As a webmaster interested in growing your online business you will be inundated with offers from so-called “gurus” who have the answer to all you cash-flow problems. Don’t fall for the hype! Set your goal, chart your course and do not be swayed by the tantalizing offers that show up in your email box. Here’s an interesting paradox we all need to learn to balance:

1) Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.
2) Don’t spread yourself too thin.

Understand this: you need to focus on your goal as you work your plan. You must develop a single eye, so to speak, and not be lured off-course down a promising rabbit trail of golden opportunity. However, on the other hand, you must always be open to explore legitimate streams of income. The key word is balance.

On the one hand, you don’t want to put all your eggs in one basket. As you develop your Internet business, plan for success by creating multiple streams of income. One never knows — especially in the Internet world — when an opportunity can go sour, or disappear all together. If that should happen you need other streams of income to fall back on. Take, for example, the “Google Slap” of last year. Many people who depended on Adwords for CPC suddenly found themselves priced out of the market. Also, many Adsense publishers lost 1000’s of dollars because of Google algorithm change. One of my “adsense” sites that was earning in excess of $800 per month suddenly dropped to $9 per month. Ouch. Thankfully, I do not have all my eggs in one basket!

Now, while you need multiple streams of income in your “basket” you must not spread yourself too thin. Whenever I start spreading myself too thin, it hurts my business, my personal life and my spiritual life. I simply cannot pursue every opportunity that comes my way. Neither can you if you want to be successful at the Internet Marketing game.

So, how does one balance the paradox? Here’s what I do. Maybe it will work for you. I start with ONE income stream and develop it until it starts making a profit, even a small one. After I get that “egg” hatched, I start on another opportunity and take it down the same path while still working on my first income stream. Right now I have four primary eggs in my basket: Adsense ppc income, Affiliate marketing income, my own software program and an online store. If any one of these should fail, I simply drop it and start another.

Now, that said, what works for me might not work for you. You may not want to handle four “eggs”, or even three. Perhaps two is your limit. Or, maybe you can be successful with a basketful! But, don’t waste your time on projects that aren’t working for you. Cut your losses and move on to another! There are plenty of opportunities for all.

~Linda

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