5 Ways To Create Multiple Streams Of Income

If you’ve recently lost your job, home or a family member, don’t forget that there are still things in life you can hold on to that no one can ever take away from you, like your experience, your expertise and your skills. Your “added value” resources and are worth investing in right now. Use those skills to begin building multiple income streams to keep yourself afloat.

Michelle Norris, the Co-Founder & CEO of Paleo f(x)™ a Paleo Health & Wellness Platform & Event, lost her job with Starbucks as a project manager right before the 2008 crash, spiraling to the brink of bankruptcy. At the same time, her and her husband were also weathering the unexpected death of their daughter, Brittani, whose student loans (which were just under six figures) were passed on to them to pay. That’s when Michelle and her husband got serious about creating multiple streams of income.

“If you still have a job, stay the course while also incorporating additional income streams for diversification. Having multiple income streams keeps you protected in times of unpredictable economic instability,” Norris advises.

Here’s five income streams you can add to your life today.

1. Create a Course or Membership

Got a knack for gardening, physical fitness or building sales funnels? Leverage your own skills and expertise around any niche skill with your own course or membership group on social media. Be sure that whatever you create stands out. Do something no one else does.

“Getting set up involves an initial small investment, but it can quickly pay for itself as people begin to pay you to learn what you know,” says Norris. “Once the course/membership is created and online, you can earn passive income off of it forever. If ten people, for example, sign up for your $97 course every week, you’ll earn an extra $50k per year. This year, my husband and I created a membership group that offers year round support to entrepreneurs and is on track to bringing in five figures of passive income for us every year.”

2. Teach Your Skills Live

Let’s say you’re talented when it comes to personal development or interior design, but that’s not your full-time pursuit. You can still teach that skill one-on-one or in a group setting online. Ultimately, this is a great way for people who have specialty knowledge to make passive income. You create value for the audience that follows you, which builds trust, and then people will want to learn more from you—and will be willing to pay you for it. The goal here is to monetize your efforts, perhaps by including paid ads on your website or by selling offers to people in your Facebook group. 

“To get started, create your own website with a blog or vlog. Utilize Facebook groups and other social media to build a following, directing people to your site,” notes Norris. “Websites are easy to build and many companies offer cool templates and support. We created monetized websites that teach people the skills we have: ours are nutrition, fitness, health and wellness.”

3. Partner Up

From olive oil to cosmetics to travel, there are an endless array of companies that you can become an affiliate for. You’ll get paid for referring your friends to the products that you use—and you don’t have to have a high-traffic website to make this work. You do, however, should have an established following of at least 500 people on social media. 

“You’ll want to partner with and promote brands you truly trust and believe in. Remember, you’re creating value for your followers by providing them with vetted opportunities. As a bonus, you’ll receive income for very little effort. While these are usually one-off deals, they can pay long term passive income depending on the offer and the timing. To get started, come up with a list of products that you use every day and are passionate about. Then go to their websites and search for affiliate opportunities,” suggests Norris.

4. Spend Smarter

Now is the time to invest any money you can because a downward tick in the market means stocks are essentially on sale. By putting some savings into investments, you’ll create a new stream of revenue that you didn’t have before. If you don’t have extra money laying around, take a look at your expenses and see where you can find, say, an extra $50 a month by refinancing your car or an extra $100 a month by lowering your insurance. After working with a money coach, I was able to cut $500 a month from our normal spending that we could then channel into investing.

5.  Try Relationship Marketing

“Relationship marketing companies provide many of the benefits of owning your own business for a fraction of the cost. It’s your business. you own and run it – but they supply the product along with training on business building, best practices, and websites (sometimes for a nominal cost.) What’s more, many companies are offering free memberships right now so that your start-up costs will be low,” says Norris. “In a typical business, you trade time for dollars. You get paid for what you do, and if you don’t work, you don’t get paid. In relationship marketing, once you build your business, you get paid passively by sharing your experience with the product or service others are seeking. You’ll want to choose a company that you trust and believe in, so you can honestly recommend it.” 

No matter your current situation, you can build one or more of these income streams now. The sooner you start, the easier it will be for you to weather any future financial storms.