MBA616 Q&A Weekends: How do you juggle 2 businesses/ projects at once?

Summary

The $100 MBA Show: Episode MBA616 – Q&A Weekends: How to Juggle Two Businesses/Projects at Once

Release Date: May 7, 2016
Host: Omar Zenhom

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Introduction

In Episode MBA616 of The $100 MBA Show, host Omar Zenhom addresses a pivotal question submitted by a listener named Vernon: "How do you juggle two businesses/projects at once?" Drawing from his extensive experience spanning over two decades in entrepreneurship, Omar delves into practical strategies and insights to effectively manage multiple ventures without compromising on quality or personal well-being.

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Balancing Multiple Ventures

1. Establishing a Robust Schedule

Omar emphasizes the importance of a well-structured schedule as the foundation for managing multiple projects. He states:

"It's all about having a really good schedule, being very disciplined about the time you dedicate to everything."
(02:00)

By meticulously organizing his time, Omar ensures that each business receives the necessary attention. For instance, he outlines specific days dedicated to:

• The $100 MBA Show: Prioritized for daily podcast production, with episodes batched and recorded in bulk to maintain consistency and allow for flexibility, such as taking days off or going on vacation.

• Webinar Ninja: Allocated separate days for collaborating with developers, engaging with the customer service team, and managing software development and releases.

2. Time Blocking and Discipline

Omar advocates for time blocking, a technique where specific chunks of time are reserved for particular tasks or projects. This method helps in:

• Preventing Overlap: By assigning distinct time slots, he avoids the chaos of multitasking and ensures focused productivity.

• Maintaining Consistency: Regularly updating and adhering to his calendar minimizes the chances of neglecting any venture.

He advises:

"If you dedicate a certain amount of time for each project, block it out of your calendar like an appointment, you have to do it."
(04:30)

3. Managing Additional Commitments

When additional projects or opportunities arise—such as speaking engagements, interviews, or collaborations—Omar recommends:

• Carving Out Specific Time Blocks: Allocating dedicated time once a week for interviews or new projects to prevent them from disrupting the primary business operations.

• Negotiating Timelines: Communicating with collaborators to adjust schedules, ensuring that existing commitments are not adversely affected.

"When I took on a new project, I made sure there was time in my calendar to do the things I have to do my part of the project."
(05:30)

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Key Strategies for Managing Multiple Projects

1. Batch Production

By recording multiple podcast episodes in one session, Omar creates a buffer that allows him to take breaks without halting the show's production. This strategy enhances efficiency and reduces the daily pressure of content creation.

"I batch episodes. I don't record one episode a day. I actually record a whole bunch in one sitting."
(03:15)

2. Delegation and Teamwork

Understanding the limitations of personal bandwidth, Omar leverages his team to handle post-production tasks. By delegating responsibilities, he ensures that each business operates smoothly without requiring his constant intervention.

"I could pass it on to post-production to our producer, Nicole, and she can work with our editor and everybody else involved."
(03:50)

3. Personal Engagement

Omar makes it a point to personally engage with his members, fostering a strong community and ensuring that customer service remains a priority. This hands-on approach builds trust and loyalty among his user base.

"I like to email our members personally. So I dedicate time for that on certain days of the week."
(04:10)

4. Flexibility and Adaptability

In the dynamic landscape of entrepreneurship, Omar highlights the need to remain adaptable. Whether it's adjusting schedules for unforeseen events or re-evaluating priorities based on project demands, flexibility is key to sustaining multiple ventures.

"If anything's going to suffer, then you need to think twice."
(05:40)

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Personal Insights and Advice

1. Discipline Over Excitement

Omar candidly shares that juggling multiple projects isn't inherently fun; it requires strict discipline and hard work. He differentiates between the entrepreneurial desire for freedom and the necessity of structured effort during the growth phase of a business.

"That's what real entrepreneurs do. They get disciplined and they stick to a schedule."
(05:05)

2. Assessing Personal Capacity

Before taking on additional projects, Omar advises entrepreneurs to evaluate their own capacity. Understanding whether one thrives on variety or prefers focusing on a single venture is crucial in preventing burnout and ensuring sustained productivity.

"Do you like that variety or does that give you anxiety? You know, you don't have to do something you don't want to."
(07:15)

3. Focus on Impactful Projects

When faced with multiple opportunities, Omar recommends prioritizing projects where one's involvement can make the most significant impact. This approach ensures that efforts are directed towards endeavors that drive substantial progress and value.

"I would go with the one that I feel I can add most value in the project I feel I can add or make the most impact in."
(07:35)

4. Starting Small

For those embarking on their entrepreneurial journey, Omar suggests concentrating on a single project initially. This focus allows for deep immersion and mastery before expanding into additional ventures.

