photo credit: country_boy_shane
When you switch over from working for a company to working for yourself, you begin to realize just how overwhelming and stressful it can be especially during down times for your business. That is why it is always highly recommended that entrepreneurs have more than one source of income.
I recently read an article on Meryl.net talking about this very issue. There are several different ways an entrepreneur can obtain multiple sources of income other than their main business concept. You may have some sort of expertise under your belt, maybe due to college or working for a prior company, this would be something that you may want to think about writing a book about for others to follow in your foot steps.
Another great way of coming up with additional sources of income is to go after your hobby or passion. For example, if you enjoy baking, gardening or some sort of crafting as a hobby, you may want to consider starting a second or third source of income revolved around it.
In general it is always a good idea to have some sort of a fall back plan, some sort of additional income that will continue to bring in revenue for you and your family during down times. All sources of your income will have dips, and maybe even at the same time, but when you have more then one or two incomes coming in, it wont be as dramatic for your finances.