Multiple Streams of Income Or Outgo?

Many people recommend developing multiple streams of income. On the surface it sounds logical. If one income dries up, you have others to fall back on. Let's look at some options for how you could do this:
Join multiple MLM companies
Join one MLM and one or more affiliate programs
Join one MLM and have a traditional business on the side
The first choice seems the least logical to me although people often do it. This one raises all sorts of questions. If you have a prospective distributor which company do you recommend? You would need to figure out what is most important to them: product, income potential, entry cost? Also, how do you keep up with all of the information about each company, listen to all of the conference calls, attend all of the events, and still have time to build the businesses? If conflicts arise, which one do you put first? There may be some companies that don't have conference calls or events, but I would be leary of the legitimacy.With the second option, the idea is to use the affiliate program to generate leads for your MLM but make some money even on those who do not join. It normally starts with an offer of free generic training, but really gives just enough information to get the person hooked. Then they start getting offers for courses or books or systems that cost money. Every time they buy one, you get a commission, and they are usually offered one or more others. So while you are trying to contact each person to build a relationship, they are getting sales pitches and supposed to be buying products. The problems with this?
Are your costs covered?
Will you lose focus on your MLM?
Do the prospects trust you?
Is the education really useful and current?
To become an affiliate you had to buy at least one thing too, meaning you are also getting pitched more stuff. If you buy things as they come along, will your commissions from other people cover your cost? If you don't buy them, can you tell people with confidence (while trying to build a relationship) that the products are worth the cost? With an affiliate program you are selling something other than your MLM products or opportunity. Are you paying to advertise the affiliate links, and does your commission cover that too?If your costs are not covered, will you pay more attention to selling affiliate products than to your MLM? If the affiliate program becomes your primary business, does it create residual income?When people see affiliate programs advertised, they know they will get pitched at some point. The prospects will know you are making money on everything they buy. Also, do the products they buy do anything to brand YOU or just the inventor of the affiliate program? Will they really trust you and want to join your business? You must develop a know/like/trust relationship or they will not join you.Many of these programs are run by people who are not currently building a downline in a MLM company. In fact, some of them NEVER have! How useful is the training? How current is it? Does it teach you how to build in MLM, or does it only teach you how to drive traffic to capture pages to sell their product? Yes, I know you get contact information when someone buys, but does their program teach you what to do with those prospects?The last option for building multiple streams of income is to have a traditional business on the side. The issue here is, which business takes priority and will you lose focus on one? Perhaps if one business is running strong before you start the other, it will work. Some people say it does. On the other hand, I know two people who lost focus on the traditional business while trying to build the MLM and their traditional business suffered.I am a fan of being laser-focused on your business. I am working hard (although it is fun too) to brand myself and build my MLM. That is enough for me!