Having The Time Of My Life

Apparently, there's a name for people like me. Portfolio Entrepreneurs.

I've recently discovered there's a growing trend called Portfolio Entrepreneurship. Basically, people running several businesses at once rather than putting all their eggs in one basket. And apparently, thanks to AI and technology, more people are finding it easier to do. Well, HELLO! Where has this term been all my life? Because for the first time in my life, this is me down to a tee. I've always had a million ideas bursting out of my head, but historically I've only ever been able to run one business at a time. Not because I didn't want to do more, but because it was near on impossible for my brain to cope with everything. One business was quite enough to manage when my head was already ten steps ahead, coming up with the next big idea before I'd finished the last one. So I'd throw everything into one business, build it, live and breathe it, and eventually move on to the next. But something has changed. Technology has finally caught up with my brain. And TA-DAH! Here she is. The portfolio entrepreneur I never knew I could be.

Right now, I've got Pink Gorilla Media, where I help small businesses get their shit together, Pink Gorilla Collective, where I work with an incredible bunch of creative business owners, and The Wellness Tavern, which has officially become the slowest business I've ever attempted to start. But that's what happens when you try to create something involving actual bricks, mortar, plumbing and planning rather than simply opening your laptop and cracking on. It's been a lesson in patience, something I'm not exactly famous for. And now, just when you might think I've got enough on my plate, I've gone and launched another business. See You By The Pool. An events company that has been a passion project of mine for YEARS. And do you know what? I genuinely feel like I'm having the time of my life.

The funny thing is, events are probably the most obvious business I could have started. I ran my own pubs from my late twenties, organising parties, entertainment and all sorts of wonderful nonsense. Then came Muck N Brass, where event styling, prop making and creating extraordinary spaces became part of my everyday life. I've spent decades bringing people together, creating experiences and making things happen. So why on earth has it taken me this long to turn all of that into an actual events company? I haven't got a bloody clue. But here we are, and I'm ridiculously excited about it. See You By The Pool is everything I love rolled into one. Creativity, people, entertainment, a bit of madness and the opportunity to create events that people will actually remember. Not another boring corporate do with a sad buffet and a DJ playing Come On Eileen. I want the unexpected, the ridiculous, the fabulous and the sort of parties people are still talking about years later.

And here's what's made all of this possible. AI and technology. I know everyone bangs on about using AI to write captions and create content, but for me, the real magic is what it's doing behind the scenes. It's helping me organise my days, complete forms, remember things, plan projects, structure my ideas and keep track of everything that's happening across four businesses. All the stuff that previously would have required a paid personal assistant. And believe me, with the amount of ideas flying around in my head, that assistant would have needed a bloody assistant. For the first time, I feel like I've got somewhere to put all those thoughts rather than having them constantly competing for space in my brain. I can have an idea, get it organised, create a plan and actually do something with it instead of adding it to the ever-growing pile of things I'll get around to one day. It's not replacing my creativity. It's giving it somewhere to go. And that, for someone like me, is an absolute game changer.

What I've realised is that I was never short of ideas, ambition or energy. I was short of the systems and support needed to manage them all. For years, we've been told to find our niche, focus on one thing and stick to it. And for a long time, that's exactly what I had to do. But what if technology has changed the rules? What if those of us with brains that never switch off can finally explore more than one idea without everything falling apart? I'm 52, I've been self-employed for most of my adult life, and I honestly feel like I'm only just getting started. I've got more ideas, more enthusiasm and more excitement about what's coming next than I've had in years. And the best bit? I no longer feel like I have to choose which idea gets my attention and which one gets shoved in a drawer.

So, portfolio entrepreneur it is then. Sounds a bit fancy for someone who's spent most of her life with a head full of ideas and an inability to sit still, but I'll take it. I'm not saying running multiple businesses is easy, and I'm certainly not suggesting everyone should rush out and start four of them. But for me, at this point in my life, it feels like everything I've learnt, every business I've built and every mad idea I've ever had is finally coming together.

Maybe I wasn't meant to run multiple businesses twenty years ago. Maybe I needed the experience, the confidence and, most importantly, the technology to catch up with me.

And now it has.

I'm 52, I'm having the time of my life, and I'm on it like a car bonnet.

And if you've spent years being told you've got too many ideas, perhaps it's worth asking yourself whether you really need fewer ideas or just a better way of managing them.

Because I think I've finally found mine.

Same person 

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