Lindsey and I have been running Business Buddies now for well over ten years.
That's more than a decade ...
I don't know why, but when I type it out like that, I'm staggered at how fast time seems to have flown.
In that time we've helped well over 100 small companies; from construction firms and individual tradespeople, right through to gyms and marketing agencies, manage their administration, bookkeeping and accounting.
But although these are the three core staples of our business, when I look back, I can see clear points where we've tried different things.
At one point we had a recruitment part of the business.
We've added a marketing element.
And we began answering the phones for some of our clients.
Recently we've started offering a CIS payments service - which takes away the risk of using sub-contractors.
We think it's good to try new things because until you do, you won't know what you're good at. And what people can use help with.
I'm reminded of this quote from former US president Barack Obama who said:
“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.”
Diversifying and trying your hand at new things also ensures that if things change suddenly, and you're caught without a particular line of work, then you can quickly move to something else rather than be left high and dry.
And that brings me to today's small business tip: don't be afraid to try new and different things.
I can't say everything we've tried our hand at has worked out well ...
The less said about the recruitment business the better.
But it provided a great learning experience, and everything we've tried since has been approached with those lessons in mind.
Which will be the same for you.
Best, Sarah