Today I have an awesome post written by my friend Alexa. She talks a lot about side hustles, so don’t forget to click on over to her blog. Enjoy!
Imagine that you walk into work tomorrow only to be told that due to company downsizing your position has been eliminated.
Your last day will be two weeks from now and unfortunately the company isn’t offering any severance packages. This comes to you as complete and utter shock. You have no backup plan.
What are you going to do?
If you are a regular reader of Making Sense of Cents then you are already aware of the advantages of diversifying your income. Just look at Michelle, she is making an insane amount of income, all on top of her regular day job. If she loses one of these income streams she’ll be fine living on the other.
The other great thing is that even her side income is diversified. So, if she loses one revenue stream of side income she can work on increasing all the others to make up for the difference.
When your income is diversified you are building a safety net. If for some reason you lose your day job or get your hours cut back, you can rely on other income sources that you have built up. It’s a beautiful thing!
Here are a few basic steps to help you diversify your income:
#1 Start Small
A lot of us are in awe of the success Michelle has built for herself. Who wouldn’t want $10,000 + in extra income? I know I sure would. But, Michelle did not build her business over night. It has taken her a few years to get where she is. She has put in a massive amount of time and hard work. You have to do that, too.
I have been working on increasing my side income since November of 2012. I have experimented with different ideas and finally found two that I now actively pursue. The last couple of months I have only brought in $300 – $500 in extra income.
But that’s an extra $300 – $500 that I didn’t have six months ago! I know with time and hard work I will continue to see my side income grow.
#2 Focus on One Thing at a Time
One of my biggest problems is keeping focused on one endeavor long enough to make it profitable. I have so many ideas that I want to try and sometimes it’s hard to keep my mind from wandering. If you spread yourself too thin you won’t get the results you want.
I have finally come to terms with the fact that I need to focus. I have set income goals for myself for freelance writing and blogging. Once I meet my freelance writing goal I will work more on blogging. Once I reach my blogging goal I will then and only then think off adding another income source.
#3 Don’t Give Up
There are no get rich quick tactics. Depending on what you do for side income it can take a long time to build it up to where you want it. Always keep the end goal in mind. There will be days when you feel like you are treading on water and will never make any progress. But, if you stick with it you will make progress.
Study different people who are currently successful at what you want to do. Learn as much as you can and put what you learn into action. You may have to fail quite a few times before you finally succeed. There’s nothing wrong with that though. If you aren’t rejected at least a couple of times then you really aren’t trying hard enough!
In the end all of the time and hard work you put into your side hustles will really pay off. You’ll be able to build up a safety net for when the unexpected comes up and you’ll have started a business that you can be proud of!
Alexa is a newly single mother learning the ropes of making it on her own. She is currently on a mission to increase her side income by freelance writing. She chronicles her journey as a single mom trying to make it big at Single Moms Income.
Are you diversified with your income? Why or why not?
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