There is a reason why, as a number, three is considered one of the most stable and fortunate numbers. Think of a tripod. Three legs on any structure are the minimum required in order to stand with stability and balance, without excess, a fourth leg is not only unnecessary, but compromises the perfect balance obtained by the three legs. As an entrepreneur, you should think of your business in much the same way. Three streams of income provide a balance so that if, one month, one is a little weaker than the other two, your business will not collapse; three streams of income is also manageable. Any more than three and you might begin to feel the work exceeds the capacity of one person. When you start your own ebay business, you receive three streams of income: your office to possibly accept merchandise from others to sell for them, the auctions themselves and shipping services.



Your office allows you to work outside of your home. Why would you want to work away from home? If your home is busy, you may find several distractions there; pets, other members of the household, personal phone calls and a dozen others. By working outside of your home, you eliminate those distractions. Furthermore, if you're going to be running a business that might require contact beyond an email address (for efficiency), you don't want to give prospects your home phone number or address.

Of course, working outside your home doesn't mean working far from home. No one wants a monstrous commute, which is why you have a choice of where you start your own ebay business. In addition, your office not only helps you, but your customers, by allowing them to use facilities and equipment for minimal fees.

Your auctions will allow you to learn about various objects, professionally photograph them and sell them hopefully at a profit. You'll also provide support for customers, bidders and buyers, handling the actual sale transaction as well as the listing process. Your auctions will keep your business fresh and interesting for you while opening up a second stream of income for your business, adding to the three forms of income that will support your business.

Your shipping services will assist customers in calculating shipping costs with a variety of shipping companies and freight services. Your shipping services will prepare and complete shipping to close sales while guaranteeing consistency and quality to your customers. The shipping services comprise the third income stream, completing the stability of your business' income methods. Because all three of these streams of income are combined from the start, they're easy to manage and maintain.

When you're an entrepreneur, nothing is more comforting than knowing your business will have income. You pour your every effort into building a business that can sustain itself buy paying its staff. To see income that doesn't quite stretch far enough is beyond frustrating. That's why three income streams are a good idea.

If you vary what you're auctioning, then your auctions will always be profitable. You may find that certain types of income do better at certain seasons. For example, you may find that putting toys up on ebay during the holiday season is your most profitable time for auctions. What about the rest of the year? You'll have your office facilities and shipping services to pick up any slack left by the auctions.