Multiple Streams of Income

A few years ago, I stumbled upon author and speaker Robert Allen's white paper on the Internet titled "The 7 Secrets of Extremely Wealthy People." Also the author of "Nothing Down" and the "One Minute Millionaire," Robert Allen has contributed to my renewed perspective on making money so money itself will work for you.

I've gone back to corporate life after 7 years as a business development, marcom and publishing consultant. It was during those times that I've practiced Robert Allen's techniques as provided in his book "Multiple Streams of Income."

Somehow, I had "Filipinized" some of his views and translated "Multiple Streams of Income" into "pagbubukas ng maraming gripo" (opening many faucets or sources of water). This, I used as a basic coaching term for those seeking to improve their cash flow and income.

Internet-Based Business

Robert wrote about creating income through the Internet. I immediately created my own website. Admittedly, I got some consulting work from it and still receive some calls until now, though I'm so busy in my day job that I just offer free service for charities today. The key is to be an "Infopreneur." As Robert said, anyone can make money 24 hours a day through an Internet-based business. I agree.

Gather as much information as you can and are interested in. See where you can specialize. Create a business from there. Get paid for trading information or goods. A good friend of mine and a high school classmate, Jovel Cipriano, who owns Pinoydelikasi.com, earns huge sums from trading Filipino delicacies online. I was once meeting with him in Seattle's Best Coffee at the Greenbelt (in Makati City) when he paused for awhile to facilitate an order in the U.S. via email. Done in a minute! Whew! Another former elementary school classmate, Alain Villanueva, trades toys through E-Bay. He says he makes good money out of it in his own time. Knowledge indeed is equal to money.

Network Marketing (or MLM)

Another source (or faucet-wallet) is being involved in network marketing. Many have shunned this route due to pyramid scams. A word of wisdom: pyramid (or ponzi) schemes do not sell any tangible products. True MLM's (multi-level marketing) carry tangible products that are worth your investment. Candidly, the rule of thumb is 200% return on investment (ROI) on your first payment. You invest $100 and they give you $200 worth of products or benefits -- on the spot.

MLM is basically a home-based business. You can earn 2 ways: through selling products yourself or recruiting a network of sellers so they can sell the products for you. MLM is a form of direct selling. It is simply a way to distribute goods or services to the end consumer. I advice my friends going into network marketing or networking to check if the products are manufactured by the company or simply distributed. When the products are simply distributed, there's a danger that stocks will run out without a definite replenishment date. When this happens, the network becomes disgruntled as they are the end consumers anyway. The network then dies a natural end.

A company I recently joined is the Royale Business Club. It has strong products and a fantastic business plan, combining franchising, direct selling and binary recruitment. I am currently building a strong network which is destined for riches -- doing this in my spare time! Whoa!

OPM (Other People’s Money)

Money begets money. What if you don’t have money to start with? Then, go to someone who has!People with lots of money naturally want to have more. They can’t have enough. We will always have our reasons for wanting to accumulate money but for those who don’t have much to start with, then tap the one who has. You may have a skill or knowledge that when put into a business plan can potentially make loads of money. You may need an investor initially, but if your idea is presented correctly, then you can be partners. The key to this is an arrangement that both (or several) of you agree on. Some may opt for investing then divesting later, while some want to put money on the long haul. What’s also crucial is the type of relationship you may want with your investor/s. One word of advice – put your friends on the bottom of the list as potential investors. You’d rather keep your friendship than lose it someday if the venture fails.

The Commissioner

I have a knack at knowing what people want and need. This puts me in the middle of transactions. I connect them and I earn a commission. This, I can do, in my spare time. You can sell real estate, insurance, or anything that you can be an agent of. Just make sure you price your commissions based on industry standards. The key skill needed in this situation is to know the value of your connections and information. Keep informed. Keep connected.
Sell Something

Babies sell their need to be carried or fed by crying. When you apply for a job, you do everything in your power to get that job. You sell yourself to employers. Thus, no one can say that he or she hasn’t sold anything.

There are a lot of things that can be bought and sold. You can make something then sell it or buy something at a low price then sell it on value. That’s what car dealers do. They negotiate for a low price on someone selling his car, fix it up, then sell it with a neat mark-up. Think of something you can that you’d love to sell based on your knowledge or love of it. I used to sell magazine subscriptions and ads because I loved to read. I felt I was simply sharing my passion – and I got paid for it!

Doing What You Love

We dream of working on something that we are passionate about and get paid well to do it. This, I believe can be done if we seek in our hearts what is that that inspires us. When I do volunteer or evangelization work, I get fired up. All my communication and management skills are put to work for good causes. Do I make money on them? The work is for free. But by having a job that gives people jobs (I'm in executive/people search!) is truly empowering. When I recently joined Royale Business Club, my aim was to bring more people into their own business or at least have extra income. I have a friend who recently had a heart bypass. He's 60+ years old but has money to invest in a business. I told him I'd "partner" him with someone who can work on his network but doesn't have the money to spare. They share the profits. (This is also a variation of OPM)

Find what you love to do. You love books and coffee? Open a coffee shop with a bookshop. You want to the outdoors? Sell camping equipment. You love cars? Open a carwash business.

Everyone has his or her own passion. Make money out of it!

Hopefully next time, I’d be writing about the MONEY TREE. Tah-tah!