subject: Are Multiple Streams of Income Now an Aspect of Career Success? [print this page] Are Multiple Streams of Income Now an Aspect of Career Success?
Does career success still mean climbing the corporate ladder? Do increasing responsibilities and better job titles signify success? Can career success still be measured by longevity in a company? If so, there are few among us that can point to career success. In this challenging new economy, it may be that success comes from having income that does not depend solely on a job. This has alternately been called multiple streams of income, profit centers, and portfolio careers. Basically all of them mean that income is derived from several sources.
What will this type of success look like? Most of us will still keep our day job, ideally full time with benefits, but for many individuals the day job is now a contract or temporary position. Contractors already understand that they are entrepreneurs and will regularly have to "sell" themselves to get another contracted position. Now the rest of us need to realize the uncertainty of continued employment in our current positions. In an age in which companies downsize, merge, get sold, and even go bankrupt, every working individual has to think more entrepreneurially. For many workers, periods of unemployment will be inevitable.
The advice of career counselors to stay current in your field, know your accomplishments and be able to document them, and network on an ongoing basis may shorten periods of unemployment, but not prevent it. To be successful, we must develop a number of entrepreneurial ways of producing income, in addition to working our day jobs.
Our income-generating-endeavors can be:
- seasonal - teaching people how to fish, setting up and managing yard sales, decorating houses for the holidays
- ongoing writing a novel, maintaining a website or blog, renting out space in your garage
- reserved for periods when we are unemployed or in need of additional income tutoring, companion/driver for the elderly, closet organizer.
Our interests, skills, or passions may help us generate potentially profitable ideas. For instance, we may decide to:
- provide some type of service on a year round or on a seasonal basis,
- sell the crafts we produce year-round at summer or Christmas craft fairs,
- put up a website or blog that will attract advertisers,
- share our expertise or information in print media or on the web,
- sell merchandise on ebay and on other auction sites.
No passions; no items to sell; no expertise to share! In this information age, you do not need to have expertise or your own product. You can easily sell other peoples' products and expertise, through affiliate marketing or by purchasing products that give you private label resale rights. There are literally thousands of products you can consider.
