Is a Lack of a Singular Focus a Bad Thing?
I have been wondering lately if I am stretching myself too thin with all of my entrepreneurial pursuits. My challenge is that every time I convince myself to narrow down my pursuits, I go about cutting things out only to find that after a year or two I am right back with multiple business pursuits again.
Some of the possible motivations that drive me to pursue something new:
Inspiration – I am constantly analyzing, researching and looking at business opportunities. I love to read about successful entrepreneurs so that often inspires me.
Creativity – I love starting something from scratch. The thrill of birthing something fresh and new is an adrenaline and satisfaction buzz.
Financial – I won’t lie. I like the freedom money brings. I also want to be paid for my time. So finding lucrative opportunities always grabs my attention.
Core Belief – I have experienced entrepreneurial success. So I know I have the knowledge, skills and abilities to create something successful. But I seem to have a ceiling; I get to a certain level and can’t seem to break beyond that level.
Boredom – I thrive on creativity, variety and problem solving. So if I do something too much I either have to take a break or change things up.
Overwhelm – Sometimes, I can see what I need to do to bring my pursuit to the next level but it is daunting so I look somewhere else for ease.
It is probably a combination of all of these things that pushes me to my multi-pursuit business style. Should I relax and contend that it is simply a matter of my personality and that I need to have constant change and excitement to thrive? Should I accept the fact that I need multiple pursuits to thrive but is there a maximum number I should not exceed simply because I have limited time and energy?
Should I be looking at a way to maintain one pursuit before exploring the next?
On the flip side, am I distracted by the new, shiny option because I have found the current pursuits a struggle? In other words, am I not giving my current pursuits enough energy to really see them through to a stage where they will blossom?
Should I discipline myself to have more focus and use my creative energy to cause change within my current pursuits before going in a completely new direction?
As a former career coach (yes, a pursuit I eliminated after a couple of years), I’ll step back and ask myself what I’d tell a client in this situation.
I would suggest and support my client-self to really take a hard look at the pursuits and evaluate them against some criteria like:
Is this business bringing in consistent monthly revenue? Are there seasonal fluctuations that I need to be aware of and take into consideration?
Is the time, energy and financial resources I am putting into this business bringing me adequate return (i.e. what is my return on investment (ROI), investment being more than just financial)?
Is the business fun and inspirational?
Is the business meeting my core values and leading me towards my ultimate goals?
It makes logical sense to me to evaluate pursuits – existing and new – against benchmarks to help me determine what I need to focus on and what I need to let go.
To do this I need to, in no particular order:
• Gather stats on financial inputs (investments), time and energy inputs, and resource allocations (equipment, space, etc.) and the corresponding outputs (revenue and profit) for the last year for each pursuit. Then, I'll take a hard look at the stats to determine whether there is consistency with revenue and ROI. Then, I'll compare my pursuits to see which ones offer the most consistency and best ROI.
• Rate each pursuit on a fun and inspiration scale: On a scale of 1-10, a 1 means it bores me often and is uninspiring and a 10 means I can’t wait to work on it!
• Clearly define my core values and ultimate goals and then rate each pursuit as to whether it is in line with my values and its potential to meet my ultimate goals.
What do you think? Does this evaluation seem like a logical next step if you were my mentor or coach? Are you in the same boat and if you are, would you like to do this exercise together? Please respond with a comment or story about your own struggles with focus and entrepreneurship. I have a feeling we are not alone in this struggle.
Just keep building talents.
Nothing is every truly wasted when you invest time in yourself. If a particular business idea doesn't work out, it may have been too early - not an outright bad decision.
As you've probably seen, sometimes something comes along that is a perfect fit for what you know at that time, all due to your previous efforts.
Just keep doing what you truly want to do, the rest comes naturally.
Best photos I ever seen.