Ok, let’s be real, no matter how many ideas you have none of them will generate you any income unless you actually act on them. I know you, you’re probably saying of course! But here is the thing; you must have certain characteristics or factors to begin to be successful in whatever you set out to do.

On Moolanomy he has outlined 7 key factors to help build successful income streams. I choose this article because he gives good real life examples of how each factor comes into play.

Here are my 7 key factors to build successful alternative income streams

1. Passion — Do what you love. If you hate writing, don’t start a blog or try to write for money. Find income ideas that are compatible with whom you are and success will inevitably follow.
2. Expertise – Focus on what you are good at to begin the process. Sure, you could learn something new, but you want to put your best foot forward when you are starting out. Leverage your expertise to generate that extra income!
3. Patience — Don’t expect to see the desired results right away — e.g., this blog was losing money for three months before I earned my first dollar. Building alternative income streams take time and effort. For some income streams, you might see results right away, for others you might have to wait. Time is your friend when it comes to building alternative income streams so start as early as you can and stay in it as long as you can.
4. Commitment – Some ideas take more effort than others. For example, investing my money in the stock market doesn’t take that much time — just contribute the money, set up my asset allocation, research mutual funds and ETFs, invest, rebalance quarterly, and watch my money grow. Others take a lot of time and commitment — e.g., this blog consumes about 3 hours a day.
5. Persistence — Not everything you try will be successful — e.g., my little stint with the bulk candy vending business. You may have to try dozens of ideas before you find the one that works for you. The important thing is to keep trying.
6. Diversify — Don’t stop at the first thing that works. The whole idea is to have as many income streams as you could. You never know when one would dry up — e.g., even the Niagara Falls stopped for a day! Diversification is a great way to reduce risk, and it’s the best insurance against losing an income stream.
7. Little by little – The nice thing about diversifying and having a lot of income streams is that little things do add up to a lot. Just like they said, “A dollar here, a dollar there. The savings add up” — in our case it’s the income that adds up.

Well, there you have it — my secret recipe for building successful alternative income streams

1. Great article and nice way to lay it out for the masses!

   Posted by H-Dot | March 11, 2009, 8:58 am

2. You hit the nail on the head - that list is basically what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur, or to have a successful career, for that matter. Great job making it simple!

   Posted by Jon | March 13, 2009, 12:47 pm