Owning more than one business is both impressive and beneficial, but also time-consuming and stressful. In these modern days and especially in big cities like Toronto, many CEOs handle more than one business company at a time, usually in the same field of work. A person who can balance more than one team of workers is certainly a hard-working and responsible individual, yet their time might be limited. There are also other cons when being in charge of multiple entities, yet the pros can be just as impactful. Let’s dive into it.
One pro and effective reason on why a person(s) would handle multiple businesses is due to the higher income. The more active forms of revenue you have, the more money you make. Additionally, having more than one company can be useful during certain economic hardships, such as a recession or a slowdown with a specific industry. Having different companies in different fields of work can ensure that you have a backup plan in case one business fails or becomes sluggish. Interestingly enough, you can fund one of your businesses with income from one of your more successful ventures, creating financial stability.
Another pro is a broader and vast network, reaching out to different people and businesses in the market. In fact, some entrepreneurs start off this way by starting different small businesses, obtaining customers, suppliers, and collaborators. After meeting these people, the CEO will learn from the information they collected on what ventures were more successful. They can also learn from collaborators and colleagues on what business they should focus on, allowing for a larger network of connections. Finding out your true line of work might never have been possible if you hadn’t started off with two or more companies, to see where you belong in the industry.
Having different companies under your supervision is beneficial, but it does come with cons, especially when you want differentiate these separate businesses. You will have to make sure it isn’t confusing to tell them apart. You are also responsible for more than one team of workers, and you need to be present for all important events, which can be time-consuming. It would be odd for the boss (you) not to be present at one company’s Christmas event or IPO, as they are special occasions that require your presence. You may even forget one business if it is the smallest and quietest of your businesses. Refusing to be active with one company will cause a rift with your workers and can lead to a dissolution of that specific organization. The con is further emphasized when you have multiple problems facing your different companies.
Your business is subject to issues that may arise, minor or major, and it is up to you to address these problems. One significant problem can be hiring workers at different ventures and not having the time to decide if they are truly hard workers or not. This can add to your stress, especially when you feel overwhelmed by other issues. Even worse, it is possible to forget about these small issues, which will surely grow and not go away, becoming a major problem for you and your workers in the future. One such problem can be financial stability with one business, where no real income is being generated. You may close that organization and your workers will be unemployed afterwords. This con is a realistic situation for many people, and it is up to you and your management team to prevent this. Being updated on issues and worker performance is all up to you, even if you trust your managers with that. You are the boss and responsible for any significant situation, again adding to the weight of your responsibility.
After reviewing all these pros and cons, it is ultimately up to you to decide if you want to run multiple companies. Take into consideration, having separate businesses can mean you won’t have a specific brand title, a slogan that defines your business but again, it is your decision. Remember, there is a lot of responsibility involved in this scenario, and only when you feel you can handle such great responsibilities, then you should feel ready to be in charge of more than one business.
Babak Eslami | Writer
