It’s taken me way longer than it should to think and learn about income streams, what that really means, what the options are and what it can do for me and my family. Over the last couple of years I’ve dove in on this topic to learn more and be more plan-full and purposeful about it. I recently saw an interview with Kevin O’Leary from the SharkTank talk about how a salary from a job can be so addictive. He said it’s like a drug that people get hooked to and they rarely look at or consider what that means for them. I’ve personally had a great career, I enjoy what I do, I’m well compensated, I feel connected to mission of the organization. I hope that is true for all of. But I also have a desire to create on my own. Something that earns money while I sleep and that may live on well past my corporate working days or even hopefully after I’m gone.

There are many types and ways to add income streams. Some are more passive than others. Some are more straight forward than others. Some are more risky and so on. In todays post I’m going to touch on 4 that I spend the most time on. My professional career, dividends from publicly traded stocks, crowdsource real estate platforms and side hustle businesses.

Professional Career as an Employee

I’ve been very lucky to have experienced the majority of my working life in a field that I am passionate about and that I have found success in. I use my degree and my many years of experience to continue to climb the corporate ladder and add value for my employer but also as a leader and coach of my team and others around me. I’ve always strived to be the hardest worker in the room. That means I’ve also many times been the first one in the office and the last one to leave. This has also meant that personal life, time and balance has been sacrificed over the years. Whether that was because of late meetings, business travel, project needs or leader expectations. With all of that said, that hard work and dedication has helped get to where I am today. Even if I would have spent all these years as a business owner, that balance would have also been heavy on the work side. I’ve always believed if something is worth doing, do it all out. One other thing I’d like my younger readers to really understand is that hard work alone doesn’t guarantee success (based on how you define that). You communication style, your presence, the relationships you build, your trustworthiness, being a person that others like to work with and know they can count on are ALL just as important if not more so. You are your own personal brand. Make it something people want to buy and invest in.

Dividend Income

Another form of income that we hear a lot about is income via dividends payments from stocks we own. Many stocks (like AT&T) pay monthly, quarterly or annual dividend payments. These are typically at some defined $ amount. Say $.50 per share as an example. So for every share you own, you would get this payment. This type of income is often popular with people in retirement living on income being produced from their investments since they are not working generating a paycheck any longer. I believe that even before retirement, dividend stocks should have a place in your portfolio. These stocks usually don’t have the big gains in price but that isn’t what you buy them for if looking for income. They are typically more stable and if you do your homework and choose proven companies can be a reliable source of income. If you are younger and not in need of the income, a great option for owners of these stocks is to set them up with a reinvestment option. So instead of getting the dividend payment sent to you, it’s reinvested to buy more shares that then will produce more income. This is a proven long term approach at adding an income stream to your life. Many investors only believe in buying dividend paying stocks.

Crowdsource Real Estate Platform

This is a fairly new one and I’ve only been investing for a little over a year now but the returns have been pretty good. Platforms like Fundrise.com allow you to invest and they, the real estate experts pool your money with other investors to make real estate purchases, fund projects etc. You then receive dividend payments from those deals in addition to value increases of the underlying properties. Fundrise is a private REIT with an underlying stock price, since they are private your investment is not very liquid but its not subject to the daily swings of the stock market. Similar to Fundrise is a platform call Crowdstreet. Crowdstreet on the other hand allows you to directly invest in properties via pooling your money with other investors. They share their targeted IRR, you do your research, understand the terms, the structure and then receive your monthly payments. This is a great way to put your money to work for you. You buy assets that produce more income. You can use that income to support your lifestyle or reinvest it to continue building for the future.

Starting or Buying Businesses

I definitely don’t want to make this one seem easier than is really is. This is hard, business is hard, most businesses especially start up don’t make it over the long term. But the hardest thing are often the most rewarding. I recently launched www.connectcoffeecompany.com as a first experience in starting my very own business. There are so many tools offered today to get Ecommerce off the group. Platforms like Shopify make this incredible easy. There are still lots of steps and things to do, but they do a great job with resources to help people with each of those steps. I chose to work with a drop shipper, so I hold no inventory, I don’t do any of the manufacturing, sourcing, packaging or shipping. That is all done by vendors I’ve selected as part of my product offering. I evenly want to get into all those parts and own the E2E, but this is a great first step in the process and with the primary goal to learn, grow and encourage others to get out there and try things. I’m not in a big hurry to take it deeper. I share this as an example of starting your own business, that although it can be small can help produce some additional income sources. You can launch and run many Ecommerce businesses as part of your portfolio. Do something you are passionate about that adds value to the world. There are also ways to buy business or act as an Angel investor where you put up money and help with your experience in a consultative owner perspective. This is risky of course but also rewarding and potentially lucrative from a return perspective.

Just do it

It really doesn’t matter how you choose to build multiple income streams. Get out there and try some things, have some confidence in yourself, your drive, your experience and embrace a growth mindset. You might just surprise yourself and change your life in the process!!!