Should You Start More Than One Business at Once? Watch This to Help You Decide

It was so aggressive. You liked it though. A little bit.

Hey, it’s Marie Forleo and you are watching MarieTV, the place to be if you want to create a business and life you love. And I think you do. Now, if you are a multipassionate entrepreneur who is torn between two business ideas, this episode is for you. Today’s question comes from Tiffany who writes:

“Hi, Marie. Your videos have truly kept me afloat and motivated. Like you, I consider myself a multipassionate entrepreneur. I’m a full time bridal designer just getting my company off the ground. In addition to my bridal business, I love self care and motivating others. Sometimes I feel like I have too many passions and I always hit a wall not knowing what my next steps are. I’d love to know: how can I focus on building my bridal business and still build a platform for my personal self care/motivation business as well? Thanks so much, Tiffany.”

Tiffany, I love your question. And you are so not alone in this struggle, girl. Most creatives have more than one thing they want to focus on and it always creates some challenges. Now, there’s no one size fits all answer to this question, and in order to find the best path ahead for you, the first thing you’ve got to do is get really clear on your goals – both in the short term and the long term.

So for instance, if fast growth and a greater chance of higher revenue more quickly are really important to you right now, focus on just one business. I mean, give your everything to that business and trust that you can always start a second business or you can transition to another business a little further down the road.

Now, on the other hand, if you’re like me and you must, must, must do more than one thing because both these ideas are just burning a hole right through your heart, know that you can do that but there are consequences. Now, the positive ones include being able to strengthen different skills and learn more about what you like and what you don’t like. But on the downside, you need to be okay with growing each business perhaps a little more slowly, likely making less money, and you’ve got to embrace the fact that your life will probably be a little more messy and chaotic.

Now, here’s an analogy that might help you decide. Let’s think about this in terms of one of my favorite topics: food. You can either have one main dish business or a main dish business with a little side dish business.

Now, each of them has their pros and cons. So, for example, if you choose just one main dish business you keep things really simple. Right? I mean, everything is on one plate and you always know your next steps or your next bite. It allows you to really focus. You can really dig in and most of the time you can move a lot faster. You do run the risk of a little bit of boredom though. 

Now, if you want a main dish and a side dish business, then first you need to decide which business is going to be the main and which is going to be the side. Next thing, you’ve got to realize you’re always going to be going back and forth between the two plates and the meal will likely take a lot longer.

So it’s often more fun when you’ve got two dishes because there’s variety, but you never know. You might wind up liking a side dish more than your main dish.

Are you still working on that main business?

You know what? I’m done.

Would you like it to go?

Nah. Not really feeling it.

Was there something wrong with it?

You know, it was fine. I’m just really loving this side business. You know, can I get this one as an entree?

Certainly. Everybody is loving their side business.

The bottom line, you have a menu of really great choices in front of you. And all of them, quite frankly, can be satisfying and fulfilling in their own way. Now, the secret to making the best choice is to really step back, get ultra clear on what you most want in your heart both in the short term and the long term, and then make a choice and have total faith that you are on the perfect path for you.

And Tiffany, so you know, I actually have a lot more to say on this topic. I created specific exercises and tools and worksheets especially for us multipassionate muffins. It’s all in an online program called Start The Right Business.

And the thing that I love most about this program that I haven’t seen anywhere else is that it helps you try on different futures and get crystal clear about your goals and your values and your unique vision so you can bring it to life through a custom-designed business that’s perfect for your strengths and for the kind of life that you most want to have. You should really go check it out. It is beyond powerful and it’s literally guaranteed to help. You can learn more at StartTheRightBusiness.com.

Now, let’s land this plane on a Tweetable.

“The first step to a successful business is getting clear on how you define success.”

And that was my A to your Q, Tiffany. I really do hope it helps. Now I would love to hear from you. Have you ever felt torn between two businesses or two careers? Are you going through that right now? So I want to know. If you are going through that right now, what’s your biggest takeaway from this particular episode? And if you’ve been there and done that, what wisdom can you share with Tiffany and everyone else based on your experience? Leave a comment below and let everybody know.

Now, as always, the very best conversations happen after the episode at MarieForleo.com, so go there and leave a comment now. Once you’re there, be sure to subscribe to our email list and become an MF Insider. You want to be one because you’re going to get instant access to a powerful audio training I created called How To Get Anything You Want. For reals. You’re also going to get some exclusive content, special giveaways, and some personal updates from me that I just don’t share anywhere else.

Stay on your game and keep going for your dreams because the world needs that special gift that only you have. Thank you so much for watching and I’ll catch you next time on MarieTV.

Have you been thinking about starting your own business? Is fear, confusion, or overwhelm slowing you down? We can fast track your growth and save you years of expensive trial and error. Get the guidance you need to make your dream business come to life, guaranteed. Learn more at StartTheRightBusiness.com.

No. We don’t. We don’t get Marie giggly.

Zach, put your farts back in your butt.

I wanna go Hulk them and go like, “I crush you all.”

Does anyone know what a delicate flower I am?