It’s imperative I draw your attention to the baskets.
It’s important that no matter what business we are in, how big or small our business is, that we don’t religiously rely on that one particular business to keep us going strong at all times.
I do realise I may start an atmosphere of the ‘great depression’ here, however without intentionally trying to lower anybody’s passion, drive or ambition to run and grow an undoubtedly great business, it’s crucially vital to know that ‘putting all of your eggs in one basket’ is a risk on its own.
What goes up – must come down
Its simple science really isn’t it? And this rule applies to business as well; we may just call this formula of ‘gravity’ in various different names.
Businesses start from ground zero, they grow, they reach a saturation point, they stagnate (if business is not developed and diversified enough) and eventually, will start downward decline. Almost like the circle of life, there’s a start and an end to everything.
Therefore, as we lay down foundations for our next generations to benefit from our existence in life (by buying a house, investing on funds, stocks, property, whatever it may be) we also need to ensure we lay a continuum for our business life to stay fertile and alive for years to come.
Keep on creating, keep on diversifying, keep on re-inventing and re-generating.
Diversify your portfolio
Once you start your business, it’s important to remember to vision and map out the bigger picture, where it all fits in.
For example, if you have a hair salon business – you may in the future think about opening make-up services to complement the business and its portfolio. If you run a restaurant, you may wish to launch cooking evenings to enhance your revenue streams. Perhaps you own a marketing agency and your portfolio could be further enriched with a web design agency or a creative agency. The possibilities are endless. Perhaps you want to consider partnerships with other businesses.
The important thing to consider from day one is: Don’t rely on one business only. Have a plan to scale up, branch out and diversify.
Focus on what works
As much as we can be passionate about our businesses and ideas, sometimes things just don’t work out as planned, or we don’t get our ‘love’ returned the way we thought we would.
When rejected, it’s imperative we don’t escape to our caves to mourn, but instead – we should be ready to navigate. Ready to change direction and ready to weather the storm with high spirits.
There’s so much to be said about persistence and patience, however even more about focus and agility. If you don’t have all eggs in one basket, it’s highly likely that one or the other of the services or products you have to offer will work. We can’t expect everything to work perfectly without some ‘challenging times’, however if we focus our efforts right, we can ensure something works, at any given time.
Focus and follow the markets.
Know what the demand is at all times and when to expect lower seasons. For example, you can’t expect to sell Pimm’s during the winter season, however this does not mean it won’t sell like hot cakes during the summer.