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Hello Linda,
Thank you for the invitation to this forum. Multiple Income Streams is a great
topic for discussion.
Personally out of the nine years that my wife, Margaret, and I have been building home-based businesses, we have only had four years of building one business. Otherwise, we have always had multiple income streams...some more productive than others. Yet, isn't that one motivation for having more than one income stream...not to rely on just one in case one or two don't survive?
We believe once a person begins to experience and learn how to be a business owner, your mind is more lended to continuing to seek out opportunities. So, building multiple income streams was a natural progression for us. Even though multiple income streams is our choice, I would like to share some wisdom I learned a long time ago that has helped regardless of how many businesses we have built. My first lesson in Entrepreneurship came from a man who owned a hobby farm. I worked part-time for him while attending college. While sharing lunch one afternoon, he told me that it took losing his first million dollars to learn how to make a million dollars. I was a bit taken by this comment at first, thinking that was a real hard lesson in Business 101!. When he saw my quizzical look, he commented that the trick to gaining wealth lies in two things..being opened minded and using a set of business priciples that are proven to get results regardless of the opportunity. He finished his story by saying that first business venture cost him dearly, but he learned from his mistakes and went on to make multi-millions afterward. He took the good from the experience and used it after that first time with predictable results everytime.
Wondering how his story applies to multiple income streams? Well, working more than one business certainly requires being open to opportunity, not to mention courage. Working more than one income stream also requires applying business principles that produce results or they can be very costly! So, how does a person find these proven business principles without losing a millions dollars to learn them? I suspect it is a little easier these days than it was for my old boss when tools like the internet didn't even exist. He didn't have a mentor, he ran a solo business with very few associates from which to glean experience at the time.
Today, is a much different story with all the opportunities available to amass wealth online where there are a number of "trailblazers" who have paved the way for others to follow their lead to success. Yes, one has to be careful when taking advice. Still, you have to start somewhere. Right? In fact, places like AdlandPro are great places to start, especially if you don't have vast resources to throw at your ventures. With all the information and opportunity available in places like AdlandPro, you really don't need to "re-invent the wheel."
I leave with a few tips we learned over the years. Whether you decide to run one business or a hundred. First, surround yourself with successful people and be teachable. Our experience has been that successful people who are willing to teach enjoy watching their success ideas take on life through others as well as themselves. Second, do as my old boss did by separating the good from the bad in each venture and continue to reach for your goals and dreams.
All the Best,
David
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