MULTIPLE STREAMS OF INCOME

By: STEPHEN NKWOPARA

Presently, big organizations like X (formerly Twitter), Yahoo, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and others are reducing the number of their workforce. People are losing their jobs. Some were caught unaware in the sense that they had not prepared to go back to the labour market at the time they were sacked or retrenched.

In corporate organizations, you either get hired or fired. Most times, very short notice is given, while sometimes, no notice at all. Beyond being sacked or retrenched, there is the need to have multiple streams of income to take care of yourself, your family, your loved ones, and humanity. Mind you, the likes of Dangote, Tony Elumelu, Jim Ovia, Obi Cubana, and other entrepreneurs are not just in business to make ends meet but to impact their world and touch lives.

The rising cost of living is impacting globally but differently; it is clearly evident that expenses and bills continue to rise steeply. The cost of food, household consumables, and other essentials has skyrocketed in recent times from Cairo to Botswana, New Delhi to Shanghai, London to New York, Mexico City to Johannesburg, Mumbai to Dublin, Tokoyo to Lagos, name it. This price hike has been on the increase as part of the consequences of the novel coronavirus, and this continues to shrink the available disposable income of the majority.

In the Nigerian context, a loaf of bread that was N400 in 2020 is now about N800, a 100 percent increase in two years. Similar percentage increases are in the cost of flight tickets, healthcare, rents, diesel, cooking gas, a bag of rice, a crate of eggs, a kilo of chicken or turkey and many other essentials due to inflation, yet income has remained the same or even less. Nothing is easily affordable and almost everything is out of reach of the masses. Given the country’s current situation and that many people have not seen a growth in their income, this has resulted in reduced or no savings, increased frustration, and dissatisfaction in fulfilling basic demands amongst many.

There is always the possibility and anxiety of losing jobs or businesses folding up regardless of the length of service put up, experience acquired, or available connections, and these consequences may even be more severe. Employers, in fact, are hesitant to implement any wage increases for economic reasons. Inflation continues to have a severe negative impact on man’s mental, emotional, and physical well-being, as well as on marriages and livelihoods.

Currently, even with a steady, regular salary, living has become costlier with heightened uncertainty, high inflation, and weak purchasing power, especially for the masses, including civil servants, entrepreneurs, and small business owners. As a result, one of the ways to have protection is by diversifying sources of income and having multiple streams at this time. You have multiple bills; why not have multiple streams of income to support the inadequacy?

Therefore, in addition to salary or business income, it is important to source other income avenues to satisfy the rising needs, poor business performance, and inflation. Because if financial capacity is weak and daily expenses continue to rise, individuals, businesses, and even households will be threatened with sustainability. Therefore, there is a need to take action because having multiple streams of income has proven to be priceless.

Consequently, having multiple sources of income is the best way to protect yourself, your company, and your family against drastic financial change. The tools for generating these multiple streams of income are readily accessible on the internet or by engaging a professional. We have greater access than ever before to information, people, ideas, and opportunities with social media, so tap into this. If the average billionaire or millionaire has more than one way to make money, it is important for professionals and business owners to think the same way and have stable passive income streams in order to stay on top of financial and economic woes.

While active income will require your full attention and effort, like being available from 8 am to 5 am daily, passive income is generated with no or insignificant effort and attention; it can work while you sleep. So, to complement active income, passive income such as investing can generate income through dividends, interest, and return on capital. Depending on the market and your financial circumstances, investing in real estate might provide you with high returns and rental income. But if you cannot construct to generate rent, acquire a piece of land and protect it; no matter how far away it is, it will rise in value. If you have years of experience in your field, you can start giving consultations or guest lectures as a means to earn another stream of income from your regular job or business. Another reliable way is by acquiring assets that can generate consistent and steady cash flow. Looking inward might just help as well; talents, abilities, and passion can be used to create potential that can give income streams.

Note that multiple streams of income are not necessarily achieved by starting 2-4 businesses at different locations, although it is beneficial if you have the capacity and capabilities to do so. It is also in the same business you already have that you can create multiple streams of income if you look inward and harness the opportunities before you.

I will discuss this in full under the caption: MULTIPLE STREAMS OF INCOME IN THE SAME BUSINESS, below in this e-book.

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