Multiple Streams of Income (MSI) are better than one source of income. Period.

Before you disagree, please consider this:

Having more than one source of income means you have MSI.

So if I work a full-time job and have a part-time, weekend, sideline business that only makes me $50, I have MSI.

If you work for yourself and specialize - something I recommend and have often suggested - you should automatically have MSI.

How?

Because you will have more than one client/customer.

The exception to this is the sub-contracting tradesman who only does subcontract work for one contractor. You see this most often in the building game - a carpenter who only does work for one particular builder and no one else.

In this case, if the builder goes under, the subby is stuffed.

The smart subby will do subcontract work for a few builders. That way, if one of the builders goes bankrupt, he (the subby) still has work (an income source).

Also, to assume that the only way for someone to take on more than one source of income in more than one industry, is to do tasks which have a high competitive nature about them, is somewhat short-sighted or selectively reasoned.

There are certain industries which many people look to to make some money, but very quickly discover there is a little more to it than they thought.

One such example is the Cleaning industry. I often see posts (not on this board) of people who are looking to start their own cleaning business. They ask real basic questions which shows they have no idea at all - they haven't even worked as a cleaner otherwise they would know the answer. They think all you do is buy a vacuum cleaner, a mop bucket and away you go. - There are a lot of people who do this. So in this sense, what you say is right, Mike.

However, what of the person who specializes? They enter a part of the industry all of their own. Maybe they do Dance Halls only, maybe they do Move Out Cleans only, maybe they do Lawyers only, etc. As soon as they market themselves differently, they are different. No competition.

But even if they never make their fortune, or franchise it, or whatever, it still adds to their income. It doesnt have to be a lot, just as long as it is something.

And How Much is totally up to them. But like I mentioned in my post below... they need to do the Math to see how truly lucrative it is or is not.

And Johnny Bravo (Or Richard, Or Max Power or George or whatever you call yourself these days), having more than one source of income is different to having many projects. And remember, two sources of income is more than one and that means MSI. No one says you have to have four or six or ten different sources.

Have as many sources as you feel comfortable with. If that's one other one besides your job, then so be it.

And make sure they do not interfer with each other. And if they do, drop the least profitable one. Or re-arrange your time/schedule. Simple. It's only hard if you make it hard.

You can be in one industry and have MSI. The carpenter was one example. A plumber is another and so is a lawn guy...

A plumber could have fixed maintenance contracts with five or six apartment complexes. A lawn guy could have fixed contracts with five or six complexes as well as his 'regulars.'

In each case, while the person makes money in One Industry, they still have MSI. So if any income source went away, they still have money coming in.

In these cases, what appears to be one source of income, isn't. It's multiple because you have multiple clients/customers who repeatedly buy your product/service.

If you have more than one of these 'businesses' than all the more power to you.

And if your businesses grow and start to intrude on each other's time, then hire others to do the work, or subcontract the work out, or sell the rights to run the business while you still get a small percentage, or sell the business outright.

You can have MSI from one industry or MSI from multiple industries or MSI by having a job and one other source of income. The number of Income Streams doesn't matter. Just so long as you are not totally 100% dependent on one single solitary source of income which, if it disappeared, would leave you with zero dollars coming in.

I think it would be great for everyone to be financially independent. But I realise... that is not possible. Some people cannot handle financial independence mentally. They need to feel the security of a nine to five. And, quite frankly, if it wasn't for the many who do feel that way, we would not have the many and varied products available to us that we have... because there would be no large businesses/companies to develop them.

But just because you may need to have a nine to five to feel secure, does not mean you cannot have a "biz on the side" to generate extra income to make you feel Comfortable.

Let your job be your security and your "biz on the side" be you comfort. Or let your "biz on the side" provide the income which goes into your "retirement fund." Or let your "biz on the side" pay off any investment real estate you have. Or let your "biz on the side" buy your stocks for you. Or... you get the idea.

Having a MSI does not mean letting go of what you already have, if you don't want to. It means having more than one source of income - whether it's from one industry or across mutiple industries. It can be a large income or a small one. Income size is not an issue. It can take up a lot of time or hardly any. It can be from your own business or from another part-time or casual job. Just get a MSI first. Then, once you have it, begin to look beyond to see where it may or may not lead, what you may or may not do with it. If you try to look ahead before you even have it, you may not even bother getting it in the first place. And that'd be a shame.

Michael Ross

P.S. In this week's issue of The Great Ideas Letter (out on Wednesday) you'll see how one man makes an extra $400 - $500 a month on eBay on top of his full-time job. Subscribe today. Click here.