New Year, New Business Model?

Last month, I attended a seminar where one of the speakers commented that everyone should have at least seven sources of income. That way, if one market slows down, you have others on which you can concentrate until it picks up again. I'd always heard that it was a good idea to diversify your investments to spread your risk, so this also made good sense.

When I set up my writing and editing business several years ago, I designed it with a few separate streams of income built into it, so I felt good about that. But seven? The most I could come up with inside my business was five, and four of those required that I personally do work to fulfill the orders once I'd sold something. Since there are only so many hours in the day, that limited the amount of additional work streams I could add. There had to be some other way to add passive streams of revenue, ones that required minimal input on my part.

Seeing how my IRA lost about 40% of its value in the stock market last year, I decided to pursue education to avoid such future losses, but also to make my investments another income stream. And I've been looking at affiliate marketing and e-commerce for about the past eighteen months without taking any real steps to incorporate them into my business, so I figured it was about time I really learned how to do that. So there are my two extra streams to give me my seven.

How that affects my existing business is that I'm holding off on accepting any new clients until at least spring of 2010. I will continue working on projects for existing clients. The rest of my time is devoted to getting my new revenue streams up and running. This will include an update to my existing website and the creation of two new ones. I'm excited about the possibilities ahead! Learning new things is always fun. And all that extra income that will be coming my way from the new ventures is also exciting.

What about you? Do you have seven separate streams of income? If not, maybe the new year is a good time to look at adding some.

Here's wishing you a happy holiday season, whichever ones you celebrate, and much success in the new year!

Back to Work

It's been forever since the Thompson Writing & Editing website has been updated, with one thing after another getting in the way. But much has been happening here, so we thought it wise to get something out there online to tell people about it. A blog was the simplest and easiest way to do that. In the new and revamped TW&E website, this blog will replace the "What's New" page of the site, giving people opportunities to react to news and subscribe to the news feed, if they wish.

So, what is new at Thompson Writing & Editing? First, a word about upcoming events. Lynn will be speaking to the North Florida Writers group on Saturday, November 14 at 2 p.m. They meet at the Wesconnett Library on 103rd Street on Jacksonville's westside. Her topic will be "Editing for Continuity". She'll be sharing some of the methods she uses as an editor to track continuity in a manuscript, and explaining how authors can employ some of those methods while self-editing their work. If you're interested in starting a business being a writer, she'll also have CD copies of her "A Professional Writer's Ladder to Success" series available for purchase at the meeting.

On the volunteer side of things, you may not be aware that Lynn serves as chairman of the Keep Jacksonville Beautiful Commission. This group is the city's local Keep America Beautiful affiliate. Its mission is to combat litter, graffiti and blight by empowering individuals to take charge of cleaning and beautifying their neighborhoods. KJB is holding its first-ever fundraiser on Friday, January 22. It will be a reception in the City Hall Atrium from 6-8 p.m. that will honor KJB's founder, former Jacksonville Mayor Jake Godbold. There will be music, refreshments and exhibits to illustrate what KJB has done in the ensuing years. Proceeds will support our continuing efforts to not only clean up litter, but to educate people so there won't be so much of it to clean up. Lynn has tickets for sale @$25, so contact her if you'd like to go.  Visit the website for contact information.


As for A Professional Writer's Ladder to Success, Lynn has released rungs 1-8 of the series in e-book form.  While not currently available online for download, this is something that's in the works and will be unveiled with the new website.  She does offer them on CDs whenever she speaks to groups.  They are:

• Rung 1: Planning for Self-Employment: Building a writing business from the ground up
  
• Rung 2: Learning the Writing Industry: Is it one you really want to join?
  
• Rung 3: Polishing Your Writing Skills: Your writer's toolkit
  
• Rung 4: Writing a Business Plan: Your blueprint for success
  
• Rung 5: Establishing Your Writing Business: Preparing to open your doors
  
• Rung 6: A Writer's Professional Ethics: Keeping your integrity intact
  
• Rung 7: Finding Your Niche: How specialization can improve your bottom line
  
• Rung 8: Virtual Partnerships: Forging alliances with other creative professionals
  

Each of these is currently priced at $19.95, and each includes worksheets to prepare your own Ladder to Success Action Plan.  Rung 9, Financial Issues for Writers, is currently being written and should be available soon.  When completed, the series will include 40 e-books.  New releases of the above rungs are also being designed to include audio and video components.  A premiere version of the series that includes coaching services will also be offered once it is completed.

In addition to the individual rungs, there are two packages currently available:

• Writing Business Exploration Package, rungs 1 & 2, is priced at $31.90.
• Writing Business Startup Package, rungs 1-5, is priced at $79.95.

If you're interested in any of these, contact Lynn to purchase them.


That's more than enough for one posting, so subscribe to this blog if you want to keep up with what's happening!  You can also become a fan of Thompson Writing & Editing on Facebook, and follow Lynn on Twitter (@gatorlynn).