It’s never a good thing when you rely on one stream of income. That stream dries up and you’re, ahem, up that creek without a paddle.
That’s why having multiple streams of income is so valuable. One stream dries up, you’ve got a few other ones to depend on.
(On another note, have you noticed how money is often referred to in water terms? Cash FLOW, multiple STREAMS of income or just income STREAMS. Just something to think about.)
But talking about getting multiple income streams and actually implementing them in your business are two entirely different things. That’s why today I’m going to share 3 quick and easy ways you can start adding more streams right now.
1. Information products. Creating a product based on your expertise is a fabulous way to start diversifying your income. This is especially good if you’re a service provider — now you’re providing other ways for your customers to work with you rather than them paying you to work with them one on one.
But information products doesn’t mean you have to sit down and write a book. You can do a teleclass or a series of teleclasses. Or maybe you do a video. Just make it easy for you to create. (The idea here is NOT to spend months or, worse, years crafting your product — the faster you get it done the faster you’ll make money on it.)
Still feeling stuck? Try this. What’s the biggest problem your customers come to you to solve for them? Can you do a teleclass or write a special report walking them through how to solve it themselves? Granted working with you would probably get the faster, better results, but remember not everyone has the money nor even the inclination (there are a lot of do-it-yourselfers out there, and you don’t want to exclude them.)
2. Licensing or certification programs. Do you have a special process you take your clients through? Why not package it up and sell it to other consultants like you? Lots of people are looking for proven methods and systems they can add to their business income streams. So in essence helping other people add income streams to their business while you’re also adding income streams to your business.
Now this one may not be all that quick to do, but I wanted to include it so you weren’t just thinking “info products” as your only option. Open yourself up to other options to making more income.
3. Offer advertising or sell other people’s products. With this one, you’re capitalizing on an asset you’ve built — your list. You have people who follow you, right? They’re on your list, they’re following you on social networking sites, they listen to your podcasts and/or teleclasses. Well, with this one you make money either by promoting someone else’s products and getting a commission, or you charge for advertising.
For advertising, think bigger then just selling spaces in your newsletter or web site or blog. What about offering sponsorships?
Sponsorships aren’t just for corporate — they can also be your colleagues who want to reach your target market.
Of all the options, this one is definitely the fastest to pull together and takes the least amount of time for you to manage. However, if you don’t think it through, it does have the potential of diluting the impact you have with your list. If you’re interested in this option, do your homework. Find one or two people who have successfully offered this and ask them about it.