"If you're getting started, if your first couple years in entrepreneurship focus on one project, go all in and dedicate the time."
(06:10)

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Conclusion

Omar Zenhom's insights in Episode MBA616 provide a comprehensive roadmap for entrepreneurs looking to manage multiple businesses or projects effectively. Central to his approach is strategic time management, discipline, and prioritization. By implementing these strategies, entrepreneurs can navigate the complexities of juggling multiple ventures while maintaining quality and personal well-being.

Omar closes the episode by reiterating the importance of focusing on what truly matters and ensuring that each project receives the attention it deserves:

"You can just do one thing and do it well. Alright, guys, I'll check you in tomorrow's episode. I'll see you then. Take care."
(10:30)

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Looking Ahead

Omar invites listeners to submit their questions for future Q&A episodes and previews upcoming content, including:

• Next Week's Question: April asks, "Do I need an SEO expert to work on my website?"

• Monday's Episode: Featuring guest teacher Tom Hunt, who will discuss "How to Hire the Ultimate Virtual Assistant."

Listeners are encouraged to subscribe to ensure they don't miss valuable business insights in forthcoming episodes.

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For more actionable business lessons and to join the community, visit The $100 MBA Show.

Transcript

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[Omar Zenhom]

Hey, welcome to the $100 NBA show. And today is a Q and A weekends episode where we answer your question right here on the show. If you have a question you want to ask, just email us [e-mail] or as always, I'm your host, your coach, your teacher Omar Zenholm. I'm also the co founder of the hundred dollar MBA, a complete business training and community online over at 100mba.net and today's question comes from Vernon. And Vernon asks how do you juggle two businesses projects at once? Good question, Vernon. Yes, we do a little bit of juggling here and I'll break down some of the strategies I use to to make sure I focus on the right projects at the right time and try my best to balance it as much as possible. I'll also share with you some things to look out for when you're juggling a couple projects at the same time. Because at the end of the day, we're still human. We can make mistakes, but we could try to avoid them if we know what to look out for. All right guys, let's get into it. Let's get down to business. To answer Vernon's question, how do you juggle two businesses or projects at once? I'm going to have to break down a little bit of my routine. So. So as you know, we run a daily podcast, a hundred dollars MBA show. We have our program, the $100 MBA. And we run a software company called Webinar Ninja. And I wish I could tell you that's all we do. But we do other things as well. We have smaller projects we do on the side. I do a lot of marketing, I do webinars. I get on other people's podcasts and try to share as much as I can to other audiences. I get on stage and speak at different conferences. So, yes, I am juggling a lot of things, but mainly the two things that I constantly have to balance and juggle is the show, the hundred dollar MBA show, and our business with the $100 MBA and webinar ninja, our webinar software. So how do I do it or what do I recommend for you to do at the end of the day? I would have to say it's all about having a really good schedule, being very disciplined about the time you dedicate to everything. So, for example, for me, the $100 NBA show is a huge priority. I gotta make sure that we are publishing great episodes every single day. As you know, I batch episodes. I don't record one episode a day. I actually record a whole bunch in one sitting. So we have a lead time. So I can have a day off or go on vacation, things like that. So for me, I have certain days of the week where I record and it's the first thing I do in the morning right after breakfast. And I dedicate a block of hours where I'm recording the episodes. This is separate from pre production and outlining. You know, I have a block book of time for recording because recording takes the bulk of the time. I need to make sure that the show is taken care of, that it's done. I could pass it on to post production to our producer, Nicole, and she can work with our editor and everybody else that's involved in getting the show published. But I gotta do my part. I gotta make sure that that's done. So those hours are blocked off. What hours do I have left? I dedicate days for Webinar Ninja where I work with developers, where I work with our customer service team, where I work on developing the software or testing software or releasing things or communicating things with our members. You know, I like to email our members personally. So I dedicate time for that on certain days of the week. Now when things get really difficult are when there are additional things on our plate, like a speaking engagement, like an interview, like, you know, another project that I'm working on. I mentioned I'm working on Ezcourse with Jason Zuck. And this is where I really got to make sure I'm carving out time for these things. So with interviews, I make sure that I only have a certain block time once a week for interviews. So if anybody wants to interview me for their show, I'm happy to do so. But I have a specific time where I have to do it and is a dedicated time once a week for interviews. When I took on a new project, like a collaboration I'm doing with Jason Zook with EasyCourse Co looked at my calendar. I made sure that there was time in my calendar to do the things I have to do my part of the project. And I would have to speak to Jason and say, hey, Jason, you know, these three weeks are really busy for me because I'm working on something really intense with, with our ninja. But I can dedicate the time to do this project this time. And we negotiated that and made sure that, you know, we dedicated the time to do it then. So it's really about scheduling, it's really about dedicating the time. It takes a lot of discipline to stick to your schedule, though. I mean, it's not just about setting up the schedule, it's also just sticking to it where you look at your calendar and you actually do what the calendar says. A lot of us, we may take a little bit longer to do different things and this is where you gotta incorporate break times or times just to shut off or times just to browse the Internet. If you just wanna check out what's going on in the world. You know, you're not a machine. But I believe the only way you can juggle more than one project at a time is that if you dedicate a certain amount of time for each project, block it out of your calend like an appointment, you have to do it. Now, I know this doesn't sound fun or exciting or very entrepreneurship like, but that's what real entrepreneurs do. That's what they do. They get disciplined and they stick to a schedule. I know people get into entrepreneurship because they want to freedom and do what they want when they feel like things don't get done that way, you could definitely have the freedom and travel the world and have fun and be able to do that on your own time when you have the time off. But when you're building and when you're growing and when you're working on a project, you got to be dedicated to it. Now, ideally, I wouldn't recommend you work on more than one project at a time. Now, I've been doing this for some time now, so I've kind of worked out a system for myself and I don't think that I will constantly be working on multiple projects at a time. At some point and I already planned for it, I'm going to be able to dedicate more time to one thing than the other. So if you're getting started, if your first couple years in entrepreneurship focus on one project, go all in and dedicate the time when new opportunities arise. See how you can carve out time if it's even possible. If anything's going to suffer, then you need to think. Think twice. That's just my personal advice to you because I want to see you win and not let anything, you know, fall through the cracks.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile with a message for everyone paying Big Wireless Way too much. Please, for the love of everything good in this world, stop with Mint. You can get premium wireless for just $15 a month. Of course, if you enjoy overpaying, no judgments. But that's weird. Okay, one judgment anyway. Give it a try.

