The Case Against Multiple Streams of Income
One of the most common pieces of advice you’ll hear as an online entrepreneur is that you should develop multiple streams of income. It seems wise, especially when you consider the danger of putting all of your eggs in one basket.
But that generalization gets overblown in the worst way, causing marketers to spread themselves so thin, they never get to experience true success. In fact, for many people, this is polar opposite of the advice they should be taking.
Multiple streams of income is a concept that involves having more than one business model or niche. Sometimes, people will do so many things at once – selling info products, offering freelance services, trying out affiliate marketing, dropshipping, selling printables and more.
Instead of embracing a multiple business model approach, let’s consider a strategy that has you fully focused on excelling at one thing. This is what most truly successful, top notch entrepreneurs do when you study their business carefully.
Usually, the ones touting a multi stream approach are doing it because newbies feel more secure having backup plans and they aren’t fully sure of which direction they should commit to.
Having Multiple Streams of Income Dilutes Your Productivity
One of the most important things you can possess as an online entrepreneur is productivity. Whether you have one business or multiple branches, it's important to keep up with the output your consumers demand, as well as what will keep you competitive in the marketplace.
When you are trying to manage more than one business, you're spreading your own energy, focus, and resources thin. This is bound to have an impact on how effective you are at being productive throughout your day.
Each business model is going to have its own list of tasks and a timeline they must be met within if you want it to be a success. If you are not able to keep up with that level of productivity across all branches, you will see each one of your businesses fail, without ever delivering any income stream whatsoever.
You have to think about more than just output of content. You're also trading your energy and your mental capacity whenever you switch gears and have to work on a different project in a completely separate manner from what you were just working on.
This is known as being a Jack of all trades and a master of none. You want to excel at one thing rather than have a little bit of experience and effort spread across a wide terrain.
It's better for you to have excellent results with one business than it is to be mediocre or even a failure in many different businesses. Each one is going to require you to hone your skills in a way that allows you to beat your competitors when it comes to the attention and investment by consumers.
You should have a focus on quality, not just quantity of deliverables when it comes to your target audience and what they are looking for. If you are trying to keep up with three to five businesses, you're going to find it difficult to even be productive, much less ensure the quality of what you are doing.
It’s More Complex Managing More Than One Business Model
When you are trying to learn the ropes of being an online entrepreneur and achieve your success goals, it can be enough of a struggle as it is to gain an understanding and apply principles in a way that allows you to generate income.
If you are trying to manage more than one business, you are burdening yourself with an extremely complex and overwhelming task. You have to stay informed about everything going on within each business model.
For example, if you are an affiliate marketer on Amazon, you have to not only manage their rules and guidelines that are continuously changing, but what Google and other search engines expect from product reviews they ranked highly.
If you switch gears to work on an info product, you have to look at the rules of the platform, networking etiquette, affiliate recruitment, and other issues that are difficult for even the most organized entrepreneur to manage.
The list goes on and on, with the more business models you add on to your strategy. Not only does the knowledge you have to absorb increase, but your time management becomes more difficult as each project begins to demand your attention in order to profit.
It’s Hard to Gain Traction for Your Brand with More Than One Branch
It’s also more difficult if consumers are viewing you as spread too thin. If your brand is trying to be a catch-all, it doesn’t instill confidence in your buyers and subscribers that you have the expert knowledge they need.
Your brand needs to be focused to reflect a top tier level of service and production. If someone looks up your name, they shouldn’t see five different businesses. To them, it won’t look impressive – it looks desperate, unorganized and concerning.
Imagine someone Googles your name and sees that you sell anti aging info products, promote dog care items on Amazon, sell bath bombs on Etsy, and offer virtual assistant services as a freelancer.
You have to be able to carve out an identity for your business that is clear and consistent. Ideally, this will be centered around your skills, talents and interests that reflect a passion for what you do.
Expenses Rise with Each Business You Tack On
If you’re a new marketer, or someone financially struggling, you’re going to find your costs and overhead rising with every business you add. Instead of just a domain and hosting for an affiliate blog, you might decide to add on several more businesses.
As an info product vendor in another niche, now you’re looking at paying for yet another domain, maybe a ghostwriter or editor, graphic designer or tools, and more. If you decide to add on a membership program, you now need a platform like AMember, which is costly and presents you with a big learning curve.
If you’re selling something tangible on Etsy or Shopify, you’re going to have to add the materials and shipping costs to that and don’t forget about fees you’ll pay across multiple platforms or paid ads you have to run to generate traffic, too.
To learn all of these new business models, you have to pay for courses, tools, and maybe even coaching to get you to a place where you can become profitable with your new add-on venture.
Streamline Everything Into One Business Model While Protecting Your Income
You don’t have to put your income at risk by focusing on a single business and niche. You can protect it in different ways. First and foremost, abide by rules and regulations as well as proper etiquette related to your business model.
Don’t engage in any risky behavior, like spamming or breaking rules of the platforms you’re using in order to turn a quick buck. You can also protect your income by utilizing multiple platforms, rather than just one.
For example, if you sell info products you can put your courses on ClickBank, Udemy, JVZoo and Warrior Plus as well as sell direct to customers on a platform like Systeme, Thrivecart, etc.
Multiple streams of income may sound tempting, but it can sometimes serve as a detriment to your overall success. If you’re determined to branch out, make sure that you’re making one business successful and profitable before you begin adding anything on one at a time, allowing you to properly manage your expansion.
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