The key to multiple income streams is that you get to decide the shape of your life. You can focus on your strengths and have variety and fulfilment in your life. Interested? In this article, Marianne Craig explains how to create a 'portfolio career'.
I like the idea of a portfolio career - where you do several things which reflect your personality and fulfil you. A portfolio career can, for example, mean combining a part time job with a start-up business, a course, voluntary work or child-care. The term "portfolio career" was coined by writer and broadcaster Charles Handy in the 1990s and acknowledges the changes in society and in the job market: fewer jobs for life, more people wanting greater variety in work and education in their adult lives, changing gender roles, more people seeking fulfilling lives.
Linked to the idea of a portfolio career is the notion of multiple income streams i.e. your income comes from a number of sources. I myself have a number of income streams. My core business is one-to-one career coaching. I have a second company through which I offer training in career coaching and I am an assessor for a coach training company. I also freelance as an associate for a couple of executive coaching companies. In addition I have several passive income streams. For example I have written an ebook called So You Want to Become A Coach which I sell from my website. A passive income stream means you make money while you sleep. In other words you create a product which is sold for you by a shop or website.
I once met a man who had ten different income streams including a number of passive ones. He wrote books and articles which were sold and published in the traditional way, he self-published other books, he ran workshops, offered one-to-one tutoring, he did training for different companies, he was a professional key-note speaker, he recorded his talks and sold the CDs from his web sites and at conferences along with his publications, he offered consultancy and he created ecourses which were delivered as automatic weekly downloads..........phew!
Spreading the risk
The beauty of having so many income streams is that you are not dependent on one income alone to earn your living. If several of them don't work out it's not a problem. Moreover you can spread the risk and aim to make a living from the spread rather than from one source. The other great thing is that you can leverage your successes. This entrepreneur gave a talk but didn't leave it at that. He leveraged this opportunity by recording his speech and selling it to many more people than were present at his original talk. I know of another entrepreneur with a number of creative businesses including her own photography business and photo-based products such as calendars which she sells online. One successful photograph can be leveraged many times over.
Think about your career as a creative endeavour
The idea of multiple income streams means you can think differently about how you earn and how much you want to earn. The key is you get to decide the shape of your life. You can focus on your strengths and have variety and fulfilment in your life.
Thinking creatively about your time and your earning power and getting clear about your personal values means you can focus on what is really important. That might mean your main focus is on work but it might also be spending time with your kids, music, creative arts, saving the planet or contributing in other ways as a volunteer.
Yes it's challenging living at a time when there is little job security but on the other hand the Internet and the growth of entrepreneurialism, especially among women, young people and retired people, means that the time is right to play to your strengths and create a career as varied and interesting as you are. Get the colours out and start painting that rainbow!
Leave a comment below: Do you find the idea of multiple income streams appealing or confusing?
Forever Scottish and based in the seaside town of Brighton in the U.K., Marianne has been working as a coach for more than eight years. She specialises in coaching people who feel they are at a crossroads in their career and their life, and has developed the pioneering Firework Career Coaching Programme www.coachlifeandcareer.com. Marianne coaches you through a structured step by step process, helping you discover a fulfilling career and life path, and to complete an action plan. Marianne is currently working on a project offering low cost coaching to social entrepreneurs and social activists. See www.miruscoaching.org Email coach@coachlifeandcareer.com
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