No matter where you’re at in your journey as an entrepreneur, if you want to protect your finances, you want to have multiple income streams. This way, if something happens to one income stream, you aren’t suddenly with no money coming in at all.
How do entrepreneurs manage this? Being an entrepreneur typically means you are already hustling, so it may seem like you don’t have time to set up systems for diversification. This is an issue of priorities, and your long term financial security has to be one of those if you’re going to feel safe as an entrepreneur. The trick is to find ways that work for you and hopefully don’t take too much more of your time.
Have Multiple Income Streams For Your Business
Are you making substantial money on your blog from sponsored posts? Then it’s time to add in some affiliate income. Have you grown things like your newsletter for that blog? This can capitalize on some same audience and feed into each other, driving traffic to your blog and communicating and driving affiliate sales directly.
In the example of a blog above, you are selling either entertainment or educational content. Can you then sell this content in an e-course or ebook? We often view these examples as options for scaling up—which is true–, but it’s also about having more income streams. If one dries up, you have others to keep you afloat.
Being Disciplined
Are you investing in your future? Great. Is your investment portfolio diverse? You may not have a lot of extra cash depending on where you’re at in your journey, but saving and investing for the future is always important. In what ways have you tried investing so far? How diverse are they?
You shouldn’t put all of your money into one stock or one sector. You can consider creating a virtual mutual fund by starting to invest in companies that you both know and can trust to use. You can also invest in commodities such as exchange-traded funds or ETFs, and even real estate investment trusts or REITs. Think beyond just what you consider to be your home base, this will help to spread the potential risk around which could lead to a bigger payoff for yourself in the end.
Start A Second Business
Time may be a problem here, but starting a second smaller business can be a great way to diversify your income and give you a little extra padding. Do you already run an eCommerce business? What would it take for you to start a second one? If you’re into dropshipping, have you considered experimenting with FBA as well?
Suppose you’re interested in expanding your skill set, great! But if you have ways to earn with the skills you already have, this may be easier. Other ideas for a small side hustle include freelance writing, virtual assistant services, or consulting. This second business may give you a little more money to put into your investments.
For the longevity of your career as an entrepreneur, do your best to diversify where you can to protect yourself against anything unexpected that may happen along the way.