Short answer: Running multiple businesses at once isn't a bad idea, it just takes more planning.
If you're making enough that you can afford to delegate out roles and you trust the team member to manage it, try handing off some responsibilities. You can do a trial run to see if it will work. Give your team space to grow and learn. It will be better for their careers in the long-run too. Also, project managers can help by overseeing quite a few -- if not all -- of your individual projects and are inherently great at creating structure from chaos.
If some businesses are stagnating or could be obsolete within a few years, consider selling it off -- or creating a tool to replace it.
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Long answer: The best way to determine if a business is worth the effort is by writing out a long-term plan. You don't have to make it extensive. Even just high-level points for each should help you decide. Primarily look at:
1) Quick questions like:
- Are you a market leader?
- Is it something you'll be passionate about later on?
- Will it provide capital for future projects?
- Do you see yourself running it in 5 years?
- Has it, or can it, survive the 10-year mark?
2) Which businesses are more hassle than they're worth?
You may already be tracking your and your team's hours by business (both billable and non-billable time.) If not, seeing the profit it generates divided by the time spent on it will give you a better sense of how worthwhile it is. Ideally, employees should have an 80/20 billable to non-billable ratio. Employees who are solely non-bill would be factored into overhead costs.
You may also have too many high-level employees working on entry-level projects. Assigning an hourly rate to each role -- one that takes into consideration the high end of their pay scale, any benefits, and company overhead costs per employee -- will help with delegating out work, determining hourly rates to charge clients, and can increase your profitability per business.
Look at your profit margin for products too. Ideally, you want to be at 30% or above per product once you factor in inventory, storage, shipping, taxes, added-value items, discounts, referral or finder fees, etc.
2) Which businesses can scale.
If one of them is maxed out on the monthly income it can provide, have your team document how to maintain it so it can be delegated out to one or two people. Writing out a process can help you see any redundant or unnecessary steps that can be eliminated moving forward.
Is there a part of your business that can generate a hefty amount of capital now? You can always divest part of it or sell it off entirely so you can focus your efforts elsewhere. You can structure the deal to remain on as a shareholder too.
3) Which businesses can provide passive income.
Passive income is the golden ticket for companies. Let's say you have a consulting business and you've developed a playbook for one aspect of it. Consider setting up a course or some reading materials to sell. The content is already there, you may just need to expand on it. It's a great way to show your expertise too. Most course writers I've met with won't spend the time or effort on a subject they don't know.
You may still want to provide consultation meetings, especially for bigger clients. But it will give you another income stream with little management. You may find more opportunities in the future too. The courses I'm currently developing have stemmed from one-off questions that clients have about niche marketing techniques.
4) Which businesses will be obsolete in a few years.
Can a software eventually replace it? If so, make the money you can on it now, but be prepared to transition your efforts elsewhere. If you have a team that could develop that future software now, even better.
5) Which unnecessary channels you can cut.
While it's ideal for many business owners to have a well-rounded brand, you don't need to utilize every marketing outlet and monetization option for every business, especially if it creates very little value for a significant amount of effort. Analytics are your friend here. Focus on where your audience is for each and reduce (or cut out altogether) your efforts on other channels. Otherwise, you'll never have time to think long-term.
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Let me know if you have any questions.
Best of luck!
Jessica Ma
