Diversification

We hear it in business all of the time, diversify, diversify, diversify. Any good investor will tell you the secret to being successful and having consistent growth and minimizing loses is to diversify. My daily sales are not enormous, they are averaging 1,000- 5,000 gold per day, really the biggest variable being my effort to craft and post items. Of course we all have good days and bad days. My normal work / home life prevent me from sitting in the ah all day and night so usually I get on in the evening time and spend some time selling, but try to spend more time playing.

Tonight I did an early AH check on the online armory to see how much I had earned today, signed into my banker and see with only 60 some odd items posted I only had made 60 gold in the past 24 hrs. on my main banker. He was selling some enchanting mats, a BoE crafted robe, some vendor items which usually sell pretty well, a pet or two and some glyphs (I know these were left overs and my glyph supply needs some replenishment.) Admittedly there is not much posted because it is mid week. But even still 60 gold is a pretty small amount for me, although admittedly because time is not something that I've had in abundance, my Auction House play has been very conservative at best especially since Cata is right around the corner.

Then I swapped to another Banker which is used mostly for selling cut jewels. Where over the same time period and only having posted about 20 items or so mostly Gems, I had made over 1200 gold. Although I practice it all the time, I felt this was a prime example as to why you need to diversify your sales and not put all of your eggs in one basket. I know there is a lot of undercutting going on with many of the glyphs on my server, and the BOE market has all but stopped or at very least prices have dropped considerably. So being able to make gold in other avenues is extremely important.

A prime example of this type of diversification in the market place is the Walt Disney Company. What started out as an animation company has grown into one of the top entertainment brands in the business. Not just relying on films or animated movies. They branched into resorts, cruise lines, merchandising, Vacation Clubs, books, Broadway shows, iPad apps, you name it! But there focus remains on quality, family oriented entertainment. Which is similar to how my gold making enterprise works. No gold buying, no botting, no farmers, - just hard work, careful strategic spending, and honest sales. I've never been interested in scams which deceive people. Just give them what they want! While they may not look for your name when making their next purchase, the goal is - you want them to come back to the AH.

Seeing that 1200 gold (after AH cuts) in my bank made the pain of the 60 gold in returns feel a little better. Until next time - remember DIVERSIFY!

Happy Prospecting,

Fat Jack