A Beginner’s Guide to Diversifying Your Revenue Streams

Picture your dream life. Go on — take a minute to close your eyes and imagine what it would look like to be living the dream. Are you reclining on a sandy shore somewhere? Are you running your business empire from your living room? Do you have a townhouse, beach house, lake house, penthouse, or any other kind of house you can think of?

“But I can’t afford that!” you may be thinking. We say, “Don’t be too quick to think that!” You — yes, you — can afford the life of your dreams. Maybe not right now, but with the right mindset and tools, you can learn to have multiple streams of income, achieve financial security, and start living the dream.

Sound good? We think so. That’s why today, we’re sharing some of our best tips and tricks to help you diversify your income. It takes hard work and plenty of patience, but we’re confident that you can secure your future financial stability. Ready to get started?

Money Mindset: You Are Worthy of Financial Security

When it comes to money, there are many flavors of toxic mindsets. Many of us grew up in households where money was a taboo topic, and as a result, we don’t know how to have healthy conversations about money. It becomes this necessary evil in our lives, and we don’t learn how to take care of our financial well-being. But that’s not the mindset of the wealthy! 

Check out what our friend Dan Lok had to say about a poor mindset vs. a wealthy one:

“[Poor people] … don’t talk about money. They avoid conversations like it’s a taboo topic. … Think of money as a person in your life — [if] you don’t talk about it, … would it want to stay in your life? … The marketplace [of the world] only cares about one thing, value. … If someone is really motivated, they can think positively, [and they] offer their skill sets to the marketplace. … Your mindset combined with your skillset, is the key.” – Dan Lok

Learning to talk about money is essential. We all have to deal with it, and we all want to learn how to make more of it. So why not talk about it? Money is not inherently bad. If you can develop your ability to think and talk about money with confidence and hopefulness for the future, you’re already halfway there.

Still, we understand that’s not easy. Too often we can fall into the trap of feeling like we’re not worthy of the wealth and financial stability we desire. Does that sound like you? Friend, we’re here to tell you that those patterns of thinking are false — you don’t need that toxic energy! 

When it comes to money, you are worthy of every penny that comes to you. Just take it from our friend Rachel Rodgers, the millionaire founder of HelloSeven:

You are worthy of wealth, and you are capable of achieving it. Conquering your mind is half the battle, so start developing a strong money mindset today.

Making Money Online: Our Top 10 Methods

Once you’ve got your positive money mindset firmly in place, it’s time to be productive. But what if you don’t know where to start? That’s okay — we got you!

There are so many ways you can make money online. Here are just a few of our favorites:

1) Teaching and Training

What do you know how to do that most people can’t? What special skills do you have that others are eager to learn? Are you an expert in SEO? Do you know how to cook the best omelets in the world? Maybe you’re an out-of-this-world singer, candle-maker, or videographer. 

Whatever your unique skills, there is someone out there who wants to learn how to do what you can do. Chances are, there are a lot of people who desire your skills and are willing to pay you to teach them. By creating a course and offering others your expertise, you can generate passive income online.

2) Offering a Service

When you were a kid, did you offer to babysit, petsit, or mow lawns for your neighbors? Guess what — you can still use that same entrepreneurial spirit and offer your services to others now. Freelancing on the side is a great way to use and improve your skills while earning extra income. What special service can you provide?

3) Creating and Selling Products

Remember when we talked about teaching by creating courses? To boost your income even further, you can package your expertise into a book, video course, software program, or any other format and generate ongoing sales. That’s right — you can literally make money in your sleep.

4) Membership Sites and Continuity Programs

As an entrepreneur, you have the opportunity to build new communities. Each time you bring someone new on board to learn your programs, you gain more income. Now, what if you offered those programs on an ongoing basis through a membership program? 

For a monthly fee, your community members can continue engaging with your content and expertise. And the best part is, you only have to sell something once to get paid every month.

5) Affiliate Marketing

Don’t have an idea for a product, but have a particular product or service you love? You might want to try your hand at affiliate marketing. By promoting others’ products and services through your online channels, you can earn a commission on sales without ever needing to create a product yourself.

