When you’re a traditional employee, you have a steady paycheck that is issued on a set date for a consistent amount of money. So there may be little need to diversify your income. 

Freelancers, founders, and small business owners on the other hand, often have some (a lot!) fluctuation in their income. They may make a lot of money one month and then a hell of a lot less the following month.

If you’re a freelancer, this can be stressful and put a burden on both your business and personal life — which is why successful freelancers find ways to avoid this situation. 

How? They create multiple revenue streams and diversify their income opportunities so that even in a slow month, they can have a reliable flow of income coming in.

Money may not be the only reason why you should diversify your business, though. Let’s look at some reasons why you should be diversifying your business.

• You constantly find yourself swinging between feast and famine modes.

• You constantly have to look for new clients to hit your financial goals.

• Your clients are asking you if you offer X service as well. Such as, “can you build my website too?”

• You have a creative desire to go bigger than where you currently are. I.e. You’re starting to feel bored offering just one service and know you have more to offer.

Now that we can identify that the time is now ripe for diversification, let’s explore the ways in which you can branch out and create new service offerings within your business.

How to diversify your services

Learn and add a complimentary service

This is one of my favourite and most effective ways to level up your graphic design business. By adding skill sets to your business that complement each other and have maximum crossover. For example, web design. This allows you to stand out in a sea of graphic design businesses, along with so many other benefits, like charging more for projects, freedom of time, and the ability to pick and choose who you work with. 

Create mockups and templates to sell on Creative Market or your own online shop

Passive income is a wonderful way to supplement your income and relieve the “feast and famine” cycle. 

This way, you are able to offer what you are best at, at varying price points and in various ways. 

Brainstorm some ways in which you can turn your service into a product. Can you offer templates, mockups, helpful guides, PDF downloads, or resources to serve your audience in a more well-rounded way? 

Step out of your comfort zone and consider options you think that only other people (like your creative peers) could do. 

Do some research and challenge yourself! Could you start a podcast or a YouTube channel? Or perhaps you could start marketing yourself as a live guest speaker, or reach out to be interviewed on other podcasts, just to name a few?

These are all great ways to expand your reach to find and engage with a broader audience. And remember, the possibilities for creating success are endless, so why not you?

Key things to remember when diversifying your services

• You’re allowed to expand your niche as your brand grows and evolves but just make sure you’re not going too broad. For example, niche by industry or design style rather than your skills or offerings.

• Stay true to yourself. Don’t just do something because everyone else is doing it. You’ll keep blending in rather than standing out.

• Up-leveling your skills is easier than you think. Gone are the days when you need an official qualification. You can adopt a complementary skill through an online course in a matter of weeks. 

Chances are, you’re more equipped to diversify your services than you might think!

The sooner you get started, the more of an opportunity you give each unique area of your business to grow. Little by little, step by step, you can diversify your business — and strengthen your business for unexpected, or expected, changes ahead.

Check out my signature course, Build Abundance with WordPress, if you want to stand out from the sea of graphic designers and start building websites, as well as learn the skills, strategies and tools you need to build a thriving web design business of your own.