4 Dangers of a Single Income Source and the Remedy
4 Dangers of a Single Income Source and the Remedy
With no doubt, majority of people suffered financial constraint and break down in this trying time of COVID–19 Pandemic simply because they do not have additional income source to backup their financial strength. It is no news that it is quite dangerous for anyone to have just one source of income, especially at this time.
In this article, I will be sharing with you four (4) plausible dangers and effect of having only one stream of income as an individual. And of course, the various ways and things you can leverage on to escape this dungeon and expand your revenue strength to a multifarious level.
DANGERS
- Poverty
There is enough statistics to show that people who live on a single source of income are at the greatest risk of poverty. No matter how much your job puts in your pocket, it cannot eradicate poverty completely if it is still the usual single income source. Complementing your main salary is one of the most sustainable ways of buoying up your financial baseline.
- Debt
No matter how huge the pay is, your job will not adequately cover all your expenses now and in the future. In person, someone coined an acronym that the word JOB stands for “Just over broke.” For instance, a person who relies on only one stream of income which usually comes at the end of the month would have spent almost all his money on expenditure before the month ends. You would do well to look for what else you can use your spare time to do in order to generate income and avoid spending the rest of your life paying debt.
4 Dangers of a Single Income Source and the Remedy
- Unexpected loss of Job
If the high rates of unemployment and mounting job losses have taught us anything, it is that nobody’s job is safe. Unfortunately for most people, their only source of income is their job, which can be a risky way to live. You must become so financially secure that you forget that it is payday. You have residual bills, why not have residual incomes?
- Depression
Depression is a common and very serious medical illness that affects how you feel, think and act. It causes feelings of sadness, and sometimes, a total loss of interest in activities you once enjoyed. Psychologists agree that one contributing factor that is likely to increase your risk of depression is your personal finance. Often, poor financial health leads to poor mental health which leads to even worse financial health. You need to know that single income source is not only a threat to our financial wellbeing, but also to our mental wellbeing. People who struggle with debt are more than twice as likely to suffer from depression.
REMEDY
One of the wisest millionaires in the world, Warren Buffet, said: “Never depend on a single income.” Hence, building multiple streams of income has become a necessity. The first step to building your financial strength is building your revenue strength. As the saying goes, “never put all your eggs in one basket?” It is so crucial to the continuation of cash flow that you have another income stream that you can rely on if one fails.
The tools to create multiple streams of income are all around us in the 21st Century. We have more access to information, people and opportunities than ever before. Unfortunately, people use all these as a form of distraction. You have the capacity, time, gifting and talent to create multiple streams of income. The more income streams you can create, the more secure your financial life would be and the more wealth you would create.
4 Dangers of a Single Income Source and the Remedy
The richest people are people with multiple streams of income. Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson, Elon Musk, Aliko Dangote and Mark Zuckerberg started with one stream source, but have grown their businesses to meet varying needs over the years.
Read Also: 10 Alternative sources of Income in Nigeria
Below are the various things you can do to escape the dungeon of single income source.
- Utilize Your Skill Set and Talent
Research shows that almost every individual with a single income source failed to develop their talent or acquire necessary skill(s) that will enable them to diversify and thrive in times of economic hardship. Making money from a service depends on the type of skill you have and how much people value it. For example, if you are good with English, you can start an English lesson in your neighborhood for kids writing Jamb lessons.
- Start/Own a Business
Many Nigerians augment their income by owning businesses that they operate both offline and online. The type of business you should start depends on your passion and existing skill set. If you love baking, for example, you could consider starting a home-based cake or brownie business. Online businesses make money through advertisements on the websites, commissions or selling a product or service. Whatever your skills are, there are at least a few home-based and online business ideas that would work.
- Become a virtual assistant
Virtual Assistants are people who are employed to remotely work from home or in any location that is not a typical office place. They perform a wide range of tasks for online entrepreneurs who need help. Depending on the job, duties can include anything from responding to emails to managing social media, creating word documents, or answering online inquiries.
- Buying and Selling
This involves petty trading of consumer goods. It’s time tested and still works quite well for many people. It is often better to start by selling things you are used to. It could be dresses, shoes, jewelry, smart phones, tablets etc. Your first customers will typically be your colleagues at work and members in church.
4 Dangers of a Single Income Source and the Remedy
- Create an online course
Depending on your skill set, you could consider creating a course. With a platform like WhatsApp, you can create an online course on nearly any topic you can handle with expertise and charge as much as you want.
Read Also: What are the benefits of Internal control in business
To conclude with, the concept of multiple streams of income simply entails developing additional income inflows to complement whatever income you are currently receiving. With multiple streams of income at play in your financial life you can more conveniently attain your financial goals. You can easily allocate the resources needed for each goal to a different stream, thereby reducing the pressure on taking from one source for all needs and wants.
However to that, you need to begin to identify opportunities around you that you could plug into to generate multiple streams of income. This usually starts with an audit of yourself to discover what your passions are, and if they can be exchanged for money. The audit includes looking at the available time you have that can be used to pursue another income opportunity. Once all the requirements have been put in place you can proceed to adding another income stream and as many as you can manage. It is pure wisdom not to put all your financial eggs in one income basket.
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(B.Agric, MBA)
08105636015, 08076359735
Serial Entrepreneur - International Business Planning Consultant - Speaker - Trainer - Author - Blogger - Network Marketing professional.
- 2018 SME Business Trainer and Coaching Advisor at GIZ for SME Loop.
- 2018 YALI RLC Online Cohort 9
- 2017 Fellow, Inspire Africa Train-the-Trainer Entrepreneurship programme sponsored by US Consulate Lagos and the Dickey Center, U.S.A.
- 2016 Fellow, Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme
- 2015 Top 50 Innovative Entrepreneurs, BET5 by Diamond Bank and EDC, PAU.
He is an alumnus of Enterprise Development Centre (EDC) of the Lagos Business School (LBS), Pan-Atlantic University (PAU). Through his training, mentoring, speaking and coaching programmes, he has empowered many young people over the years to start and grow their own business, build wealth, create multiple streams of income and achieve financial independence.
- He is a Certified Trainer in Design Thinking by the U.S Consulate, Lagos and the inspire Africa Entrepreneurship Institute.
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