Should you branch out into something new?

Thinking about branching out? Opening a new space, moving into wholesale, starting a delivery service, offering catering. There are lots of options that you might have in mind to grow your business. As an entrepreneur there’s a reasonable chance that you’re partial to a shiny new challenge. As a small business owner in the food and hospitality industry there’s a reasonable chance that you are making less money than you would ideally like. These are both reasons that might be contributing to the draw of a new venture. Before you dive in headfirst; two things to think about, what are the real reasons you want to branch out and do you know what is or isn’t working in your current set-up?

So, what are the real reasons you're thinking about doing something new? Is it because you want an exciting new challenge or is it because your current set-up isn't working and you're clutching at straws? If you are happy with the amount of money you are making and the amount and type of work that you are doing in your business and you simply fancy mixing things up a bit, go ahead. There’s lot to be gained from a new challenge.  If however, there are things in your business that are not working for you; you need to think about why that is and whether something new is the solution to that or a simply a distraction. That’s not to say that you can’t pivot and expand whilst also working to improve what already exists but it’s a bit like that saying, ‘wherever you go, there you are’, or to put it another way you can’t outrun yourself. If you create something new without addressing what isn’t working in your existing set-up there’s a good chance you will simply have the same problems with the shiny new thing. Don’t busy yourself with distractions to avoid dealing with the difficult and frustrating parts of your business.

Perhaps you already have several elements to your business. Are they all working? And by working, I mean are they all contributing to your goals, financial and otherwise, to an extent that is proportionate to the time and energy that you put into them? This is where your numbers are important. You need to have a clear understanding of how much money the different elements of your business both generate and cost. We are prone to ignoring those numbers when we suspect they might tell us things we ‘d rather not know. If there is something, whether that’s a location, a service, a product or an income stream that isn’t contributing financially we should seriously consider letting it go. If you are hanging onto something that doesn’t make sense from a money perspective, ask yourself why. If it’s something that brings you joy to offer and you feel confident that given the time and the right input, it will start to pull its weight financially then that's one thing. If you are hanging onto something because of the sunk costs, because you don’t want it to seem like a failure or because a small group of customers might not like it if you let it go, then it’s time to reconsider.

If you a food or hospitality business owner and some of these challenges are sounding uncomfortably familiar book a call with me for an informal chat about how we could work together.