How I Became $2,300 Poorer but Could Unlock Another Income Stream

They say you have to spend money to make money.

I’m in the process of publishing a book. Man, what a process.

Last year, I wrote about my journey as a self-employed freelance writer and business owner. I wanted to pull back the proverbial curtain and give aspiring writers direct and transparent insights into the life of a freelance writer.

In a way, it’s more of a journal. Every day, from January 1 to December 31, I wrote daily entries that covered the lessons, emotions, challenges, failures, and successes that I experienced as a freelancer.

I put countless hours into this project, but do you want to know the hardest part?

It wasn’t writing tens of thousands of words. Or even spending dozens and dozens of hours editing. No, I didn’t mind these stages of the process at all.

They were the fun parts.

While I’m thrilled that my book is becoming a reality, the hardest part was hitting “send” and transferring a hefty wad of cash to my publisher. Even though I planned for this moment and set money aside for this exact purpose a long time ago.

Spending Money on Uncertain Ventures Is Hard

Saving money is hard when you’re an entrepreneur, especially when your business is young.

You grind. You fight tooth and nail for every dollar. You pour blood, sweat, and tears into your business to hopefully become profitable. So, it’s pure ecstasy when your business’s income finally exceeds your expenses.

Spending money on your business is even harder. Because you’re taking that hard-earned profit and putting it back into your business. It’s not only difficult to save enough to reinvest, but it’s also an emotional challenge to pull money out of your pocket and spend it on something that might not work — such as a marketing campaign or publishing costs.

I’m my own biggest hurdle — I plague my thoughts with “what-if” scenarios in which the book bombs and I “waste” thousands of dollars.

But, despite these thoughts, I know that this endeavor isn’t a waste. It’s a reinvestment into my business.

As the cliche goes, you have to spend money to make money — and I want to make money.

Spend Money to Make Money

I used to view business reinvestment as risky. But my perspective changed.

Now, I think it’s risky not to reinvest in your business.

Early-stage entrepreneurs don’t have the luxury of stable and predictable income. We have to grind to increase monthly income — which can vanish in an instant if clients no longer require our products or services. The pandemic painfully demonstrated the fragility of business. That might seem like a deterrent to spending your business’s profits, but it’s actually my reason for doing so.

Not every investment pans out — spending money doesn’t guarantee that you’ll make money. But reinvesting in yourself and your business helps unlock additional revenue-generating opportunities.

It’s rare to achieve such a high recurring cash flow from one source alone. That’s why I want to establish multiple income streams, which in turn will insulate me from clients with fleeting needs — from ever having to spend a minute pitching to unresponsive prospects — from even thinking about an undesirable assignment ever again.

Multiple income streams empower freelancers to unlock their true earning potential. This is how those writers who boast five-figure monthly incomes make their money.

More importantly, multiple sources of income help you build wealth, increase stability, and liberate your time. Ultimately, our most precious asset is time. When you’re in complete control of your time, you’re free.

Reinvesting accelerates the process.

Reinvest in Your Business to Fuel Growth

The comfortable thing to do is to gradually and organically grow. Except it’s easier to plateau when you take this approach. You can work yourself into a rut unwittingly and cap your earning potential.

If you want to fuel growth, you have to strategically reinvest in your business.

Take courses to hone your craft and further your development. Start a newsletter and market it. Write and publish a book. Hire an editor to streamline the creative process. Outsource non-value-add activities like bookkeeping. These are all forms of business reinvestment — and each one costs money.

But it’s not like you’re sinking thousands of dollars into a new car that will immediately depreciate. You’re spending money on assets that can pay dividends later.

If you want your business to succeed, you have to give it a chance.

The comfortable thing to do is to gradually and organically grow. Except it’s easier to plateau when you take this approach. You can work yourself into a rut unwittingly and cap your earning potential.