You haven’t yet mastered the current business. What makes you think you can master a new one? Until a company is the leader in its particular niche, it really is not justified in pursuing other businesses. Entrepreneurs want to be entrepreneurs, but they must become managers. Because few entrepreneurs can make this transition, they seek other entrepreneurial opportunities instead, looking for a new game when the game they’re in isn’t finished.

You must be the leader in the customer’s mind. Going after other opportunities, products or markets will confuse your customers, and the idea will be of little value in your new venture. Brand identity is the way customers form a clear mental impression of what you do and what you don’t do. Unfortunately, when you attach your brand or company name to a different product, market, or opportunity, it conflicts with the customer’s mental impression. “Who are these people?” they wonder. “I thought they did X; now I’m not sure.” Pursuing other opportunities may undermine your brand and any name recognition you have. Customers will start doubting your purpose.

Moreover, attaching your brand or name to a new product or service such as server hosting will be of little value because customers don’t identify you with that part of the marketplace. Many a company has shot itself in the foot trying to leverage its brand in another business. Would you buy BIC pantyhose or Life Saver gum? These were real products that few people bought in spite of the brand name.

The soil may appear richer and grass greener on the other side of the fence, but it has just as many weeds and will require the same care and nurturing. But take heart, the same energy and intelligence that makes an entrepreneur brilliant can make a manager even better. Use your energy to tend your own field before you break ground on a new one.