EXP-00 Multiple Streams of Income
About this guide
The traditional path a person takes when they become a guitar teacher is to teach privately either one-on-one or group lessons. In the future the teacher may open a studio however the majority of teachers do not do this. Many guitar teachers view teaching as a part time job while others teach guitar privately as their main source of income.
The purpose of this guide is to show you that you can earn multiple streams of income as a guitar teacher. There are so many options available now that you are not restricted to earning money only with private lessons. In this guide you will learn why it's important to look at earning multiple streams of income and how to do it.
Multiple Streams of Income
If you currently teach guitar face to face with students, that's one source of income or a 'stream'. Many guitar teachers only have one income stream - private lessons. Having multiple streams of income is when you earn money from different sources at the same time. The main reason you would want to do this apart from obviously earning more money, is for security.
Security
In the investment world a common saying is to 'diversify your investments' and 'don't put all your eggs in one basket'. Investors spread their funds across different assets and investments to prevent a situation of one bad investment wiping their total portfolio out. As a guitar teacher you can do the same thing. Having multiple streams of income will give you security in case something happens and you're unable to earn income from a main stream. As an example you could become sick and unable to teach face to face for months. Having multiple streams of income will ensure you still earn money even when you can't teach.
Active and Passive Income
Apart from the security multiple streams of income provide you, there is another benefit. Income can be described in two main categories: active or passive. Active income is when you have to work to earn it. Teaching face to face is active income because you need to work 30 minutes to receive 30 minutes worth of income. Passive income can earn you money without having to spend time working. An example of passive income is selling affiliate products: you could write a book/product review and earn commissions for this for years without any extra effort.
While there will always be some work involved to set up passive income streams, all the work you put in adds to the value. Think of it as you will be working on building an asset instead of working for an income.
Scalability
The final benefit of multiple streams of income is the ability to scale. Think of how many face to face lessons you can fit in your week. You might be able to fit a maximum of 40 students in your week. As you have limited time you can be available for face to face lessons, they aren't scalable. Something is scalable is able to handle more and more students and can grow over time. An example of a stream of income that is scalable is selling online training courses. You're presence isn't required for people to complete an online training course so potentially thousands of people could complete the course will little work on your part.
Building streams of income that are scalable can make a significant difference to your financial situation. Here are a few examples of things you can do to create scalable streams of income:
- Sell online courses (see EXP-03)
- Build an email list (see EXP-04)
- Sell affiliate products/services
- Run a podcast
- Create a YouTube series
Have a think about different ways you could create something that doesn't specifically require your time or presence. New ways of earning income are being discovered every day so it's worth spending some effort on figuring out.