I have been so incredibly busy building several different ventures at once. And I know exactly what you’re probably going to say, “Sheridan, your entire business blog is talking about how to exactly not do that and not burn out!”
While that is true… it also isn’t true…
I know that we like to provide ourselves, especially entrepreneurs, with rules in society to keep our sanity. And the level of gurus out there speaking out all the measurable constants your energy, your sleep, and your dedication need to consistently rest at is, well, overwhelming and certainly unhelpful.
Reminder: Artists are entrepreneurs.
In none of my previously posted pieces have I stated direct numbers for us to consider what is sane or insane for our productivity and sanity. If I have, please call me out — respond with a screenshot so we can both call myself a dumbass together, or I will call you a dumbass in return for sending something that doesn’t actually qualify.
I do believe that you can begin multiple ventures all at once. Just like you can have three new friends versus just one.
The other day, somebody said, well, not directly to me, but I responded in my own head, so I’ll share it with you here now — “I can’t imagine managing 1,000 people.” Immediately, I rebutted aloud in my head, “I can.”
My rebuttal wasn’t just because I do have experience overseeing a thousand people at one time; hospitality can do that for an executive. But it was because I am the type of brain that, unfortunately, must understand something at a small, medium, and large frame in order to feel like I know anything at all. Therefore, management and business were something I dove into very early on; in textbook readings, in my college classes, and in all my positions throughout my career.
What I think most people don’t understand is that managing twenty people at an exceptional level is no different than managing a thousand. When you’re running a team of twenty or fewer, your operational structure and the little holes in efficiency will not be as bright or as costly. But if you take that exact same management and operational system to a team of a thousand, the cracks, holes, and costs in efficiency will no longer be small; they are seen, often very easily.
As a manager, a lifelong team athlete, and a champion of new business, it kinda is the same, managing a team of twenty and a thousand. It’s the same only when the team of twenty has the management, the trust, the foundation, the training, and the efficiency to expand. That’s when it becomes the same in a team of a thousand.
So as a fellow perfectionist, a workaholic, and overall team player and leader, I have looked at management, operations, and building at such small, medium, and expansive frames, because without doing that, I wouldn’t feel confident or knowledgeable at all.
That is never to say there isn’t a frame I may have missed, or a little speck in the paint I didn’t know about. My perfectionism loves new information. But it’s to say that just as you can manage and operate a team of twenty or a thousand, you can start one or multiple ventures at the same time.
Today, March 18th, I’ve spent most of the day creating a new script — which I can’t reveal anything about yet — and revising another script. So I’ve simply been ranting and trying to explain to you why it’s okay, and rather sane of me, to start multiple ventures at once. I suppose I should fill you in on some of this information and validation regarding the multiple projects, huh?
There are two things I cannot specifically mention right now, but I’ll spill all the details that I can, okay?
I haven’t been as actively scouting for locations for my short film that is ready with a team prepped, because I have been swamped with new work.
My What Sheridan Said: Season One book is officially ready for printing and publishing. But oh my goodness, who knew little Miss Sheridan the Great could be so demanded by the world? So, I am currently negotiating and debating which publishers and printing companies to use.
I have two other books that I wrote several years ago. One is a fiction mystery aiming towards young adults, and the other is an economics textbook on the morals of thrifting — lol. As I have these ready to go, I want What Sheridan Said: Season One — Memoir of the Modern Heroine to be the first thing that is published. So, babe, I’m working on it. It will be here soon.
I’m still carving out my next poetry book, the big one that will include over 150 original poems, compared to the 35-plus that one very special original poem in the limited edition book that’s currently taking pre-orders.
Creating a full poetry book takes a tremendous amount of time, let me tell you! Phew.
Also, I was supposed to be on a few podcasts, but I unfortunately had other things pop up in the way. I suppose that is the one downside to building multiple ventures at once. But in reality, it prompts me to focus even more on what is valuable to my time and the growth of what I’m trying to achieve.
I’m crossing all my fingers and my toes that I will have more news about my new publications and ventures next week. I’m hustling, baby, I promise!
In other terms, life has been a lot more normal lately; minimal chaos, and it’s been slow with routine. I’m answering and sending too many emails, and I’m writing at a consistent level between ghosting for others and working on my portfolio pieces. But I’ve also been a bit stagnant. In that, I’m home or at work. I’m between my dogs, my loved ones, and work. There isn’t much else that has been filling my time, besides the casual free time of trash TV and playing tennis when the sun decides to be kind.
After years of running all different types of companies, managing anywhere from twenty to a thousand people, and chasing extremes in the name of getting better, this season feels like deliberate, grounded expansion. I’m applying everything I’ve learned about scalable systems, but now in the service of creative work that lights me up.
So with my new stack of normalcy, and starting at not the extremes in a brand new industry, I find myself content and happy.
I’m working on new things, I’m dabbling in multiple ventures at once, and I’m prioritizing my time to the level of value and achievement it will bring towards my sanity and my future.
xo,
Sheridan Guerrette
WhatSheridanSaid.com
Life Behind the Artist: Wed at 9/8C
