Working a single 9 to 5 job till retirement with a rising 401(k) is no longer the norm in the economic period we’ve entered. In fact, this kind of gradual ascent to the top is seen as a bad wealth-building tactic. However, building and launching a single business is no longer the standard in the world of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurs of today prioritize diversifying their businesses and sources of revenue and don’t hesitate to try again after failing.

The ability to change course and expand without jeopardizing your entire cash flow is the finest thing about diversification. However, it’s not always simple to know where to begin.

Taking the time to listen to others, consider how we may be of assistance, and analyze the achievements of others helps guide the next step.

These ten smart businesspeople can provide some valuable insights on diversifying your revenue streams. They come from a variety of backgrounds and industries.

1. Warren Buffett

Owning more than 40 firms, Warren Buffett is arguably the most intelligent and diversified businessman of our day. His own stock selections, investments, and other sources of income are not included in this. Considering that Warren Buffett has a net worth of more than $67 billion, it’s wise to take a close look at his business operations and apply some of the lessons learned.

It is not necessary to aim to become a millionaire in order to get the benefits of increasing your revenue sources. All you need is a diversification-building approach to safeguard your interests and increase your bottom line. You know that three of the projects you are working on could succeed even if one of them fails.

2. will.i.am

As the Black Eyed Peas’ producer willl.i.am, William James Adams gained notoriety. Nevertheless, Adams chose not to fade into oblivion and only occasionally resurface to work on songs together. Among others, he went on to produce music for Britney Spears, Usher, and Rihanna.

Along with fellow music industry titan Dr. Dre, Adams rose to prominence as a tech entrepreneur and is one of the early investors in Beats Electronics. Apple paid more than $3 billion for Beats in 2014. With the introduction of the new Dial smartwatch and the disastrous Pulse, Adams is now dabbling with wearable technology. He is evidence that you can change careers and still succeed by using your skills, contacts, and experiences.

3. Sara Blakely

Sara Blakely didn’t just disrupt an industry, she reinvented the idea of shapewear and ended up a billionaire. Her company, Spanx, is still 100% owned by Blakely, who became the youngest self-made female billionaire in America. Blakely also bootstrapped and managed the early days of Spanx herself, from patent research to marketing, fulfillment, and sales.

Blakely’s idea was born from necessity when she cut off the feet of her pantyhose to wear under her clothing to help create a smooth silhouette. She could have just stopped at her first successful product launch. But she continues to grow her line with leggings, maternity, hosiery, and lingerie.

4. Steve Chou

Steve Chou has steadily built a name for himself as that guy who still had a full-time job while running an e-commerce store, a digital course on how to emulate his success, a blog, and a podcast. His website, MyWifeQuitHerJob.com, gives actionable advice on how he and his wife researched product ideas, found manufacturers in China, set up their store, and continued to scale.

Chou recently reported in an income report that he expects to exceed seven figures just from his website. And he finally did decide to quit his day job and focus on his digital empire instead.

5. Limor Fried

In 2005, MIT hacker and engineer Limor Fried wanted to build an online gathering point with her site Adafruit, where people could learn electronics. She grew a multi-million dollar company from selling and teaching how to best use DIY electronics kits. Fried enjoys a cult following of open-source hardware junkies who are passionate about her approach. For starters, Fried offered a $3,000 prize to whoever could successfully hack Microsoft’s Kinect.

Fried could have just stopped at writing a blog showing how to hack electronic kits, selling her tutorials, or offering a few DIY kits. But instead she focused on the response of her audience and listened to what they wanted. Adafruit has expanded to selling 3-D printing products, software, and toolkits.

6. Dustin Moskovitz

Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz and fellow colleague Justin Rosenstein were looking for a way to streamline project management and collaboration at the social media headquarters, and Asana was born. The project management tool was originally created as a way to foster teamwork while eliminating reliance on email.

Read Also: Managing Multiple Income Streams: Tips and Tools

Moskovitz and Rosenstein developed Asana for Facebook’s engineering teams. However, it soon became a favorite tool company-wide and was quickly adopted. They realized other companies and entrepreneurs could benefit from Asana too. Moskovitz was smart to focus on what Facebook needed to stay organized and succeed, and deliver on that first internally – and then in a welcoming marketplace.

7. Jilliene Helman

Jilliene Helman started Realty Mogul when she saw the SEC was focusing on crowdfunding and working towards passing legislation to enable it. Helman, always an entrepreneurial spirit, decided to focus on building her own crowdfunding investment site for the real estate industry.

Helman was already making her own profitable investments in real estate as an income stream, and a friend offered to put up $50,000 in whatever investment she selected. This prompted Helman to focus on launching a platform that allowed accredited investors to crowdfund commercial real estate investments with as little as $5,000. To date, 80,000 investors are registered on Realty Mogul, and $220 million has been invested into debt and equity transactions.

