Diversifying your money: How to create multiple income streams
If the past year has taught us anything, it’s that keeping all your eggs in one financial basket can be a dangerous thing.
As the pandemic hit last year, and the world started to lockdown, many businesses were forced to either close completely, or pivot their offering and look for new ways to make money. And many people in jobs they’d previously considered safe were suddenly out of work.
So no wonder then that an increasing number of people are looking for ways to diversify their income streams, and ensure they can earn money in different ways. Not only does this give you variety, but it also offers some kind of reassurance that even if one industry or market goes into decline, you still have an income.
Three new income streams you can develop
So how can you diversify YOUR finances? In this article, we’re going to explore three ways you can develop new income streams.
Invest in a vacation rental property
As you’ll have noticed, the way people vacation these days is totally different than how it was in the past. Gone are the days hen hotels and B&Bs were the only accommodation option for people who didn’t fancy camping. Today, thanks to sites like AirBnB the vacation rental property industry is booming.
Before investing in a vacation rental, you need to look into listing sites like Airbnb and determine if it will make you any money first. And in order to calculate how much you’ll make, you need to look at these considerations:
- Location of the property
- Number of rooms/guests
- Price of the property
- Proximity to local attractions, restaurants, etc
- Features and amenities
Based on these considerations, you need to calculate what would be a good price for you to list your property for rental guests so that you’ll not only be able to repay your loan for the property, but also be able to earn extra from the occupancy rate you have. Find the right property in the right location, and your vacation rental could become a very lucrative source of income.
Start freelance writing
Do you enjoy writing? Do you have a specialist area you know well? Or is there an industry you are familiar with? If so, you could establish yourself as a freelance writer.
There’s no qualification or required training to establish yourself as a freelance writer. You simply need to feel confident that you can write good copy or content, and find a market for it.
To get started, it’s a good idea to choose a niche. It’s always easier to get a foothold as a specialist, rather than a generalist, plus you can usually charge more and you’ll have less competition.
Once you have a niche, start working on your LinkedIn profile, and ensure it conveys why you’re a writer to consider in that niche. Build a portfolio of work too. If you don’t yet have any pieces, you can get started by writing blog posts and articles for websites, or by doing some work for an introductory rate for someone you know.
It will take time to build a bank of regular clients, but until then you can list your services on freelance websites like Upwork. Get your LinkedIn profile right and people should start finding you via that too. And don’t forget your existing network – don’t be afraid to reach out to old colleagues and acquaintances on LinkedIn and see if they need a writer.
Start an online store
With this particular method, people often get intimidated because they think they need some type of business degree, or assume that creating a website is incredibly hard. But you don’t and it doesn’t have to be.
Anyone can start an online store – you just need an idea of an audience you want to sell to, and products to sell. To create the actual store you can use a DIY website builder, or even start your own ‘shop’ on a selling platform like Amazon, Etsy, or Poshmark.
As for what you actually sell, you can either source products from wholesalers or manufacturers, or create them yourself. Maybe you’re talented at making beaded jewelry or can knit 20 hats and scarves in a day. If so, you can market and sell these in your own online store.
This is something you can do if you’re a stay-at-home mother or if you work a full-time job, especially if you sell products using a dropshipping arrangement.
There are several more ways to generate multiple streams of income, but the three listed above are some of the easiest and most lucrative ways to get started.
