Much As Possible

Still using the Elon Musk example, we can look into delegation. I mentioned that he has several more companies, e.g. The Boring Company, Solar City, and Neuralink. Yet he does not seem to dedicate even full days to any of them. How, then, do those companies continue to operate well? The answer is delegation. This means his focus on his other companies might need him always to be there. At times he might be physically there only for meetings. Otherwise, he can make decisions any other time without having to be onsite. That is the same approach you need to adopt for your multiple businesses. Ultimately you will find yourself juggling them all with ease.

The delegation element does not necessarily apply to basic management. It also applies to hiring experts to handle complex tasks or operations. One of the things that makes one spend too much time on something is complexities. This is because you will be trying to figure out things in areas that do not come naturally to you. That is why you need to either hire permanently or outsource experts in certain areas. Examples of such could be accounting, marketing, and the like. Most business people skirt this because they do not want to incur costs. You must appreciate that effective delegation will always incur costs. You can avoid that, but it is for your good and the good of your companies.

Create Some Time And Space To Recharge And Review

Running multiple companies often means you will work all 7 days of the work. This can be inevitable, but that should not stop you from having a breather. Wherever possible, find time to rest and sleep well. You still have to prioritize your 6 to 8 hours of sleep. That thing of 4 hours of sleep is not healthy for you at all. During the day, occasionally take short breaks. A simple 15 minutes of relaxation after a task makes a huge difference. Then find time before a new week starts to review the just ended (or ending) week. Even daily, schedule some time to review that day. This will help you strategize better and tweak your upcoming schedules accordingly. All this will make running your multiple businesses easier.

Collect Data, Analyse It And Always Make Evidence-Based Decisions

In all you do, you must not rely on making assumptions or random decisions. You must create a framework for data mining so that you can analyse data for strategy formulation. The basic idea is to see what is working and what it is not. Do this as much as possible in your various operations. I have spoken a lot about having a customer relationship management (CRM) system. It is pivotal in making evidence-based decisions in managing the customer dynamics of your businesses. It will help maximize the use of your time. You will not waste time firefighting because you almost always make the right decisions.

The Right Tools And The Right People

We discussed delegation as a tip to effectively run multiple businesses. We also cited CRM for collecting and analysing data for effective decision-making. These two aspects bring to the fore yet another important tip – the right people and the right tools. You need to work with the right people, i.e. employees, management, partners, authorities, suppliers, and so on. Build a team of shareholders and stakeholders, then lighten your burden.

They should be the kind of people that are collaborative and have your best interests at heart. This is then buttressed by having the right tools. This mostly comes in the form of digital platforms to streamline your work. There are many of them to use for your businesses. I cited 5 examples of such tools in an article I did on digital tools to use in 2022 for your business. Those were examples of the many useful tools you can use.

You will never go wrong with these 5 tips for effectively running multiple businesses. It all boils down to how you manage people and processes. Of which all of that takes proper planning. Bear in mind that the goal is not just to run multiple businesses. The objective should be to run multiple businesses successfully. If one is not working out, it can be wise to discontinue it where needs be. You stand a better chance of running a couple of them than too many.