Greeting fellow startup fanatics! So I’m facing an interesting situation. I currently run 3 business. 1 is a security software development program. 1 is a digital marketing consulting company/agency. And 1 is a cyber security firm that works exclusively with nonprofits. (The whole brand and culture is built around that I I don’t want to mix clients)
I have been asked by a fellow business owner if I would do cybersecurity consulting for small businesses. This is not new to me, however I am focused on growing my businesses. This business owner has a network of over 300 businesses that I could immediately plug into, do cyber security assessments, remediation, and convert to retainer clients. The opportunity seems crystal clear. And I can also use this network to expand my reach for launching the security software product my company is developing. So it seems doubly clear. I know it will be a lot of work, but I also know I can do it. And long term it would be a great move… But I’m still not sure…
If you’re asking if it’s a pragmatic use of your time and/or available resources, it’s difficult to give good advice here without knowing:
• Your goals • Revenue and time commitment for each business • Scalability of each business • Current level of process automation of each business
Honestly a P&L for each would be super helpful.
If you’re asking more generally about how this new service might fit in with the rest of your companies, I would suggest taking a close look at why you think these products/services should really be operated under different entities.
If you have different partners, investors, unique liability/risk, different operational requirements (501c3, will need to issue shares, etc) then you may have valid reasons to have companies that are closely related in offerings.
If it’s a culture/brand thing, or a perceived value prop thing, then you may just be making more work for yourself. You can use holding companies and DBAs to simplify accounting and allow your companies to easily move resources between different balance sheets, without having a single public facing brand. I’m not sure how many employees you have, but it could potentially help you combine a couple positions as well.