Because I do a lot of networking with very small business
owners, i meet a lot of dual business owners. These are
people, usually women, who own two businesses (or more).
As a solopreneur, your resources are limited – that is,
time and mo'ney. Managing and marketing one business is
already a full-time job, so if your two businesses don't
share the same target market, you may struggle – a lot.
Sharing the same target market allows you to refer business
to yourself, and if your two products/services are related,
this is smoother. For example, if you are involved with
two different MLMs whose products are both wellness
related, you can easily market both to the same people.
Or, if you have a service business and also sell products
that go hand in hand with your service, you can easily
market those two businesses together. A good example of
this is being a Nutritionist and Dietician and selling food
supplements.
In fact, having two very closely related businesses that
solve the same problems for the same people can be a
brilliant combination and can increase your sales
dramatically with little additional work.
If, on the other hand, your businesses don't solve the same
problems or don't serve the same target market, you will
have more challenges – mostly involving shortages of your
resources of time and mo'ney. One example I have seen is
when a business owner's primary business is in coaching,
mortgages or finance, and their secondary business is more
creative, like photography or acting. These two businesses
are marketed very differently in different locations and to
different people.
Another example is someone who just has two distinctly
different businesses because they are interesting and
exciting to them.iI know someone who markets air and water
purifiers and coffee service catering. Both businesses are
solid, credible businesses, but can be difficult to market
by one person.
One problem that comes with marketin two distinct products
or services is that you are the only employee in the
business. You are in charge of delivering the
product/service, selling it, marketing it, doing the
bookkeeping and the other administrative tasks (like email,
computer, filing and invoicing) and keeping up with
educational requirements.
The other main issue is that most people I meet try to
market everything on one website, with one business card to
the same groups of people. Honestly, people look for
reasons not to do business with you and if they feel like
you are not an expert at any particular thing, you're out.
to resolve that problem, you will need to create and
maintain two distinct marketing plans with two websites,
two business cards and two sets of strategies to two
distinct target markets.
The reason why this sounds overwhelming is because it is!
Do yourself a
favor either pick two businesses that are
manageable and complimentary, that you can market to the
same group of people, or just pick one. If you don't, you
may not enjoy the journey and you could burn out after
awhile. Nobody wants that! After you become wealthy, you
can have a second business as a hobby – just for fun – no
stress!
Audrey Burton - Small Business Coach, I "the tigress ". Get
her Special Report, "Closing the Sale is not
Complicated!" and her free monthly email newsletter at
http://www.TigressCoaching.com
