At Ten Key, Inc., we work to support entrepreneurs with outsourced bookkeeping, accounting, and tax filing services. Over the years, we’ve seen everything from the “typical” entrepreneur to the “not-so-typical.” No matter what industry or personality an entrepreneur has, though, there are a few qualities that define an entrepreneurial mindset for us. One such quality is an interest in diversification.
Diversification as an entrepreneurial quality
People often think of diversification “on paper,” as it applies of their investment portfolio. However, it’s more than that. A true entrepreneur is diversified on paper and in life. What does this mean? It means being alive and alert to the right circumstances for business growth. It also means thinking in terms of multiple industries, opportunities, and streams of income.
Here are 3 ways to diversify your life as an entrepreneur
- Being alert to income opportunities within your typical field or industry. When you know an industry well, you can see opportunities that your industry presents. That might mean going deeper in one industry and offering more specialized or generalized services within that industry, or casting a wider net to reach related industries. Entrepreneurs recognize opportunities, capitalizing on their existing knowledge of the industry to expand their business.
- Being open to income opportunities outside your typical field or industry. Even if one industry is in an entrepreneur’s wheelhouse, they don’t close themselves off to opportunities in other industries. Instead, they learn more about that industry, to see if it’s a fit for their goals. They look at trends and conditions to see if that industry is growing, or they find ways to improve on best practices for that industry, or apply knowledge they’ve picked up in their industry to the new opportunity.
- Developing several streams of income. An entrepreneur doesn’t have all their eggs in one basket. They spend their time looking for multiple sources of income and multiple types of income, including:
- Passive income: revenue from an investment portfolio, business acquisitions, rental properties, or sales from creative assets like books or membership websites.
- Active income: also known as earned income, this is income derived from working, providing services, or owning a business that the entrepreneur actively participates in.
Contact Ten Key for support and resources
In conclusion, if you’re an entrepreneur who’s ready to diversify, be sure to keep us in the loop. We can help you with the accounting, bookkeeping, and tax implications of your businesses and streams of income. We can also help you build a financial team to support your endeavors. Check out our blog article on developing an entrepreneurial mindset, and stay tuned for more info on each aspect of that mindset, so you can develop the entrepreneur’s way of thinking.