Multiple Streams of Income

Why should you or I as a Christian, want to produce multiple streams of income. Also where can you find that in the Bible? Producing multiple streams of income is clearly spelled out in Matthew 25:14-30 were our Lord depicts the citizens of the kingdom of Heaven as those who received talents from our Lord. In this they have a responsibility as good stewards to be faithful and multiply what they have. At Live Recession Proof Now.com we see the talents as representing your gifts your education, experience, talents, resources, passions, hobbies, knowledge, interests and much more. Basically the talent represents everything the Lord has trusted you with to make His name famous. What we intend to do with this article is to show you the various ways in which you can Glorify God with your talents.

1. Have a full-time job. You may already have a full-time job, and if so, my recommendation is not to quit outright. You might downsize your job, if you don’t really need the income anymore, but it’s often smart to keep the full-time job in some capacity just to ensure that you have that regular paycheck coming in. You could cut back on your pay and responsibilities, though, and work from home if possible.

2. Have a part-time job. If you don’t have a full-time job, and don’t think getting one will work for you, consider a part-time job. If you have valuable skills, often a part-time job can pay good money and offer you the flexibility you want so you can continue to freelance.

3. Start a blog. This is an easy way to market your writing and to share your knowledge with others. There are many bloggers that make some decent cash from it, mostly from banner ads, which by the way adds another revenue stream, which I will talk about more later. It can take a while for a blog to get the desired following and make any money, as with any business, but I think it’s worth the effort.

4. Create a product. If you currently provide a service as a freelancer, you provide the service once and get paid once. Then you have to provide the service again to get paid again. However, if you can turn your service into a product, you can do that once and get paid many times. For example, you could create a DVD or podcast explaining how to do something (design a web page, for example), or a workbook or other kind of instruction manual. If you have a popular blog, you may be able to sell merchandise. Set it up once, and collect an income stream thereafter.

5. Teach a class. If you have valuable knowledge or skills, teaching that to others can pay well. Teach at a community college, set up a series of seminars, or create your own classes at your business, home or community center.

6. Offer coaching or consulting. Instead of teaching an entire class, you can coach people one-on-one (or in small groups) or teach them how to set something up through consulting contracts. For example, if you do web design, you can work with a bunch of new designers to show them how to set up their business, buy the software, bill clients, etc. Or you might teach them how to be better designers.

7. Start a small business. Many of the above examples are also small businesses, of course, but I’m talking about a more traditional type of business. One that sells a product or service in the real world or online. You could get involved with a few others in creating a business where you do work in the beginning and then do very little afterward except collect checks. I know someone who set up a vending machine business, for example, where he made the initial outlay of cash, and then hired employees to restock the vending machines and collect his coins. He makes a good side income from it, and his small business loan for the initial outlay is paid off. There are many opportunities like this to create a passive stream of income.

8. Write a book. Write a book once, and you’re done. It’s not always easy to get it published, of course, but it’s not impossible. I’m writing a book right now, actually, although I haven’t tried to sell it yet. Books can be a long shot, but if they pay off, they can pay off big. They also help your credentials, which help with the other items on this list.

9. Affiliate marketing.This is what I was referring to earlier when I mentioned banner ads on your blog or website. If you have a blog or any other kind of website, you can set up affiliate links to different services on the web. Darren Rowse of ProBlogger.com, for example, recently revealed that he’s made more than a quarter of a million dollars through signing people up on the Chitika advertising service. When someone signs up through his affiliate link, he gets a small cut of their advertising revenue. That can add up if you get a lot of affiliate sales, and you don’t have to do any work.

10. Have multiple clients. If you rely on one main client, slowly start branching out to new clients. That doesn’t mean to add a bunch of new clients willy-nilly, but to gradually add good clients, one at a time. You need to ensure that these clients fit with you, that you work well with them, that they don’t give you too many headaches. If the client fits those criteria, keep them. If not, dump them (professionally and nicely) and move on. But aim to have a wider variety of clients as well, as you don’t want a single unfortunate event (say the collapse of an industry) to wipe you out too.

11. Sell an e-book. If publishing a book in the traditional way is a long shot, publishing an e-book is relatively easy. Many people publish them for free, but many sell them as well. And it’s not hard to set up a website to sell an e-book, perhaps buy some Google ads to market it, and then have a small source of revenue from then on.

To continue reading more about Christian Entrepreneurs Online Businesses and why an Affiliate program might be right for you go to: www.liverecessionproofnow.com for more tips on Multiple Streams of Income.