Now I tend to answer two questions at a time, but this week a question comes in that I want to cover off in a little bit more detail. So I'm just going to answer one because it's a big one. So the question is, is running multiple businesses stressful? If so, is it worth the stress? Who do you know? I'll share with you that I have noticed in the moment a lot of my clients Now, this might be a little self-fulfilling circle, like it might be a little self-fulfilling thing that's going on at the moment. You know, when you can end up in a little bit of an echo chamber.
But it seems like everybody at the moment is opening another business, like a second business or doing multiple businesses. And I know that I am one of them. And I know that this is you know, the question is about that. And I think lots of people are thinking about it. And I think it's because people are seeing a lot of opportunity after COVID, like the world's changed a little bit and it's changing a lot. It is changing quite dramatically, actually. And people are seeing lots of opportunities. So people are willing to kind of try out and test out things. And so it's a really good question. But my honest answer, yes, it is really fucking stressful. Like a think about this. Don't go and open a new business because you're stressed out or you can't fix your original business. My original business, like the original business Inge Hunter, wasn't broken.
It didn't need fixing. I saw an opportunity with Clue and I thought, Fuck it I'm going to go for it now. I'm in a position now where I can go for Clue and I can run clue really, really effectively because I have the resources behind me to be able to do so. I only have those resources because the first company is running successfully and profitably and is propping me up clues doing well, and it's making money and it's like kind of come out of the starting gate.
That's only because I'm not an idiot like it. If I didn't have my original business in the Hunter and I just went for Clue, like it really would not be as successful as it is being now, because I wouldn't have the resources in terms of finances, but also in terms of market capture, in terms of audience, in terms of like people that are interested and willing and like people who already own a network, for example, that's like a really good resource if you don't have those in place.
And if I didn't have those in place, then I wouldn't have done it at all. It costs money to start up a business like you. You can just stop telling people what you want to do. But my suggestion is to, you know, have an Instagram account that's running and rolling a website. You have a way for people to book. You spend money with you. You're going to have to have some sort of software set up. You're going to have contracts done. You're going to have to have to pay HMRC to set up a company, you know, So there's a lot of stress that goes into it and it is genuinely like, yes, it is very stressful, I think. But what I'm trying to say is I think it I know it would be like hugely more success. Six Stressful if I didn't have the resources in place to be able to kind of throw money at it, I guess at the beginning and really, really go for it now. You can get those resources in place by going things like grants or VC funding or angel investment.
I didn't. I went in with my own money and you know, that's not fair. I did win £1,000 grant from the IPC, which helped go towards my launch of use, little bit of it for marketing. It's really stressful. Like the biggest stressful thing is being able to manage your time or turn off from one, open up the other one. Like I have to actively shut my mind off of one business to then be able to start working on the second business. And I've run both businesses legally and financially separately. And so that's a big stress in a bow. Like, like just think of everything you've got going on in one business and then multiply not even by two.
It's by like three, I'd say, because it's not just one business. And the second thing, it's like one business and the second one, but then thinking of creative ways to keep the first one going and get the second one growing because the second business should not be there to replace the first business. Otherwise you might as well shut the first visit down. Just put all your resources into one. When you're running multiple businesses, it is genuinely multiple businesses. You have to keep one going. You are spinning literally like that circus thing, spinning multiple plates at the same time. So you need to be okay with that and you need to be in a place where you have a positive community and the resources to be able to do so.
I would say, Is it worth the stress? I have never once in my life been hospitalized to stress and I already have done in the first four months of opening up the second business. So that's a big sign. But I don't know. I wouldn't have it any other way. I find both businesses really exciting. I think they have to be kind of like, I find it helpful because they're complementary to each other but serve very different things and very different. They're very different service points for different businesses, but I don't know if I'll be running two businesses forever into the future or multiple businesses. I mean, I started off the year with three and I already kicked one out. One of them really just I wouldn't go more than two, like on one of them just really, really was not serving.
And it was very, very clear very, very quickly when I opened up and had three, that the total business just really, really wasn't wasn't working and wasn't serving like the concept worked in the way that it was set up, worked, the business structures worked, but it just it wasn't working for me. I don't think if you want something to be successful, then running multiple businesses like massively successful running multiple businesses is a good idea.
