How To Maintain Your Focus Whilst Running Multiple Businesses

In my early January podcast I spoke with CEO of Win BIG Media, Phillip Stutts – and the conversation was of enormous value. Phillip has a lot on his plate, and is one of the most focused people I’ve ever encountered. 

If you’re running multiple businesses, you’ll want to listen to this podcast, because Phillip offers some great advice on how to focus your energy without letting any of your businesses fall through the cracks (among many, many other fascinating topics about political marketing and the like).

The last topic we spoke about – how to maintain your focus whilst running multiple businesses – got me thinking about how difficult it can be to juggle everything. I’ve certainly been there, and know that it can be tough to keep all the balls in the air. 

But, with a few simple tips (and a healthy dose of focus), it is possible to successfully manage multiple businesses.

In this article, I want to delve deeper into this idea of focus, and relay some of Phillip’s advice on how to effectively manage multiple businesses without letting any of them suffer.

What does it mean to truly focus?

I subscribe to the idea that, in life, you can be in one of a few different states of being. You can be in a state of flow, in which you are so engaged in what you are doing that time seems to disappear. You can also be in a state of panic, in which you feel scattered and overwhelmed. 

Somewhere in the middle is the state of focus, where you are able to stay calm and productive by managing your energy.

In order to focus, you need to understand where your energy comes from and how to direct it. There are three primary sources of energy: physical, emotional, and mental. Physical energy is the easiest to understand; it’s the energy you get from exercise or good nutrition. 

Emotional energy is a bit more complex; it’s the energy you get from your feelings and includes both positive and negative emotions. Mental energy is the hardest to understand; it’s the energy you get from your thoughts.

Each of these sources of energy can be directed in different ways:

Physical energy can be directed by getting moving, eating well, and getting enough sleep. 

Emotional energy can be directed by managing your stress, setting boundaries, and expressing your feelings. 

Mental energy can be directed by controlling your thoughts, using positive self-talk, and focusing on what’s important.

Once you can direct your energy and channel it into the places it’s needed most, you’ll have gained the ability to truly focus. 

But, how does this all relate to business?

This may all be sounding a bit aloof, but being able to focus your energy is an essential part of managing multiple businesses successfully.

It's a no-brainer once you consider that, without focus, you cannot hope to work toward your business goals in a strategic way. You'll be too busy putting out proverbial fires to get anything done.

Running multiple businesses can be chaotic at the best of times. Not only do you have to worry about the day-to-day operations of your businesses, but you also have to think strategically about how each business can help the other ones grow.

It's easy to become overwhelmed and lose focus in this type of environment. So, how do you stay focused on what's important? Let’s go over a few key pieces of advice offered by Phillip Stutts in the Success Story podcast.

1. Focus your energy on what interests you

As an owner of five different businesses and someone who speaks on multiple topics of interest, Phillip has evidently found a way to split his attention between many different avenues – but how exactly does he do it?

According to his interview, he finds his interests and follows them with everything he’s got. 

It’s well documented that following your interests and passions can greatly contribute to your success:

It motivates you to stay committed, giving you the energy to remain focused and invested in what you are doing

It stimulates your creative process by sparking your interest and pushing you through the dull parts of your job/s

It taps into hidden avenues and resources that you may not have considered had you not followed your interests

When running multiple businesses, it’s obviously going to be a draining challenge that requires all your energy – so the least you can hope for is that each day will be interesting, unique, and suited to your passions. 

Without interest, without passion, you cannot expect to maintain your energy and your focus across multiple businesses all requiring your full attention.

2. Go all-in and become an expert in your field

Phillip’s next piece of advice is one that often gets overlooked, especially in hustle culture where being busy is more important than being invested.

In order to be successful with multiple businesses, you need to go all-in with one of them and become an expert in that field. You can’t be mediocre at 10 different things – you need to focus all of your energy on becoming the best at one. Once you’ve achieved that, you can move on to the next one.

This is great advice and one that I’ve personally taken to heart. And it makes sense – if you can focus all your energy into the things that interest you (in this case, your multiple businesses) and become really good at them, you’ll be in a better position to reach success across the board.

Not only that, but you'll find that hidden lanes begin to appear with lucrative opportunities you may not have thought of before. For example, after becoming a domain expert in the online marketing space, you may find yourself able to identify and invest in several other related niches you hadn't been aware of previously.

To elaborate on this piece of advice, Phillip actually used the example of his latest hobby, which is hunting. He mentioned that it was part of his personality to want to learn everything he possibly could about his new passtime. This obsessive interest is what he cites as being his method of finding new avenues and business angles to invest in.

Not only that, but this obsessive tendency allowed Phillip to cure his own ‘incurable’ disease through intensive health research and an entrepreneurial mindset. Wow!

3. Dig deep to understand how your mind works

Focus, energy, and motivation are all mental buzzwords that relate back to a single underlying factor: productivity. The challenge for any individual in business is to maximize productivity by understanding how their own mind works and then applying that knowledge in practical ways. 

In order for entrepreneurs to focus their energy on multiple businesses, they need first to understand their personal work style and motivations. In some cases, it goes even deeper than that; the way you work and focus your energy can often be traced back to childhood influences and even traumatic experiences. 

Phillip spoke briefly about his experience with psychedelic drugs under therapeutic supervision, but his point was more about the act of getting familiar with the way your mind works. 

Sometimes, you need to peel back the layers of what makes you the person you are in order to tap into the energy, motivation, and courage you need to manage multiple business endeavors. 

For example, Phillip’s main discovery was that his entrepreneurial approach to life likely stems from his repeated experience with rejection as a child. Once he understood this about himself, he was able to embrace his outgoing tendencies and use them to his advantage.

One method of self-analysis is to begin seeing a life coach or therapist. This is not because there is anything wrong with you, but because it can be very helpful to have an outsider perspective on your life and how you operate. 

A therapist or coach can help you understand yourself better and provide guidance in terms of how to manage your time, energy, and focus when it comes to work. Regardless of the method you choose, however, make sure you are doing the inner work for yourself first – not for your business, not for your clients, and especially not for your bank account.

4. Don’t look into anyone else’s lane

And, for the final piece of wisdom to be gleaned from Phillip’s enlightening interview: stay in your lane and focus on your own pursuits. It can be tempting to follow the business trends and adopt other people’s methods as your own, but there’s something to be said for running your own race right to the end. 

When you are operating multiple businesses at the same time, the last thing you need is to be swaying from one tactic or business approach to the next every five minutes. You need confidence, stability, and consistency. 

Your business hero has found a new avenue within the health and nutrition industry? That’s great – but it doesn’t mean you need to drop everything and follow their lead. Resist the urge to give into the pressure of bigger, better, newer.

Remember: what you’ve got in front of you is only there because of your creativity, hard work, and determination, and that’s what will lead you straight to success if you give it all of your focus and energy. 

Final thoughts

These may not have been the 'top 10 quick tips' you were expecting from a business article, but I think they are valuable pieces of advice that can lead you to real success in the long run. Operating multiple businesses truly requires a lot of energy and focus – you can't afford to scatter your efforts if you want to see any real progress.

What are you juggling at the moment? Could you benefit from homing in on your interests and staying firmly in your own lane? Let me know in the comments below!

And, if you’re interested in hearing the incredible Phillip Stutts talk about Win BIG Media, political marketing, ‘comparatising’, and more, have a listen to the podcast here. 

Also published here.