Like every 2nd Joe Soap out there I collect a couple of bucks from Google each month for running their advertising campaigns on my sites. It’s not a huge chunk of change but it does enough to cover the maid or pay for one of the cars each month.

Until this morning that was…

As usual Microsoft decided to “think” for itself and began the automatic update procedure (which invariably leads to another bout of problems with me rebooting my PC) and in the process did an upgrade to Interet Explorer 7. It probably did this for a whole lot of Microsoft clients in the last 48 hours or so…

Of course I eventually get restarted and land one of my blogs to respond to a comment… hhhmmm no Google Ads showing. Refreshed the page - no luck. Switched to FireFox - yup they’re there.

Problem… Suddenly a chunk of income from one of my revenue streams is under threat… I can fix the problem for myself because I spent a couple of hours surfing the net finding other users who had the same problem… What worries me MORE though is the average internet browser now using IE7 and not able to pick up the ads.

That hurts my income this next month…

This is obviously not an IT blog but it does show how entrepreneurs have to keep their eye on the ball and develop SUSTAINABLE income streams. If I had lost that income stream it would impact on my overall finances - it left me pondering this afternoon what I would do if I didn’t receive that monthly cheque from them. Hadn’t really given it much thought until this afternoon and obviously I need to adapt and find ways to protect that particular income stream as well.

I know a lot of young entrepreneurs out there who are making a basic living off these Google cheques. With little more than a change of technology, your income stream could be under threat - it is something you need to bear in mind. Keep looking forward to develop sound strategies and a SOLID BASE for your business - if you can get this right you will be well positioned.