During the COVID-19 season, many people lost their main jobs unexpectedly. With the rise of the need to work from home, many were also considered redundant, and they ended up losing their jobs. At this point, many began to realize the need to have a side hustle. Redundancy, recession, and losing clients is not a new thing and will continue to happen as years go by. Therefore, everyone needs to be ready to counter such unfortunate incidents by learning how to create multiple income streams.
The following are tips on how to create multiple income streams to supplement your main source of income.
Here are tips on how to create multiple income streams in Kenya.
Why You Should Consider Getting Other Sources of Income
Creating multiple income streams in Kenya means that you have other sources of making money that add to your income basket. You should consider having different sources so that if your main job is no longer there, you can depend on the other sources of income you created. It’s like a safety net when everything on your main job seems to be falling away.
Active and Passive Income
Simply put, active income is when you earn money from a business or a job. In active income, one needs to actively participate in the source of income. Like in business, you have to actively participate in it to earn an income.
Passive income is where you don’t have to actively participate except in the initial setup. With this type of income, you don’t have to put in so much effort to earn an income.
Consider the likes of the communication companies in Kenya, such as Safaricom and Airtel. When you buy airtime, the company earns passively from the airtime you buy.
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Reasons Why You Need To Create Multiple Sources of Income
Relying on one source of income in these uncertain times can be a very risky affair. Apart from this fact, there are other numerous benefits related to creating many income streams.
- Scaling up is quicker – When you are dealing with multiple income streams, you are in a good position to scale up one that’s doing better. This way, you can even add to your ROI. For instance, if you have a drop shipping business and a mitumba business, you are likely to add more revenue to one that’s doing better. This adds up to the income you get from the said business. Thus, the saying ‘wealth begets wealth.’
- Less financial strain – You will also be less strained financially. If your main job does not give you enough income, you can always depend on your other sources of income.
- Freedom to pursue passions – Having multiple sources of income also allows you to work on your passion if it can generate income. For instance, if you are passionate about traveling, you can start a traveling company, and from other sources of income, you can grow your passion.
- Enhances confidence – In addition, there is nothing as calming as knowing that if something happens to your main job, you can continue making money. This gives you so much confidence, and you are able to live a stress-free life.
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Ways to Create Multiple Income Streams in Kenya
Now, you just don’t start creating other sources of income without proper knowledge. Here are some steps to consider when creating multiple sources of income;
1. Master one Source of Income
Suppose your main job is in the hotel industry; you should start by creating one income stream from the industry. It should be something in the hotel industry or one parallel to it. You can consider things like starting an Airbnb or setting up a small restaurant.
With this approach, your main job and your side job can fuel and strengthen each other. For instance, you can borrow some ideas from your main job and implement them on your side job.
2. Avoid the Shiny Object Syndrome
In case you’ve never heard about the shiny object syndrome, it is a situation where there’s a popular belief that there’s something new to pursue. This is always seasonal and may not last for so long.
For example, the quail eggs business was a shiny object syndrome that did not last long. This syndrome takes away from what you have actually planned on or an already progressing project.
It is deeply rooted in the childhood phenomenon where, as a child, you always wanted to have a new toy. Shiny objects may be appealing, but their results are not long-lasting.
3. Start Freelancing
What skills have you gained over time, and you know that you are excellent at providing the services? This could include things in the beauty industry, repair skills, and other highly sought-after skills. You can start freelancing these skills in your free time.
The good thing is that in this age, you can simply advertise your skills online. Specify your working days, keeping in mind that you still have a main job. You can also offer these services on your leave days or weekends when you don’t work at your main job.
4. Start a Small Business
Another way to create multiple income streams in Kenya is by starting a small business. You can implement that unique idea you’ve always had. However, consider the research bit of it. Do some thorough investigation on the small business you need to start.
This kind of business should demand your presence so that you can even consider hiring someone to be physically present. The small doesn’t have to eat into your main job income. The good thing about some businesses is that you can even consider working on it before your main job hours or after working hours.
5. Consider an Online Business
It can be anything from affiliate marketing, online writing, transcription, and many others. The list is simply endless when it comes to choosing the online business you could indulge in.
The best thing about an online business is that you are free to choose your working hours and how much work you can do. For instance, affiliate marketing is one online passive income.
However, by becoming an affiliate, you have put a lot of effort into starting. Setting it up also requires time, effort, and resources. However you establish yourself, you create a reliable passive income.
There are other online businesses that you can start. Ensure that you research these businesses, list them down, and choose what you think will work for you. After choosing, start learning about the business, and after you have tangible and adequate information, you can start.
6. Renting Out Property
This is another brilliant method on how to create multiple income streams in Kenya. This one doesn’t need your full presence. Identify which property can be hired.
Things like construction equipment. You can invest in construction equipment that is highly needed in the building industry. After acquiring them, you start renting them out to trusted individuals to earn money from them. Such construction equipment in high demand include:
- Excavators: Excavators are essential for digging, trenching, and earthmoving tasks. They are commonly used in various construction projects in Kenya, including road construction, building construction, and infrastructure development.
- Backhoe Loaders: Backhoe loaders are versatile machines that combine the capabilities of a loader and an excavator. They are used for digging, loading, and general construction tasks.
- Concrete Mixers and Batching Plants: With the growth of the construction industry in Kenya, the demand for concrete mixers and batching plants has been on the rise. These machines are used for mixing and preparing concrete on-site.
- Cranes: Cranes are vital for lifting heavy materials and equipment on construction sites. Mobile and tower cranes are commonly used in Kenya’s construction industry.
- Bulldozers: Bulldozers are used for earthmoving and leveling tasks. They are important for clearing land, creating foundations, and maintaining construction sites.
You can also consider renting out a room or vacant house as an Airbnb. The only thing you need to do here is to aggressively market what you are renting out and wait for customers. After they are done using the property, you can inspect the property and wait for the next customer.
In Kenya, you also rent some high-end cooking utensils to catering businesses that do not have the equipment. They can use the equipment on their catering gigs.
7. Start a Laundry Business
We live in a busy world where people don’t find time to do their laundry. You can start a side job where you can get laundry machines and a few people to run the laundry business.
All you need is to find a good location and some quality laundry machines and other laundry equipment, such as laundry baskets. For starters, you can get one person to do the laundry and a delivery person to deliver the laundry after it’s done.
