Do any of you run more than one business?

[VirtualAssistant2011]

I have been working as a Virtual Assistant for nearly 3 years now, things have been very quiet since Christmas so have not been able to pay myself much for the last 2 months. I have been thinking about opening a second business, something ebay related I think, does anyone else run more than one business, or is it better to put all your efforts into just one business?

Any advice or experiences apprectiated.

Perhaps it's just time to move on? I think it's not a great idea to start a 2nd business because your first isn't doing well...not unless you shut up shop on the original one.

I think you'd be better putting all your energy into a new concern rather than keeping 10% back for one that's failing.

If you freelance and the work drips in...then by all means, continue to accept anything new that comes along but don't waste energy promoting the old one.

It would seem a shame to give it up as for nearly 2 years out of the 3 years(It took about a year to get it up and running and going well) it has provided me with a better income than if I worked part time for somebody else. It's just been dry the last 2 months so wondered if maybe it is worth having something else to run along side it. My DP thinks I should just work hard at marketing my current business instead, so I am a bit confused at the moment as I have not had to deal with a dry period before.

Hi Virtual,

Yes I run 3 - not really businesses - just self employed in three areas. I am a recruiter during the week, a window dresser at weekends and one day a week (Monday) I work with a designer bringing in New Business for her.

I find a lot of people who are self employed usually have a part time job to ensure they have some regular money coming in. What sort of work are you looking for?

Why not market your business? It'll be a good experience because there are always down spells in business.

I read somewhere that if you have the energy, then having more than one business is a good idea. You know your life, your schedule and demands on your time, so you know if you can fit this in. I think an eBay business would be a good back up as you can make it more or less busy according to how well the Virtual Assistant work is going.

By the way, do you/have you ever tried People Per Hour for advertising? I am in a completely different field to you and wonder if it's worth putting an ad on there? People seem so cheap, charging much much less than I think the job is worth....

Yes that is what I thought about the ebay, I can make it more busy when I am quiet with the Virtual work, just need to think of something to sell on there!

I have used People per Hour, I have had a couple of clients come from there, but a lot of the work is not worth bidding on as people are offering below the minimum wage.

I think you may as well go for your 2nd business idea. As you say, you can increase focus on that when VA work is slow. It would be a shame to stop your VA work altogether, but I think if I were you, I would set up your eBay business then concentrate on marketing your current business too.

As an aside, do you already have a good eBay idea? I think it's probably a lot harder to run a successful eBay business than it first seems, as there is so much cheap (and sometimes low quality) stuff that sells on eBay, so competition is fierce.

I am just thinking of clearing out all our old stuff on ebay first and then see if I get any inspiration of something which I could start selling, I have no idea what yet though, I can imagine it is very competitve but I will give it a try!

Thanks guys, you have given me the confidence to have a go at my 2nd ebay idea, I don't want to close my first business down as it was giving me a living wage before, for the last 2 months it has given me a small wage and covered my overheads, this month so far it looks like I will just cover my overheads :( But it could just be a dry period so I think ebay will fit in well (if I can think of an idea of what to sell!).

Good on you, sounds like you have a good plan, and clearing the junk from your house will kill two birds with one stone! I'm sure you will get some idea of what sells well and can go from there.
And I think it's a wise decision not to give up on your original business, times are hard and I'm sure you are not alone in finding things are going slow. Good luck. Keep us updated!

Thanks for the kind words AlwaysOneMissing x

I think I have enough junk in my house to keep me going for quite a long while so I am sure it will be a good start, and yes will clear out the clutter at the same time so hopefully the house will look tidy for once :)