Don’t build to many bridges...or have multiple streams of income?

Question

I’m struggling right now with what to do about this... I have read a couple books and listened to podcasts and people reference the book “the one thing” (which I have never read yet) and say you should focus on building one bridge first, and then other people tell me I should have multiple streams of income. Right now I have a photography business that’s doing well, my friend and I want to start a furniture building business, and we want to try to start wholesaling, but is it to much at once? Or is it right because it’s multiple streams? I’m 17 right now if that makes anything different.

Thank you!

Erickson Sainval · Answer

You focus on one thing first, get good at it, and make a good amount of money. Find a way to systematize it to where you can now step away.

Now you can move on to the next business.

When you hear about all these different streams of income, a lot of times they forget to be clear on how they got there. Usually, it is one business that can later fund others.

Or I have seen multiple approaches until one takes off... But imagine trying to fill multiple buckets of water. It does not feel like much progress is being done. Your stretching yourself thin.

Focus on one bucket.

While you build funds you can reinvest in business, put in dividend stocks, etc until you can fund your other businesses without hurting the one you made before.

Mike Dymski · Answer

Multiple active streams of income usually come from leveraging expertise and resources from one primary business (vs starting multiple unrelated businesses).  For example, a simple rental portfolio could lead to revenue from wholesaling, flipping, property management, coaching, syndication, brokerage, or some combination of these revenue steams.

Ben Zimmerman · Answer

When you try to be good at everything, you end up being good at nothing.  Stick with one thing until you have taken that business as far as you realistically can before branching out to a second or third business idea.

Josue Vargas · Answer

@Aden Brust

I think you should make distinction of the type of income: passive, active, or portfolio, to mention few.

Unfortunately, the three you mentioned are active income; your income depends solely on services you provide.

My personal opinion, is that I like to have at least some participation in more than two.  You should have a plan, younger people depends mostly on their job or service type business, which the "job" is my case now.  But that doesn't mean I can't have other sources of income and plan for the future.  I still building my REI portfolio and also savings into 401K/SDIRA for the future, among other things.

On a note, your three types of active business by themselves are very different from each other.  But if you mix and match the furniture business with REI and rent furniture for showings, then that's a different story.  Same as the photography, you could team-up with realtors and provide the photo service for them.

Aden Brust · Answer

Thank you all for the great advice! I think what I learned is to get good at one business and then systemize it to where it becomes passive and start the new adventure, with my photography business, yes that will always be like a job but I do love it so it’s easy for me to do, and yes I want to combine it with different businesses such as being an agent or for the furniture business or what not, so I’m glad we are on the same page there. Thanks again!

AJ Shepard · Answer

@Aden Brust

First of all congratulations for being a business owner at 17!!  Nice work!

I’m going to have to second the thought that what you are in and looking at is very much required that you are the one performing work.  I don’t know any owner of a photography business that doesn’t do the work themselves, which sounds more like a job.  I do have a friend that turned his van conversion business into now a 7 employee business and growing (overland van project).  He also loves photography and consistently uses that for the business.

As advised in above comments, continue with your passions, but keep in mind that you will have to systematize the process to teach someone else to do it.  Aka a job.  Furniture making business could be just that, but I would seriously think about interning or working at another business to learn how they do it.  The joinery here in portland has a great name and they steer you off building a bed, 20-40x before you graduate to another piece of furniture and so on.  They let you use the tools and make your own furniture in off hours, but learning the techniques and how to is a craft that as a culture only a few have kept up with.

Any business that you choose is going to have steep learning curve and it will take time to develop.  Have the grit and determination to prevail and you will succeed.

Wholesaling is an awesome way to enter into real estate and also is not an easy business to create.  But what it does do is get you capital to then create a real estate business and experience to know what to do.

Best of luck!

Joe Villeneuve · Answer

Multiple streams are the way to go...always...except you have to understand why first.

The reason it works is when the streams are passive.  If those streams are businesses you need to establish/delegate responsibilities in order for this to happen.  When you have businesses that are hands on, like the photo and furniture businesses, it would be very difficult to set up both at the same time.

REI does have the ability to have multiple streams though

John Teachout · Answer

Building furniture and a photography business may be a good combination. Not sure what kind of photo work you do but if it's things like portraits or weddings and those are in the evening or on weekends, that could allow parts of the days that could be put to doing your woodworking. Also, working in a shop wouldn't be weather dependent like some photography is. However don't spread yourself too thin.

Don’t build to many bridges...or have multiple streams of income?

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