Diversify to survive and thrive

Let me take you back to the start of 2020. It feels like a full century ago. Pre-pandemic life, how naive we were!

At the start of 2020, I felt like I had some really exciting and groundbreaking events for my business and the greater rural community. I was struggling with travel and showing up to network due to geography and farm/family commitments.

So in March, we hosted a HUGE virtual event for International Women’s Day. It was seriously the first of its kind on Australian shores. And it was a massive success. 

Fast forward to thirty days later. The country is in lockdown. The world is learning that everything needs to be moved online. Everything shifted in a heartbeat.

And let me tell you. Thank goodness I had diverse income streams because virtual events would go on to become a dime a dozen. It was not a viable source of income for my business, largely to a suddenly flooded market.

I don’t know if the word pivot has been heard so much in such a short span. But I, like others, had to pivot. This type of online conference couldn’t be my bread and butter. It just wasn’t going to work.

And this experience is one of the reasons I am so passionate about encouraging others to have multiple income streams.

Don’t rely on the same 2-3 customers for your income. Don’t rely on a singular service to consistently grow your business.

Diversity is where the real growth lies for many businesses. Even with product-based businesses, adding complementary products that might allow you to expand your target market. Or adding in a wholesale model. This is all diversity that allows for greater growth in the future.

So what is income stream diversity? It basically means your revenue comes from more than one source. It means that you have added freedom and flexibility in your business and it allows you to be much more agile in decision-making.

Diversity also adds stability to your overall business model, spreading the risk. A great example of a big diverse business is Amazon, dealing now in movies, music streaming, e-commerce, and so much more. There are so many different arms of the business.

Diversity also can remove the feast and famine so many businesses face with the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. 

The last reason I am such a huge champion of diverse income streams is that it means you can often leverage existing resources for additional income. So you can expand without necessarily spending more on hiring or investing in new programs.

You’ve got way too much knowledge in your head to be mediocre, maximise that knowledge and add in some diverse income streams.

NOT SURE HOW TO START? OR WHAT AREA OF YOUR BUSINESS TO GROW? GET IN TOUCH, WE CAN HASH IT OUT!