6) Building a Site and Selling Ads

Do you like to write? Consider starting a blog. Through a personal website, you can sell ad space and make an impressive amount of money from your marketing partners!

7) Selling Sponsorships for Branded Content

Do you have a blog, podcast, YouTube channel, or other popular media outlet? If so, consider selling your sponsorship! No matter what you’re passionate about, you can find sponsors who will want to reach your audience.

8) Events

This one speaks for itself. You can make money by creating workshops, retreats, seminars, conferences — any kind of event you can think of! You’ll be amazed at the income you can generate by charging for admission, selling your products at events, and obtaining sponsorships.

9) Masterminds and Coaching

This comes from that same spirit of teaching, but with a little bit of a twist. Through masterminds and coaching, you’re offering others the opportunity to learn from your skills, receive valuable encouragement and accountability, and discover new networking opportunities. You can offer community or individual coaching sessions to instruct and inspire others and make money while you’re at it. 

10) Getting Creative

These are just a few of our favorite ways to make extra income on the side — what others can you think of? Remember — the sky is truly the limit when it comes to entrepreneurship. If you can find a creative way to do what you love and make money, go for it!

Overcoming Obstacles: Advice From an Expert

There are so many ways you can make extra money, but they all have one thing in common: You have to put in the work. Even making money in your sleep through sales or advertisements requires you to create your products and forge relationships with marketing partners. It’s not easy, but it is worth it.

We get it, though. There are a million obstacles that can get in the way of your productivity. Our friend, productivity expert Ali Abdaal says there are three “horsemen” or major obstacles we have to overcome to be productive:

• Procrastination — This is a problem with getting started. It’s all too easy to think of reasons not to do something.
• Distraction — This is a problem when you’re not having fun. Any and all opportunities to divert your attention from work become huge barriers to your productivity.
• Burnout — This is what happens when you have too much of a good thing — when you’re working so much you don’t realize you need a break, and you ultimately wear yourself out.

So how can we overcome these “productivity killers?” Ali uses the acronym G.A.M.E.S. to explain:

G: Gamification. By making your work into a game, you can inject a little extra fun into your workday. Consider the challenge before you, and find ways to track your progress. By creating small goals and checking them off as you progress, you can make a game out of your work and start having more fun than ever.

A: Autonomy. This is all about ownership — when you feel like you have ownership of your work, you’re even more motivated and driven to succeed. Instead of saying, “I have to do XYZ,” start saying, “I get to do XYZ.” Consider the impact you’re having on others, and enjoy the feeling of creating positive change.

M: Mastery. Mastering a new skill is a great way to make work and life in general more fun. Focus on the opportunities you have to develop new skills. As you learn, you’ll find your confidence, motivation, and satisfaction will only grow.

E: Environment. What is your perfect work environment? Do you like to have music playing in the background, or is extra noise distracting? Is it helpful to put your phone in another room when you need to focus? Consider ways you can optimize your environment to minimize distractions and maximize productivity.

S: Social. Whether you work in an office or at home, find ways to incorporate other people into your work. Collaboration and socialization make us all better, so find ways to work alongside others. When you find a partner to help with a project, join a Zoom meeting of like-minded entrepreneurs, or find another way to connect, being social can greatly enhance your productivity.

Don’t Forget to Bring the Joy

If we could offer you one last piece of advice, let it be this: At the end of the day, the thing that matters most is the joy you bring to the table. 

If you don’t bring joy into your mindset, you’ll never believe you’re worthy and capable of building wealth. If you don’t approach your work with an attitude of joy, you won’t be able to create new income streams and secure your financial future. And if you don’t bring joy into your relationships, others will not want to work with you.

But if you show up every day with an attitude of joy, you will quickly find that the opportunities you’re seeking will open up to you. You’ll find it easier to overcome your obstacles, share your expertise, and start making that money! You’ll be able to create lasting partnerships with others, and you’ll find greater enjoyment and satisfaction in your work. Best of all, you’ll achieve your dream of financial freedom before you know it!

So how will you build wealth for your future? What new income stream can you start building today? Whatever you need to do to get started, we encourage you to do it — you’ll be sipping a cool drink on the beach in no time!