NO.. this is not that infomercial you almost fell for promising you riches beyond belief if you bought the great income increasing SYSTEM for only…. $250! That’s right folks $250 and you will be on your way to wealth beyond your wildest imagination!  Nope, because the only one getting rich is the person selling the mysterious, secret SYSTEM!

What I’m talking about are the various income sources you have.

Multiple Streams of Income = the different ways you make money

 For example, my income streams are:

1. #MoneyChat MasterClasses for Personal Finance/Biz
2. Book Sales
3. Speaking
4. Blogging at www.themoneychat.com

Someone else’s maybe:

1. Day job 2. Courier in the evenings 3. Car repair on the weekend
2. Day job 2. Investments 3. Tutoring

Now, do you see anything secretive about any of that? I didn’t think so. The key is to find out what you can do to increase the income flowing into your household that fits into your schedule.  You have to make sure you can focus on making that income stream work for you so you actually make money. Make a list of ideas for your top 3 possible income streams. These are things you can make happen within the next 3 – 6 months.  Now from your list, start with the one you can begin now.

‘I have waaayyy more than three ideas, Dorethia!’ I know, but we have to focus. If you are working on several income streams at the same time in the beginning – you risk burning out and not making any money at all. Start with 1, once it is producing a successful stream of income, add another and so on. Think about it, we’ve all seen the person with a new idea each week. In our minds we think, whoa, he/she is all over the place.  You don’t want to be that person, so add on bit by bit.

Another point is that you don’t want to overextend yourself hoping you will make money.  Let’s say you decide to lease vending machines. Great idea, they aren’t going anywhere, almost every place of business has one or more. Instead of starting with say, three, you determine you are going to double that number. This amounts to more money out of pocket for leasing, before you are able to gauge if the locations you chose will be profitable. Not such a good idea.

My Take on MLMs:

Okay, I’m not against MLMs that are legit. I am against all the SPAM I receive in my email, on Facebook, on Twitter, etc. It is the devil!! (in my best Adam Sandler, Waterboy voice) MLMs have to be treated as a business, putting in many hours each month. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise, you are not going to get rich after putting in only a couple of hours a week. You also need to find your target market, people like me are not it. The employee, retiree or stay at home mom, etc. looking for extra income is a better fit.  I also would not dish out tons of cash to make someone else rich (startup fees), you could start your own business or invest the money for that matter.

Rolling in the Dough!

Once the money is coming in you must have a plan for it! Some of our #moneychat’ers mentioned that they may have a different purpose for each income source. For instance, one reader likes to travel, she uses her blogging income to fund this passion so it doesn’t affect her household income or personal savings. Others may have a goal of getting out of debt, paying their child’s college tuition, or simply saving more.  Whatever your goal, set it from the beginning so you don’t lose focus once your multiple streams start really working for you.

Here are some ideas for creating multiple streams of income!

• Freelance work:    www.upwork.com
• Work from home: www.wahm.com (moms)
• Do a Google search for focus groups in your area as well. You can be paid $50 – $100+ to give your opinion, drive a car, etc.
• Take a class at the community college on graphic design, creating mobile apps, websites, etc. These are easy ways to earn money right from home.

Now let’s have some fun. Tell us what your multiple streams of income are! How have you had to tweak your streams over time?

– Dorethia