Multiple Income Streams: avoiding Starving Artist Syndrome

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Summary: The key to success as a creative or for anyone, is
multiple income streams.

Total words: 600

Category: Small Business

Multiple Income Streams: avoiding Starving Artist Syndrome

Copyright (c) 2002 by Angela Booth

If you're a creative, the chances are high that if someone is
making a buck from your talents, it's not you. We writers,
artists and designers aren't good negotiators. We love our work,
and we're happy that someone wants to pay us for it. It takes us
a while to realize that while everyone else is doing nicely from
our work, we're not.

The answer to Starving Artist Syndrome is: Multiple Income
Streams.

How would that work? Some ideas ----

If you're a writer, you could:

* work on a novel (your primary work and source of income) as
well as

* write articles for magazines and newsletters, and

* write a children's book, and

* write greeting card material.

If you're a Web designer, you could:

* develop Web sites (your primary source of income), and

* create logos and stationery for businesses, and

* create images for greeting cards, and

* host client Web sites.

If you're a photographer, you could:

* do advertising photography (primary income source), and

* take stock photos for image libraries, and

* take glamour shots at beauty salons, and

* take photos of homes for up-market realtors.

If you're thinking: "Yes, that's great, but won't I be spreading
myself too thin?" the answer is yes, if you try to do all of this
at once. You develop your Multiple Income Streams over time.
Estimate that it will take a year to get them all happening. What
these Multiple Income Streams will do for you, when you get them
moving, is smooth out your work and cash flow.

When work is slow on your primary income stream, you work to
market that one, but also develop another. Your goal is to have
at least FOUR income streams. With four sources of cash, all four
won't be going through a slump at the same time. Nor will they
all be equally busy at the same time. You'll have enough work to
keep yourself busy, and cash coming in regularly.

=>The goal of Multiple Income Streams: passive income

The goal of all this busy-beavering is passive income. That is,
work that brings you in cash long after you've completed it. If
you're a writer or artist, this is books that you've written that
are bringing in royalties, or that you're selling on your own Web
site. If you're a photographer, it's stock photos you've licensed
that bring you in fees whenever anyone uses them. If you're a Web
designer, it's hosting clients' Web sites.

The big benefit of the creative life is being able to license
your products. If you're just selling your time, your income is
limited by the time you have to sell, and you'll always be
pushing for the next project, hoping that it's a long one at a
good hourly rate.

Think "intellectual property" and "products" and the picture
changes. Imagine if you create one product every few months, and
sell one copy of that product each week. The more products you
create, the more you'd be selling, and the more $$$ you'd have
coming in.

=>Actively look for Multiple Income Streams

The world is changing fast. Most of the jobs around today weren't
in existence a decade ago. Actively looking for your own Multiple
Income Streams means that you won't be blindsided if your current
work dries up for whatever reason.

Here's how to recognize a new Income Stream that's right for you:

* it gets you enthusiastic;

* you feel you can do it right now, or with some practise or
training;

* it has a market.

Developing Multiple Income Streams takes time, energy and talent,
and you've got that. Get started today.

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