By Hamish Hayward

One of the great things regarding the internet is things change so quickly. This is good; it allows new marketers to take advantage of novel trends and new developments. If you do not respond quickly to new market conditions, your business - and income - can be adversely affected.

That is why you need to have multiple streams of income - so that if your current top earner disappears off Google's radar or one of your many competitors introduces a new product that wipes the floor with your best offering, - you have other income streams to fall back on.

It is like buying stocks and shares - you want to have a diverse portfolio to avoid any sudden spikes and glitches in the market. Alternatively, put it another way - do not "put all your eggs in one basket."

Where are you going to find these multiple streams of income? Sometimes it can be difficult to find even one business opportunity worth investing your time, energy, and money in. The first logical place to look is the market.

It is not easy to get hold of hard data when it comes to marketing and often, when you do get some, they are well out of date. However, the figures below show the UK market percentages of directly sold goods for 2000, a year when the totals spent in this area was $2 billion. These figures were sourced from the UK Direct Selling Association and make for interesting reading.

SERVICES 32%
(telecoms, utilities)

PERSONAL 26%
(cosmetics, fragrances, skincare...)

FAMILY 17%
(Books, toys, games, business aids ...)

HOUSEHOLD 14%
(Security, water treatment, electrical...)

WELLNESS 7%
(Nutritional, diet plans, supplements)

FOOD 4%
(Frozen & other)

The size of the market may vary, and the relative positions may change - but the top five above will probably be able to provide consistently good income streams. The obvious omission from the above list would be online gaming, which is a relatively new phenomenon.

So how do you get started? Simple, pick one area and do some background research. Remember to use a logical approach when evaluating your options - the key areas to look at are; the company; the pay plan; the product; the level of administration; the sales methods available; and the cost - both start up and running.

If this is your first business, try to start with an opportunity that will provide you with residual income. Concentrate on only one business at a time. Work this until you get it to an acceptable level where it is growing without too much time input on your part. It doesn't need to be making thousands of dollars every month - it's easier to arrange for 5 businesses to return $1000 each, than it is to arrange that a single business will return $5000 a month (the law of diminishing returns).

When you are achieving consistent growth month after month, pick a business opportunity in a different sector and repeat the process. Then do it again - and again. Aim for at least three and preferably five solid businesses. Try to have at least 40% of your income as residual income - this is your baseline.

It will probably take at least 6 months, and possibly more, to get each business to the steady growth phase, but its well worth the effort. This will provide you with a diverse income, which will be stable and highly unlikely to be severely impacted by changes in market conditions.

If an opportunity arises in one particular area, you can focus on that for a period in order to maximize your profits. In addition, if there is a downturn in an , you can always use the income from the other sectors to weather the storm.

When you eventually have your multiple income streams online and they are all working well - always be on the lookout for any new opportunities to add to your business portfolio. You can never have too much of a good thing.

Hamish Hayward

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