Side Businesses: Why you need multiple income streams
On the get rich slowly blog, there was an excellent post about the benefit of side businesses, and why you should start one, even if you don’t think you need it. I’ve pretty much always believed in developing alternate streams of income to my main income source since I was in grad school and started getting published. While the income from my reading has never been enough to live off of, it has provided a small stream of income, which has been helpful on different occasions.
As I’ve moved into self-employment, I’ve continued to explore multiple methods of generating income. This has included offering freelance editing and writing, becoming a vendor of Sendout Cards, writing professionally, workshops and professional speaking, and of course coaching. I’m even exploring some blog monetization options. All of these ventures are linked to each other, in terms of what I can offer someone, but they also provide income from different sources, ranging from college students to business owners, and anything in-between.
Having multiple streams of income has always seemed like a sensible idea to me. It means I haven’t put all my eggs into one basket, and it also means I have some versatility to my means of bringing in income, ranging from services I offer to residual income.
In an economy like this, but even in a better one, it’s always useful to have multiple income streams. The potential security those income streams can provide can be very helpful, and even if you don’t need the income at the time, it can also be nice to have a surplus income that you can use for luxuries or to save for that rainy day which might occur.
The other benefit of having multiple streams of income is that it keeps you consistently occupied with ventures that you ideally enjoy being involved in. While its true that many people enjoy their jobs, it’s also true many people don’t enjoy their jobs. Developing and sustaining alternate income streams can eventually help a person move out of a corporate setting and into a self-employed setting that s/he enjoys. And for those people who do enjoy their jobs, having alternate streams of income can still be useful for providing extra financial padding to your lifestyle.
An alternate stream of income can be easy to develop without involving a full time commitment. It can be as simple as taking a hobby you already do, and monetizing that hobby. For example, if you’re a crafts and arts person, take what you make and start vending at a local market. Or you can get involved in an affiliate program with a product you believe in and want to endorse (I did this with Sendout cards, because I liked the idea of sending cards as a way of reaching out to family, friends, and business clients). No matter what you do, its always possible to turn it into into an income stream. Do some research to determine who your market is and start reaching out and creating relationships with that market to introduce your service or product to them.
What are your thoughts about multiple streams of income? Please comment and share.
