2019 Theme of the Year: Income Streams

If you’ve followed my blog for the last few weeks you know I recently lost my dream job.

You also know that when I was told “your last day will be November 30th,” I was sad… really sad. But I was also thinking about my other income streams.

13 years ago, when I got laid off and catapulted towards a new career direction, I had no other income streams. A small committee at the company I worked at voted to lay me off. No big deal, just a business decision. But they took away 100% of my income. I vowed to not allow any one person to take away 100% of my income ever again.

My plan became to create JibberJobber, and hope to earn $100 a month. That’s not much money, but at least “they” wouldn’t be able to take away 100%, right?

And so there I was, sitting across the table from my boss, getting laid off. Weeks before Thanksgiving. Shortly before Christmas. Happy holidays to me!  But, I had accomplished what I had set out to do. This person, who left that meeting with her title and salary and benefits and ownership intact, could not, did not, take 100% of my income away. And for that I was deeply grateful that all the work I’d put in these almost-thirteen years paid off.

What I’ve been thinking about all weekend is that I want YOU to be as empowered as I was. I want YOU to be as prepared as I was. I want YOU to have multiple income streams. I don’t know what is right for YOU, and I warn you that it might take thirteen (or more) years for YOU to create even one decent income stream (which might come after a number of failed attempts).

Maybe you’ve heard this one: Q: “When is the best time to plant a tree in my yard?” A: “20 years ago. The second best time is NOW.”

Let’s shift that to income streams: Q:  “When is the best time to create another income stream?” A: “20 years ago. The second best time is NOW.”

How does a job fit into this?

I want you to get to the point where, instead of saying “I got a new job!” you say “I got a new income stream!

Yes, jobs are (can be) great. Yes, most everyone should have a job. But I want you to get to a point in your career where you see your job as an income stream.

Income streams are power. I want you to have that power. And that is why “income streams” is 2019’s theme of the year.

1 thought on “2019 Theme of the Year: Income Streams”

  1. I had been self-employed for about 27 years. A couple years ago after I had lost my largest client, I needed to find a traditional, interim job to help pay my living expenses. This was the first time I had to look for a regular job in over 27 years.

    I still do some consulting work and while that business is not yet rebuilt to where it fully supports me it is a big relief in the meantime to not be 100% dependent on a “single income stream” outside of my direct control.

    I started using JibberJobber to organize my job search activities in part because it seems to be an honest product that bucks the trend of exploiting and reselling all of one’s personal data as a business model. I am very grateful for that.

    Thanks for creating JibberJobber and thanks for these blog posts.

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