I grew up on a farm in Nebraska and my dad was a diversified farmer. This meant we had cows, pigs, chickens and a variety of crops. With this type of diversity we were always insured of multiple profit centers. If it was a bad year for soybeans then the price of corn may have been higher and carried us through. If hail wiped out an entire crop then we had the beef or pork to rely on.
Every business owner is similar to a farmer. Here are my top 3 analogies.
- Are you putting all your eggs in one basket? In other words, relying on one big client or one method of marketing for all your business income? This is very risky. What if it’s a bad year for soybeans?
- Are you giving away the farm? Do you continually give away free information and unpaid consulting time to help others? This practice cuts into your time and directly impacts the flow of income. People who take advantage of you this way are not ultimately whom you want to work with.
- Are you trying to do everything yourself? This is the biggest mistake entrepreneurs make. They try to feed all the chickens, plant the corn, bale the hay, do the books, work on the website and still spend quality time with the family. It’s impossible to do it all WELL and it’s exhausting. This is the best recipe for burnout and failure that I know of. We can only “do-it-ourselves” with the help from others.
I think I learned the true meaning of #3 when I was a teenager. A tornado ripped through our farm and destroyed everything around our home. It picked up buildings reducing them to toothpicks, livestock was destroyed, equipment was tossed in the air and smashed, some big oak trees were twisted and uprooted. To this day I am terrified of high winds and still hear that freight train sound in my head. When we emerged from the basement to see the destruction we were all devastated to tears. We were also thankful to be alive and that our home was spared. None of us slept that night. At dawn the next day the entire town showed up to help. Again, we were moved to tears and this time it was for gratitude. What an outpouring of human compassion! The thought of doing this entire cleanup ourselves was overwhelming. With the help of friends and neighbors the task was accomplished in 48 hours. Maybe you’ll think of this story when you’re feeling overwhelmed trying to do it all yourself.
Six questions to answer regarding YOUR business:
- What are your multiple profit centers?
- Can you create another one as an extension of what you already have or are doing?
- Could you turn those monthly ezine articles into an Ebook for sale?
- Do you have enough information to conduct a teleclass?
- Would a club or preferred membership work for your business?
- What is your BEST profit center?
Post your ideas about profit centers and multiple streams of income by clicking on the small icon that says “Leave a Comment” below.
Tags: Business Strategy, Small Business