I find myself often wishing I had more time in one business or wishing I had more time and the other business and constantly feeling like I'm not ever doing enough for one business. And I know that I could be doing more for another business because one thing I've had to do as well is it's forced me to bring in a team and hire in a team very quickly because I don't have the time to run multiple businesses.
So again, I think it really comes down to loads of resources. Like if you have the resources available, then go for it. And if you're genuinely kind of giving the ideas and then people, then you're farming the work off, let's say, then go for it. But you just don't want one to suffer for the other one and you don't want the other one to suffer for one. Like is such a balance. And I'm genuinely, totally like fresh to holding multiple businesses and I'm recording this end of April. The second business clue properly started up in January, so be running two. I can run three businesses for the beginning of the year, but two for January, February, March, April, four months. And I'm already feeling all of these things.
I can see huge potential in both businesses and both businesses excite me. And so personally, I think it's worth the stress at the moment because I can see what the long term plan is of both businesses. I can see where they're going. It's very like it's hugely, massively clear to me. But yeah, I guess I feel a failure on all accounts because I know that I'm not running either to its full capacity. Like, for example, I know that I need to do a shit ton or there are so many more marketing possibilities in Clue and I'm being a little bit lazy with the way that I'm marketing clay because I'm resting on the audience. I have four in the Hunter and one Hunter business should be doing a lot more PR, It should be looking for more media opportunities to be looking for more speaking opportunities.
But I'm so busy putting things in place for Clue that I'm not giving a hunter that time. So I would say you have to be, I think with that will have a system and structure in place to be able to manage that and financially like it's kind of good actually, because I've got money coming in from different sources kind of all the time at the moment. Like there's always money flowing in. I've not got a cash flow worry, but like I said, I do that. That's only like a mindset thing, I think because I do run both businesses totally legally and financially separate. So having that in place means I have to be very, very strict with myself about that. Like there is no cross over finances between businesses. One doesn't pay for the other, the other doesn't pay for one. So that I know that each one in my mind has to be completely financial, separate from the other. Otherwise they're not really separate businesses. It's just two services under the same business, you know what I mean? So stressful is the right word. I think you have to be willing to run at it.
I said to someone the other day, it's like running through a hedge with your eyes open, but knowing that there's going to be another side to it like that, there is an end to all kinds of things you don't know. You just have to trust yourself. Sometimes I think it is worth the stress because I'm at this kind of privileged place now in my life and business where I feel like I can't lose because I don't think there's any such thing as losing.
We're all playing a game, right? And I'm still going to wake up every day. And every day that comes is a much more interesting position than the previous day because I'm at again, like it might be quite a privilege point, but I'm at this point where like the businesses are both in a growth phase and there's more opportunities every day, every day, every day. So I'm finding it really interesting to play with what that looks like and to grow with what that looks like and to see what that looks like in the new capacities. And so I don't feel like I can fail because every day I'm like, Oh, cool. All right, what could we do next to push it? Oh, what did this look like if we did this with it?
So it is stressful, but it's playful and I feel like I can't lose. So I'm a little bit like, fuck it, why not? You know, because what's the worst that happens? What's the genuine worst thing that happens? I get stressed. Yeah. I ended up in the hospital because of stress. Yeah. Yeah. I feel like a failure all the time, but I forget. God, I'm so, you know, similar on all chances. Your question is running multiple businesses stressful? Yes. Is it worth the stress? Yes. But also ask me that question in three is not worth the stress. If neither one of them was running profitably with positive cash flow. Because I find money super stressful. And on that night, why don't you ask me a question?
So this podcast runs this section of the podcast runs on you asking your anonymous questions. Anything you want to ask. It can be ugly, it can be overbearing. It doesn't even have to be business-like. It can just be, I don't know, what's the word? Life. My God, how did I forget the word for life? You could ask me about life, you know, rebuy anything that you ask me and I'll tell you totally, honestly.
So if you want to ask a question, then please go to this link HERE and you'll find a link to a Google form where you can just ask them if you're happy with being anonymous. You can also just send me an email and I'll answer it.
Until next time. Inge x
Commentaires