Diversify or Die

That's how Rosalind Gardner put it in The Super Affiliate Handbook. And boy is she right! If you don't diversify, you will die. Or at least your business will, eventually. If you are stuck on selling only one thing, then sooner or later that one thing will be outdated or obsolete. If you depend on your business to pay the bills and buy groceries, then you should diversify NOW.

What would you do if all of a sudden, instead of bringing in $50,000 per month your profits went down to $2000.

Or what if your $2000 per month profit dropped off to nothing. Who would pay your mortgage, or car payments?

And don't think that just because you are raking in $50,000 per month that you won't have any bills to pay. If you are like the average Joe, that $50,000 per month just means that you will be able to afford bigger mortgages and car and boat and truck payments. At least until the bottom falls out. Of course if you're not the average Joe, and your house and car and boat and truck are all paid for, then it wouldn't hurt so bad. But most people aren't like that. They are still dependant on whatever amount they are bringing in. So it is wise to diversify.

Take a look at some of the products of the past that were thought to be a product that would be around forever. For example, the 8 track cassette player. Or the Beta video cassette player. Or the record player, or the current cassette player which is slowly fading out because of the CD player. And believe it or not, CDs and DVDs will one day be a thing of the past. Look at the ipod. Already all the kids want to carry an ipod instead of a CD player. And why not? They can carry thousands of songs in one tiny little unit, that has a sound quality that is every bit as good or better than the CD, and they can run and jump without worrying about it skipping. They're awesome. But even the ipod will be a thing of the past one day.

If you don't diversify, you could be raking in the dough one day and looking for a job the next. And don’t think that such catastrophes can’t or don’t happen. They can and they do. Merchants go belly-up and the checks stop arriving. Products become obsolete or illegal, and entire markets disappear.

Take for another example the thousands of pharmacies who started selling prescription drugs on the internet without a prescription. They thought that would last forever. It is now illegal. Many of those companies that were dependant on the sale of those drugs are now out of work. And some pharmacies have lost their license and are facing stiff penalties.

This is a news release put out by the DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency).

"DEA Unveils International Toll-Free Hotline to Report Illegal Prescription Drug Sales and Rogue Pharmacies Operating
on the Internet".

Read the full press release here.

Most of those businesses were legitimately working within the bounds of the law (or so they thought), but things change. You should NEVER depend on one product to be your bread and butter. Diversify!

Of course, there are a few exceptions to the rule. If your business sells a service like message therapy, or chiropractic health care, or gardening advice, or anything that is sure to be around for a long time, then you're ok. But if you sell parishable products, then diversify. Especially if you sell someone elses product, such as affiliate marketing products. You never know when something might happen to them, or when they might just decide to stop offering the product or retire themselves.