Second Revenue Streams: A Form of "Career Insurance"

We purchase insurance for all types of reasons: vehicle, home, life, travel, health, disability, etc. Yet, when it comes to our careers, many people do not think of what would happen if they suddenly lost their job. If the job loss was due to a lay off or termination, unemployment benefits only last so long, and the benefits are less than your pay check.

Having an emergency savings on hand is a great form of "career insurance" and can provide some peace of mind, but having a second revenue stream is also important. There are many different ways for an individual to earn extra money with a second revenue stream. Depending on your background and skill sets, here are some ideas:

• Are you crafty? Sell your items to friends, neighbors, or online through Facebook or online stores like Etsy.com.
• Do you have a service or skill you can freelance? There are countless ways you can freelance: writing, proofreading, typing, website design, data entry, bookkeeping, online research, etc. Check out elance.com which is a great site that brings together both freelancers and people who are looking for freelancers.
• Are you handy or have mechanical skills? Start a small business on the side.
• If you don't want to start anything on your own, look for a part-time job.
• How about Direct Sales?

I ended the above suggestions with Direct Sales, because I wanted to share a couple stories from two individuals who had a second revenue stream with direct sales.

Story 1:
The first individual is a friend of mine, Ann, who has a background in interior design. Ann was employed by a design firm, but in 2008 the design industry was seeing a significant slowdown due to the sluggish housing market. Employees in her firm were being laid off, and Ann could see "the writing on the walls." She found a product that she fell in love with and, not knowing when her next paycheck would be, decided to take the leap into direct sales. To make a long story short, she has turned her direct sales venture into a direct sales career, and in 2012 achieved the highest rank in the company (which at the time made her the first and only one in the state to reach that level). Ann is sharing her motivation and success through "Inspiration Rocks" podcasts which you can listen to for free: http://apple.co/1zdycNt

Story 2:
The second individual was a client whom I will call Sue. She had been laid off in early November and contacted me for assistance with building a strong LinkedIn profile and resume. During our conversations, Sue revealed that for the past couple years she had been selling jewelry (through a direct sales company) on a very part-time basis. Since her layoff, she had ramped up her efforts and was noticing a significant difference in her sales in just a short time. She commented she was so grateful for this extra money during her layoff, especially since it happened right before the holiday season.

If you haven't thought about a second revenue stream, it's time to start thinking about the different possibilities. Not only will you have extra money, but an added benefit is that if you ever end up unemployed for a period of time, you can list this position on your resume, which means...no employment gap!

If you do have a second source of income, I'd love you to comment and tell me what you do!