If you chase two rabbits, you probably won’t catch either of them.
That’s one of those “common sense” business lessons I’ve heard for a long time. Of course, I don’t follow it. My husband and I own a liquor store and a cattle ranch, I speak and write about small business, and I co-founded Tourism Currents to teach social media marketing for tourism. Apparently, I’m chasing a lot of rabbits.
![]() |
How many rabbits are you chasing? |
I think chasing lots of business “rabbits” is partially a small town trait: we develop multiple lines of income because one business may not be enough to support us in a small town. And we use it to even out risk, the way farmers use multiple crops to even out the ups and downs of commodity prices.
Theoretically, if you could find your one “most profitable” business, you ought to focus on that, and maximize your profits. Of course, that maximizes risk, too, if anything should happen to that business. One of the best posts I’ve read about focusing is Jonathan Fields, “Are you Building a Body of Work or a Cornucopia of Chaos?”
Here’s how I resolved this. I have a central mission. I help small town entrepreneurs prosper, so they can help their communities prosper. Every business I listed is part of that.
Every project that someone asks me to take on, I run through the filter of whether it helps me to support small town entrepreneurs. Yes or no. Very simple. That is the body of work I’m building.
New to SmallBizSurvival.com? Take the Guided Tour. Like what you see? Subscribe.
- Zoom Towns: attracting and supporting remote workers in rural small towns - December 10, 2020
- In an economic crisis, spend your brainpower before your dollars - November 25, 2020
- Video: How to fill empty car dealership buildings for the holidays - November 6, 2020
- How has 2020 changed the challenges rural small towns face? Tell us here - October 20, 2020
- The Idea Friendly Method to surviving a business crisis - October 6, 2020
- Join me for the Rural Renewal Symposium online Oct 13 - September 26, 2020
- Cheap placemaking idea: instant murals - September 11, 2020
- Refilling the rural business pipeline - July 7, 2020
- Huge vacant buildings: grants to renovate? - June 9, 2020
- Economic self defense for small towns - June 7, 2020
Becky:
Your post got me thinking. My mission is to spread better ideas regarding business philosophy and new media. I am a renaissance man and digital nomad. My long-range goal is to spread the good word on a global scale, that is why I am a globe-trotter in training :)
All the Best,
Martin
“Globetrotter in training” is a byline I LOVE!
I had a friend who gave me a great and similar piece of advice when I worked Capital One: “You’re trying to carry a thousand marbles up the mountain, and you’re moving them one inch at a time. Take one marble, carry it up the mountain, and then go get another.”
I admit, the thousand marbles is more intuitively appealing due to my attraction to shiny objects – if you’ve ever seen the movie “Up” then you’ll recognize my reaction to someone yelling “squirrel!” – but much less effective than hunting one rabbit at a time and using mixed metaphors.
The way I keep focused is to provide myself with small rewards for each completed task. Since I like to hop on Twitter and Facebook, that’s my reward for finishing a task I know I need to do. 55 minutes of work, 5 minutes of reward.
It works most of the time.
Until someone yells “squirrel!”