IMPORTANT STEPS TO CREATING MULTIPLE INCOME STREAMS

In my work coaching entrepreneurs with their passive product businesses, I've noticed a few key pieces of advice that I repeat over and over. I thought it would be good to highlight some important steps to creating multiple income streams to give you some insight.

"Making money is art. And working is art. And good business is the best art." -Andy Warhol

As artists, we tend to be good at creating but not so great at turning our artwork into income. The people that find amazing success don't limit themselves to just one income stream, but they are strategic. Let's go over a few things to consider.

1. Create a Better Plan

In order to not become overwhelmed by trying to do all the things at once, you need to start with a comprehensive business vision. Picture everywhere your business could go. Dream bigger than you think is possible. What if everything worked out, what would you be doing? What kinds of products would you have created? What will your days look like?

The important next step is to take a look at your plan and decide which one thing will make the biggest impact on your business? Would it be getting a licensing deal? Having a viral product? Being a part of a big art show? Now you're starting to create a roadmap to your first viable product.

2. Create & Test Your First Viable Product

Too often, people try to either create multiple streams of income all at once or build out too many products without proof of concept. You need feedback to know if people like what you're creating enough to buy it. This is the messy middle part of product creation. Thankfully with Print on Demand and digital products, there's a low cost and effort to testing out your designs. But before ordering a sample product, I'd even share your design & mockup to social media or with friends and family and ask for simple honest constructive criticism. Don't waste a lot of time on products that haven't been vetted.

My favorite truth is that if you can sell one product (sold to your mom doesn't count,) then you can sell 100.

3. Create in Collections

Once you have a minimally viable product, then I would build a collection of products that work cohesively with it. It could be a series of the same product type, like a line of t-shirts that all have a similar design style. Or you could use the same exact design on other product types, like adding a sweatshirt, hat, mug, etc all with the same design.

Everything you create going forward should be designed with a bigger picture in mind. What else sells well with this product?

4. Do One Thing Well First

Before you launch a second income stream, you need one working well in the background. Print on Demand and digital products are perfect for this. There is low cost and effort to get started and once you have things set up, they sell even when you're not working on your business.

Once you're selling products, I would focus on SEO & marketing to magnify your efforts. Then build out additional product collections in the same marketplace you're already using.

5. Review your Business Vision: What Would be Most Impactful Now?

This may be a good time to focus on creating value based content & developing your own website to point people to. You could create a social media channel to show some of your process and behind the scenes.

Or it may be a great time to consider selling on an additional marketplace, licensing your designs, or consider adding wholesale options through Faire, or a local business. You already have designs that sell, so why not leverage what you've already created and sell it another way?

6. Work Strategically, One Step at a Time

This is the hard part. In our modern age, we want results faster. But if you think of your business as building in layers where you start with a solid foundation, you will decrease the anxiety of needing it all to be done perfectly, now. Focus on creating just one thing at a time. Get that part working well before adding in the next thing.

In summary, having multiple income streams is the best sustainable strategy to combat inconsistent & low incomes. When one area, like POD or digital products have slow seasons, having products that are licensed or sell via wholesale help fill in the gaps.

You don't have to live the starving artist lifestyle anymore. You can make money, quite easily in fact with the right system. You can sell on your own website, on marketplaces, even on social media. We live in the easiest time to make money online.

If you’re looking for more advice to help your business thrive, check out my membership, where I walk artists step-by-step through creating & scaling their own passive product business. Your products will sell while you're out creating more art or living your best life.

The most important point here is that you need to only focus one the one next right thing. Don't try to do it all or none of it will be done well. Remember, you're weaving in layers that all work harmoniously together.

Warmest regards,