8. Richard Branson

Entrepreneur Richard Branson’s diverse brand is dizzying, and encompasses over 400 companies under the Virgin umbrella. The Virgin brand first started as a mail order record business, followed by a recording studio that signed name brand acts like the Sex Pistols and the Rolling Stones. Branson focuses on offering something distinct to surprise and delight customers, such as his venture into consumer space flights.

In its early days, Virgin was criticized for being too diverse and distracted from its core business. But Branson says that success and experience can be applied across multiple businesses to replicate the process. That’s true whether you’re running a billion dollar corporation or adding digital products and consulting to your own portfolio. Focus on what’s working, and how you can integrate that into your next venture.

9. Laurel Touby

Journalist and investor Laurel Touby started her career in advertising before starting Mediabistro. In the company’s infancy, Touby threw cocktail parties to meet other media pros, and turned her growing connections into a job and networking website. She’s a prime example of how building the right network can lead to that network becoming customers for your business.

Mediabistro started with job information and media articles, and grew into a multi-million dollar company hosting digital courses, workshops, and premium content. Touby sold Mediabistro for $23 million and later took the helm as Managing Director of the seed investing firm Flatiron Investors.

10. Neil Patel

Content marketing expert Neil Patel started his first entrepreneurial pursuit in high school when he sold burned music CDs and cable black boxes to his classmates. Patel focused on analyzing why services and companies were successful and trying to replicate the success, then filling in the blanks along the way. At one point, he even built a site called Advice Monkey to emulate Monster.com’s success, but realized he had little opportunity to monetize it without the ability to accept credit card transactions.

Patel kept growing his income streams with hits and misses before landing a $3,500 consulting gig on internet marketing. He landed the gig after giving a speech in his college class on how search engines work. He grew that success into multiple companies, including Crazy Egg, Hello Bar, and KISSmetrics.

How can I Get Multiple Streams of Income With no Money?

These options are just a few ideas for how to earn money from more than one source.

1. Consult with Clients

Offering coaching or consulting services is the simplest way to start earning extra money, according to Clark. “This has no startup costs because anyone with a computer can create a website,” the speaker stated. “Experimenting with ways to share what you know also gratifies.”

Clark gave the example of how someone who already runs a bed and breakfast might mentor those who want to start their own.

“The skills you share don’t have to be related to your day job,” clarified Clark, going on to say that they might have anything to do with a passion project or a pastime. “You can work as a project manager during the day and instruct others in photography techniques as a side gig.”

Shaw’s business generates revenue from a variety of sources, including one-on-one coaching for businesses, small coaching circles, long-term brand consultancy for organizations, and short-term coaching for entrepreneurs to address their branding. His knowledge of branding was enhanced by his own experience and investigation while creating his own brand for his photography and photography-related tutoring business. Shaw’s desire to impart his knowledge to others led to the eventual formation of a consulting firm.

2. Author a Book or Start a Blog

Book sales revenue is one of Shaw and Clark’s sources of income. Before committing to a nonfiction book, a lot of writers would rather wait until they are confident in their writing, have a solid social media following, and a clear understanding of the book’s theme and objectives. However, Clark advises starting a blog, particularly if you’re an entrepreneur, even if you’re not ready to write a book.

“To go back to that bed-and-breakfast example, you can write a blog about your experiences running one and then monetize it with sponsorships or ads or a membership fee,” said Clark. “A couple I know started a recipe blog, and they charge a membership fee every month to access it.”

Even though a blog or video blog might not bring in a lot of money right away, Clark said they are a great way to start creating your personal brand and draw in potential consulting clients, which might pave the road for a book contract.

3. Start a Podcast

A podcast can function as an audio blog including your personal thoughts on a subject, or it can develop into a forum for you to connect with and interview other authorities in your industry. According to Clark, in order to draw advertisers, most podcasts require roughly 10,000 downloads every episode. A podcast can help you grow your audience and improve brand awareness while you’re doing it, which can draw in new business and potential public speaking engagements.

Shaw makes money from his podcast through sponsorships and drawing in listeners who may become customers.

4. Invest in Real Estate

Owning one or more rental properties is a frequent way to augment your income now and in retirement when you’ve earned enough money to reinvest, according to Paul DeLauro, manager of wealth planning at City National Bank.

“Keep your starter home and use it as a rental property instead of selling it,” she said. “Or, if you have the funds available, purchase a rental property right away.”

Creating various revenue streams involves first considering what you can accomplish creatively, and then considering how to transform your hobbies and skills into profitable ventures. Find a mentor who can assist you in identifying prospects in your industry if you’re interested in investigating additional revenue streams, according to Helmich. You can follow their successful path to achieve the same favorable result.

Clark advises everyone to create various sources of income for themselves, including employees and business owners. Naturally, if you work a full-time job, you won’t have as much free time to explore side projects, and you must take care to ensure that you aren’t moonlighting or stealing clients from your employer.