Like so many of my fellow bloggers ? and human beings ? I like to use this time of year to think about what I?ve accomplished in the last 12 months, as well as make a home business goal for what's next.
Over time, my New Year?s resolutions have become fewer. I?ve learned that it?s more effective to work on two or three major goals, in different areas of my life, than it is to make a laundry list of things to do in the coming year. The result has been bigger accomplishments, as well as lasting changes to my habits and lifestyle.
This year, I?ve got a goal for my writing, a goal for my life, and a goal for my home business. Last year, my home business goal was to cut back on the time I spent working. I?m pleased to say that I accomplished this goal, and I work fewer hours than ever ? but I make more money.
For the coming year, I?m changing up my home business goal. Now, I would like to focus on diversifying my revenue streams.
Increased Revenue Diversity for My Home Business
I?m a big believer in the importance of income diversity. Building income from different sources can help protect you against problems that arise when you lose one type of income. A side hustle can help you shore up your finances in the event of a job loss, or some other financial difficulty. Passive income can also be a big help.
As I reviewed my income sources from the past year, I realized that my income isn?t as diversified as it could be. One of my clients has added projects, and now this client accounts for about 1/4 of my income. I have another client that has also been providing me with a great deal of work recently. While it has been nice to have a measure of stability with these gigs, the reality is that both of these clients could cut back at any time.
Diversity amongst clients is an important concept, so my home business goal includes making sure that I have other clients to provide me with a little more diversity of gigs. I?m considering trying to look outside the personal finance niche as well. Not for a large percentage of gigs, but just for a little extra diversity.
I?m also concerned that so much of my income comes from providing content for others. Part of my home business goal to improve my revenue diversity will also include a renewed interest in additional projects that might bring in more money, but not be directly tied to my ability to write for others.
The Ability to Reach My Home Business Goal
I recognize that this goal of diversifying revenue streams is going to require some time and effort on my part, outside of the writing I normally do. I guess it?s a good thing I cut back the amount of time I work. Part of what makes all of this planning possible, however, is the fact that my husband has a great job. His income has increased greatly with this new job, he is paid on a regular schedule, and his contract has already been renewed for next year. This stability, which we didn?t have before, will (hopefully) allow me to make better progress in my efforts to work on new home business projects for revenue. It?s amazing what a little cash flow smoothing can accomplish.
My home business income is still our family?s main source of income. However, my husband?s larger paycheck, not to mention the benefits that come with his job, have provided a level of freedom that I underestimated before. I didn?t realize how significant it would be until we moved and got settled in. Now I can see more opportunities for my home business goal, and I?m ready to move forward ? and hopefully create a stronger business with multiple revenue streams.
What?s your home business goal for the coming year?
Diversifying my income streams is also one of my goals for 2015. It’s an additional security to have other sources of income and also an adequate emergency fund to rely on. This probably is a must for those who work from home. Great insights, by the way!
Great goal 😉 I think that diverse income streams can’t be overrated. I’m putting together my game plan and getting ready to move forward with everything.
Hi Miranda
Thanks for sharing your personal balancing act, and I appreciate as well the goal setting insights. I am personally looking at adding some ‘side hustles’ to supplement my lacking retirement funds (I am 51 and only a third of the way to my goal, which frankly I would love to move up the timelines to have more freedoms) and of course I am not alone in this. I would love to see an article that talks of ways we can build up our retirement from ‘side hustles’. Your thoughts/comment in the meantime would be welcomed too.
I agree with you in that building a variety of income sources is important, but in my own life, I’ve been realizing that I’m spread too thin and that I need to focus more on the stuff I have already. For example, I would just start more websites but the ones I had weren’t really that great. I’m all about quality over quantity these days.
I definitely think quality is important, and that you can be spread too thin. The key is to find that balance between just enough diversity to provide you with a cushion, while at the same time avoiding so much diversity that you can’t get a quality result with anything. When I look at the consolidation that has happened with my business in the last two years, I realize that I am one client away from trouble. The fact that our family’s income diversity has received a boost from my husband’s new job is a big stress reliever and offers peace of mind as I work out my new path.