For most people, one successful business is usually enough to fulfill major life aspirations. Still, some might want to re-experience the challenge of establishing a new business by incorporating more than one business in their name. For this particular minority, it may be difficult to stay on their toes all the time, especially if all businesses run by an individual necessitate making major decisions rapidly. If you resonate with the statement above, this blog could be just for you!
How do you succeed if you’re running more than one business?
- Use separate business accounts: If you’re running multiple businesses, it can be a good idea to open a dedicated business account for each of your ventures. Having separate business accounts for each of your companies can help you in several ways, such as:
- Easier tax planning: As a business owner, you would be required to file tax returns for all your ventures that have profits. Having a separate business account can ease the tax reporting and planning process, as the funds of each of your companies will be kept and handled separately.
- Better legal compliance: In case one of your companies has to face some conflicts or liabilities, your other ventures are less likely to incur financial downturns if finances are kept separate.
- Increased financial transparency: When the gains and losses of all your ventures are reported separately, it will become easier for you to gauge the financial health of each of your companies. Likewise, it’ll help you set priorities and identify areas of improvement.
- Employ automated systems: Automation has been dominating every industry for nearly two decades, so why should your businesses remain as exceptions? Consider integrating automated systems in your workflow for mundane tasks that add less value to your businesses compared to the time they take to be completed. Some systems that you can employ in your businesses are:
- Expense management systems: It’s ethical for businesses to reimburse employees when employees have to pay out of pocket for business-related expenses. However, the reimbursement process isn’t that straightforward or quick. Expense management systems can automate the process of filing and approving reimbursement requests by seamlessly integrating with business accounts, saving time and energy for your financial teams.
- Accounts payables and receivables: Good vendor and client relationships form the backbone of any successful business. For each of your ventures, try employing separate account payables and receivables systems so that you never miss a payment due date.
- Tax reporting systems: Calculating and keeping track of tax-related information can be monotonous, which is why tax reporting systems enter the picture. With tax reporting systems, your financial teams will be able to generate reports quickly.
- Set priorities: While the thought of dedicating equal time and attention to each of your businesses might sound like the norm, the reality is that it isn’t. Business growth is a dynamic process, and it’s completely normal for one of your ventures to demand more of your attention than the rest. Some instances when you might have to prioritize one venture over the others may include:
- Introduction of a new project: If one of your ventures is anticipating a major project launch that requires you to stay invested in it at all times, it can be a good idea to divert your focus on one company briefly.
- Significant financial hurdles or downturns: Financial hurdles are a nightmare for all business owners, and this is only amplified if you have to manage more than one business. If one of your companies is facing continuous losses, now would be the right time to intervene and figure out what’s going wrong.
- Internal conflicts: Conflicts impede productivity and business growth. If any of your companies are dealing with an internal conflict, that resolution should be prioritized.
- Share a location: It is a great idea to share the same location for all your businesses. It may include renting different office spaces within the same building or renting multiple spaces within the same locality. This tactic can have several benefits, such as:
- Lesser commute time: When you’ll be required to travel long distances less frequently, you will not only be saving money but also time. It would translate to being able to invest more time into business growth.
- Increased productivity: Productivity will increase if you can easily switch between two spaces, allowing you to spend calculated time for each of your businesses.
- Increased supervision: When all your businesses are quartered in proximity to each other, it becomes easier for you to supervise all business operations.
- Build a strong team: Lastly, human resources is going to remain one of the top growth factors for all your ventures. No matter if you’re in a situation where you’re required to focus on one business, your team composition is something you should never compromise on. There are several ways in which you can build a strong team, such as:
- Bringing in experts: It can be a good idea to leverage your network to search for experts that can help you skyrocket your business growth.
- Closely assessing performance: A strong team is diverse and productive. Thus, you must assign metrics that can help assess the performance of your teammates.
- Being helpful: Lastly, provide support to your team whenever they require your intervention. Be patient and supportive at all times.
Conclusion
Running multiple businesses is a challenging yet rewarding pursuit. To be able to drive growth across all businesses that you own, it’s important to integrate technology, remain calm, patient, and supportive, and seek help whenever required.