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[Customer]

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[Goto Bank Representative]

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[Omar Zenhom]

To wrap up today's answer to today's Q and A Weekend's question from Vernon how do you juggle two businesses or projects at once? It's really about time allocation. It's really about being disciplined about the time. It's not really fun. I'm going to be honest with you, it's not fun to juggle more than one project. When I say it's not fun, I don't mean like I'm not enjoying myself as an entrepreneur. I mean that it takes hard work. It's hard work to juggle two things. You have to dedicate a lot of mental energy to negotiate both of them to be able to switch gears and focus on one at a time. And it's not for everybody. Some people like variety in their business. They like to do that. I mentioned Jason Zook, who I'm doing Easy Course with. He's somebody that works on multiple projects at a time. He's an extreme example of this case scenario, and he's really good at it. That's his bread and butter. He enjoys that variety. And he's able to focus on something for a short period of time, work on it, and then work on the next thing and go back to the first thing as well. So you got to look at yourself. Are you able to have that kind of discipline and get to work? Do you like that variety or does that give you anxiety? You know, you don't have to do something you don't want to. And remember, if you're given an opportunity and you don't want to juggle both, you got to have to make a choice. Which one are you going to keep? The one you're currently working on or the new opportunity? It's a good problem to have, but it's something you need to make a decision. On my advice, I would go with the one that I feel I can add most value in the project I feel I can add or make the most impact in. That's usually the right answer. The one that you can really move the needle, the one that your strengths can really make a huge difference and of course, got to enjoy it. So keep that in mind as well. Guys, I hope you love today's Q and A weekends episode. Vernon, thank you so much for asking the question. Guys, every weekend we do Q and A weekends. If you have a question you want to ask, just email [e-mail] we love to get to your questions every Saturday and Sunday. Tomorrow we got a question from April. April asks, do I need an SEO expert to work on my website? Great question. I chuckle a little bit because, you know, SEO experts are constantly emailing people with websites asking them, hey, I can help you with your ranking. You know, hire me. And at some point, I think some people, we all question, should I get this person to work on my site? Do I need them? Is there something they can do that I can't? Is there something they understand that I don't understand? We answer that question in tomorrow's episode. Make sure you hit subscribe so you get it automatically. And then on Monday, we have a great guest teacher episode by Tom Hunt. He'll be teaching you how to hire the ultimate virtual assistant. Can't wait for that. All right, guys, before I go, I want to leave you with this. I want to stress this. You don't have to juggle many things at one time. You can just do one thing and that's your bread and butter. And you focus on that. That gives you comfort, that gives you a feeling of sense of fulfillment. That's what you should do. I know a lot of us, we think that, oh, in order to be a great entrepreneur, you gotta have like 11 businesses and all these different projects and investments. You don't. You can just do one thing and do it well. Alright, guys, I'll check you in tomorrow's episode. I'll see you then. Take care.

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