If you recall in previous posts, I had intended to put something of an experiment into effect. The idea was that rather than do one job repeatedly for years on end that could prove lucrative or put me back to zero in terms of income depending on my employment status, I would put on as many hats as I could and earn my living through a diversified portfolio of jobs and/or investment income. I’m not quite there yet, mind you, but I have made some progress.
Writing has been my primary source of funding since switching over to freelance status. I’m currently writing for about 8 blogs, ranging from satellite TV to my personal favorite finance blog right here. I’ve also done some rewriting of articles and one time shots on a whole slew of topics. So far so good, but I prefer long-term relationships. Currently writing provides the bread and butter of my income, and I’ve looked to start devoting my time to other (more passive I hope) activities.
Our adsense portfolio has seen a small lull for the month of August, but some of our lesser known sites are beginning to pick up the slack! On average I earn about $3.00 a day, splitting the difference with my older brother who does the design work for our sites. Sounds like chump change right? Think again, as it provides me with an extra $1,092 per year in income! We’ve launched 2 new niche sites in the past week, and I hope to continue to see this revenue stream grow. My goal is to eventually have adsense become one of my 5 sources of income. To do that, I’d have to earn about $17.58 per day.
I’ve also considered returning to Financial Services on a part time basis. There’s a big financial services firm right down the street from my apartment actually, and I’d love the opportunity to work for them even as I continue to do my own thing. I interviewed there 2 days ago, and I’ll know for sure by next week. The job would entail 11 paid vacation days, working 16-20 hour weeks for most of the year except for the summer, where it’d be about 15 hours, 2 days a week. This means I could pretty much take most of the summer off if I wanted to. A part time job like this pays pretty well, and would provide just under half of what I’m aiming for in income. Bring it on!
Other considerations? If you can believe it, we’ve mapped out a business plan to begin beekeeping. Most of the equipment needed we can build ourselves, and we’ll be producing honey to sell to friends and family. This would be seasonal work, as bees survive through the winter but are inactive during that period. Our hope is that this could provide 1 of the 5 sources of income I’m looking for.
Doubts abound, but I feel like I’m doing the right thing. Putting off returning to the 9 to 5 grind except by necessity has been a wonderful (and scary!) decision, and thus far I’m loving it!