Revenue Stream Assessment
Select the revenue stream with maximum momentum and minimum drag.
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 7
- Confidence
- 96%
The Revenue Stream Assessment begins by listing every way a business currently earns money. Each stream is then examined for natural momentum: its potential upside, the energy required to grow it, and whether operating it is personally life giving. The most promising choice may not currently produce the most revenue; it is the stream where concentrated resources can create the strongest future leverage. Once identified, competing streams are reduced, paused, or closed so that time, team capacity, capital, and attention flow toward the selected engine. The method challenges the assumption that entrepreneurs become wealthy by accumulating many small income sources. Its central mechanism is sequencing: first build one exceptional revenue stream, then diversify after that stream creates surplus resources.
Origin
Rory Hayden described the Revenue Stream Assessment as an exercise Brand Builders Group uses with clients, including Lewis Howes.
Core principles
- 01More revenue streams do not automatically create more wealth.
- 02Natural momentum can matter more than current revenue.
- 03The best stream combines potential, low energy cost, and personal vitality.
- 04Concentration precedes diversification.
How to run it
- 1
List every stream
Create a complete inventory of current revenue sources, including offers that are small, irregular, or treated as experiments.
Pro tip Include the time and staff attached to each stream.
Watch out Do not hide an unproductive stream merely because it generates some revenue.
- 2
Measure natural momentum
Assess which stream already attracts audience interest, relationships, referrals, or repeat demand.
Pro tip Look beyond current revenue to evidence of organic pull.
Watch out A familiar stream is not necessarily a high-momentum stream.
- 3
Estimate upside
Compare the realistic growth potential of each stream if it received most of the available resources.
Pro tip Consider scalability, market demand, and strategic leverage.
Watch out Do not use best-case fantasies in place of observable demand.
- 4
Assess energy cost
Determine how much effort, complexity, and stress each stream requires relative to its potential.
Pro tip Include management burden and opportunity cost.
Watch out Top-line revenue can conceal a stream that consumes nearly all available capacity.
- 5
Check life-giving fit
Identify which opportunity aligns with the founder's strengths and produces energy rather than persistent depletion.
Pro tip Separate temporary discomfort from chronic misalignment.
Watch out Personal enjoyment alone cannot replace market potential.
- 6
Select and concentrate
Choose the strongest combined candidate and shift resources away from weaker streams.
Pro tip Make explicit decisions about what will close, pause, or remain minimal.
Watch out Calling one stream the priority while continuing to fund everything equally changes nothing.
- 7
Earn the right to diversify
Expand only when the primary stream generates enough surplus resources to support new initiatives without weakening the core.
Pro tip Set measurable expansion thresholds in advance.
Watch out Do not mistake boredom with the core business for strategic readiness to diversify.
In the wild
Lewis Howes entered the assessment with 17 revenue streams and a growing podcast that was primarily treated as a traffic source. Podcasting showed high potential, strong natural momentum, and a good personal fit despite not yet being the largest direct moneymaker. He rapidly reduced the number of streams to three and redirected resources toward the show.
→ The podcast's downloads, commercial value, and ability to support later opportunities grew dramatically.
Common mistakes
Ranking only by current revenue
The stream with the largest present income may have less potential and require far more energy than an emerging alternative.
Treating complexity as safety
Many small streams can create operational fragility by exhausting the same limited team and founder attention.
Prioritizing without stopping
A stated priority receives no meaningful advantage if the business refuses to close or pause competing work.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for founders juggling several offers or business models while feeling stressed, underpaid, or operationally fragmented.
Not ideal for
It is not ideal for mature portfolio companies whose separate revenue lines already have dedicated leadership and resources.
From the transcript
“But one of the things we look at is what revenue stream has the most natural momentum for you? Which one has the highest potential…”
“Nobody gets rich from multiple streams of income.”
“you don't get rich through diversification. You don't you get rich through concentration. And then once you're rich, then you diversify”
From the episode
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