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If you’re a serial londonbusinessblog.com, you’ve undoubtedly been here before – you have a great business and sell one thing. Maybe it’s growing oranges and selling to an orange juice processor. Perhaps you own an eBike franchise and rent eBikes. Or maybe you sell legal newsletters. You are very good at selling these products and services, leading to what many would classify as an entrepreneurial success. Let me share an experience I had during the pandemic and how diversification protected me from potentially disastrous consequences.
Prior to the pandemic, in the winter of 2019-20, I had two interesting companies. The first was the concept of luxury group housing or the idea that it would be easier to allow someone who is accustomed to a certain lifestyle to a luxury group residence than to a traditional group residence. The step back from living in their own home to a single room in a traditional group home can be life-changing and hasten their demise. Combine the concept with the idea that there was an abundance of luxury homes in the Phoenix area, where I had significant real estate and construction connections, and the die was cast. In February 2020 I had bought several luxury houses and was in the process of adapting them. Then the pandemic hit and group homes were the hardest hit. I was left with inventory to make mortgage payments on while maintaining its maintenance.
The second focused on the concept of cannabis churches in California. Legal precedent in that state had established that cannabis could be considered a sacrament, just as wine is considered a sacrament in the Catholic Church. So I bought a cannabis church in Los Angeles in the winter of 2020. Parishioners attended church, listened, and partook of a sermon while partaking of the sacrament. Then the pandemic hit and restrictions were imposed on gatherings in California. We briefly explored how to deliver the sacrament to parishioners’ homes, but local law enforcement officers were not happy with this concept. Time is everything. Today, in South Florida, those who use cannabis can literally order the delivery of cannabis via WhatsApp, and it will be delivered to their door, not as a sacrament, but as a recreational drug.
Anyway, two business ideas were destroyed and I was left with significant financial responsibility. Fortunately, I have embraced diversification. My company, Burns Funding, which provides alternative sources of finance to existing and prospective entrepreneurs, has thrived. I was able to absorb the financial blows and start other companies. So, how do you embrace diversification as an londonbusinessblog.com? Here are three very easy ways:
Related: Diversify Your Income: Protect Your Finances With These Strategies
1. Become a channel
Take the example I gave above regarding the owner of orange groves, and research to turn your business into a destination selling other people’s products. There is an operation near the small town of Arcadia, Florida called Joshua Citrus. Since it started 33 years ago with a storefront and grove in the middle of the old family forest and farm, the family/entrepreneurs have expanded their storefront to sell products from other companies such as jams, jellies and honey. This helps protect their revenue stream if a freeze were to affect their crop.
2. Take advantage of a trend
Perhaps you own or are considering buying an eBike franchise. Owning and operating one of these can be very profitable. The only flag on the field I can foresee is oversaturation. eBike franchises are popping up left and right, which means that the londonbusinessblog.com may experience a diminished market share. Consumers also buy eBikes, especially in retirement markets such as Florida, Arizona and California. You can take advantage of this trend and diversify your income streams by repairing eBikes.
Here’s another example: Decades ago, I started a moped rental business in the Northeast. I was one of the first to do that. As other entrepreneurs entered the space, I realized something was missing from the industry: insurance for these burgeoning operators. I worked with an insurance company to create a product that I could sell to my competitors, solve a problem they had while diversifying my income stream.
Related: Now’s a Good Time to Diversify and Grow Your Business
3. Spread your skills to another area
I have a friend whose passion is journalism. In 2001 he worked as a corporate communicator for a large technology, listed company. When the company went through a reorganization and offered a lucrative layoff package, he took the money and started a legal newsletter publishing company. The problem was that he had limited existing income, so it would take a few years to build the business. He understood that while his passion was journalism, diversification was his best hope for sustaining the business. The logical direction was to translate a skill he had (writing) into another area. He started a public relations firm, which allowed him to build his journalism business. Although he could have left PR, he understood that diversification would protect his journalistic business from threats, such as competition. He maintains the PR agency to this day.
Related: 4 Ways an londonbusinessblog.com Should Diversify Their Income
As you can see, diversification is extremely beneficial, and now you have three easy ways to facilitate it. Diversification can protect the londonbusinessblog.com and help us all achieve our dreams.
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