Increasing Revenue Streams

Freelance Switch wrote on this a while back, but this summer it’s been a goal of mine. Since my junior year of college, I’ve freelanced every long break in lieu of getting a ‘real’ (read: 9-5) job, but have stuck strictly to contract jobs and what amounted to (in most cases) one time shots. I’ve always had a bunch of side projects bouncing around in my head or ones I half-started but never capitalized on. I even created a couple of small Facebook apps that I never made an effort to make money with. This summer I launching several side projects in hopes that one succeeds and does well. I’ve also got an ace in the hole. But why put the time and effort into it?

Well, Freelance Switch also wrote about that a few days ago. The main reason for me is security. I want to know that if there are lulls in work, I am still making money. This summer I got a lot of leads that never amount to anything, and that was incredibly stressful. I am on my last leg of my college career and before expenses really start piling on, I want to invest some money in IRAs and other long term savings accounts but can’t do that if I’m not making the money. Of course, now with school starting I run the risk of any or all of those leads following up. And, to put it bluntly…

I want to be able to say no to work and still have cash flow. This year is going to be particularly busy and I won’t sacrifice school for some short-term cash. Knowing I don’t have to is a big comfort. Aside from the money though, it’s really cool to know I made something people use regularly; and it’s that satisfaction that tells me I got into the right industry.

So how would one go about doing this? Well, I have a couple of side projects I’ve launched: 101-Things and YouWouldntGetIt.Com, as well as one that will be relaunched soon. Apart from those, I am getting into hosting resale. Hosting goes hand-in-hand with web design, so it makes sense for me to offer both services to my clients. What you do is up to you, but as a freelancer it’s important that you do it.

My summer was an eye opener for this stuff, and it’s a real turning point in my career. By increasing revenue streams we are opening up a lot of doors for ourselves- we just need the will do to it. Feel free to plug your side projects (and maybe throw in a thought or two) in the comments.