Let me share a combination of a few emails I received recently and my replies. If you’ve been trying to create passive income streams in your business (or create an entirely new passive-income-based business) I think you’ll find this enlightening and encouraging.
Passive income streams are a phenomenal way to earn. They do take some research and set up on the front end. But, once you have them in place, they produce for you 24/7/365.
Yes, you will have to go back in and tweak things from time to time. But the result is a system that allows you to work once and reap the rewards indefinitely. That’s the core of passive income.
Almost Everybody Gets Stuck When Deciding What to do at First
It is not unusual at all to feel overwhelmed when you start your research. In fact, it is the most common struggle I hear about.
K: I'm an author (fiction). I'm just starting out [with passive income], but I've been stuck on starting out for a few months now. I've downloaded or bought over 400 courses to try to figure out what it is that I want to do, but all that has done is overwhelm me. I've just bought your affiliate marketing strategies Kindle book, which is next on my TBR list. I always read your emails, and I've bought some of your copy products.
M: I am an industrial plastic packaging salesman, and while I have purchased a lot of training over the years, I still have not started an online business.
J: I’m trying to educate myself, but there are just so many different ways to make passive income that my head is spinning!
Is this you? Here’s what I suggest.
Overwhelm is a common underlying theme when getting started with passive income streams.
Most of the time it is referred to as Analysis Paralysis.
Allow me to offer a little bit of advice.
►Do something. Pick one. Try. Give it a shot. Maybe it works, maybe it doesn't. Maybe you like doing this, maybe it turns out that you don't like doing it. But you're never going to get any answers to all those questions swirling around in your head if you don't start, if you don't do something.
►Make a plan. Don't just jump in blindly to your new project. Have you done some research and taken some courses? That's awesome! So, choose something that sounds interesting to you, that is a challenge (if that motivates you) or is going to be fun, etc.
Now do something using the information that you have today. Figure out what you need (any type of software, or to do steps in a particular order, for example) and get started.
►Be prepared to fail. I know...all that pep talk and I mention failure. If you are like 97.6% of the human race, at some point in your new business venture, you will fail at something. And that's not always a bad thing, as long as you learn from it.
I know it sounds like a cliché, but it is absolutely true. So there, you have my permission to fail, because failing means that you at least made a start and gave it a try.
►Aim for B- work. I also give you permission to not be perfect. I am the first one to admit that I am the farthest thing from perfect. I have glitches and hiccups in the videos I create, sometimes my emails or blog posts have a typo or two. Nobody gets it absolutely right all the time, especially in the beginning.
Some of the best advice I have ever heard was to aim for B- work. That relieves some of the imagined pressure and gives you the freedom to do the best you can right now. You can always go back and improve on what you wrote or created later on.
►Evaluate and revamp. As you start working in your business to make money, take notes. What was frustrating? And is it possible to resolve that? What was fun? What was absolutely awful and you never want to do it again? What questions do you have about what you did so that you can make the process smoother, faster, more profitable, less time consuming, etc.?
I never throw something at the wall, evaluate my first attempt and walk away in disgust. Give it a little bit of time. You may need to try the same thing three or four or 10 times (evaluating and revamping along the way) to get it where you want it.
Owning your own business or side hustle is never a set-it-and-forget-it adventure. Even passive income requires work on the front end to set up and a little bit of tweaking every now and then to maintain.
Most People Have General Goals About Passive Income
Some want out of their current jobs. Other want to provide a better life for themselves and their families. Still more want to pass down the knowledge and skills they’ve learned about passive income to their children to empower them live with more freedom and less work.
K: I need to get out of my soul-crushing corporate job. Even more important is I need to find something that my 19-year-old son can do as an online business. He has ADHD and autism. I have been trying to find the right things for him to try
M: I would like to retire from being employed, so that I could be self-employed and work in an online business as much or nearly as little at some point as I want, be able to supplement my retirement income some, but still provide value.
Even more so, I would like to set an example for my two daughters who are in their late 20’s, so they can see that there are other things they too could do online to earn money, not just from their demanding jobs as a Nurse Practitioner, and a Speech Language Pathologist.
J: I want to replace my salary so I don’t have to be at the mercy of a company that does not care about its employees. With all the people working online after the pandemic, I hope there is a way for me to do it, too. It would be awesome if this turned into something I could pass down to my kids.
Does this sound like you? Here’s what I recommend.
Narrowing the field will help you make decisions. That means coming up with two to four specific goals. Then you can compare the different options you have researched against whether they will help you reach these goals.
Here are some examples. You should replace the specifics with whatever fits your situation.
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(A) To earn $200/month within six months by working 5-10 hours a week on my passive income project(s) with the potential to reach $1,000/month within 18 months.
(B) The passive income project must be something I enjoy doing (for the most part).
(C) It must be easy to start and quick to earn. (At least the first one or two.)
A Lot of People Suffer from Analysis Paralysis and Never Move Past It
K: I have procrastinated and buried myself in hundreds of articles and courses, but I'm now in the position of not seeing the online forest for the trees.
M: Anyway, it’s all been but a dream, but I am hoping I can get the ball rolling.
J: So, where do I go now? I just keep spinning my wheels. How do I choose the right option for me and get started?
Sound like you? Here’s what I think.
Evaluate the things you’ve researched and compare them against the two to four goals you’ve set for yourself.
Weed out the passive income options that don’t line up and see what’s left.
Then, make a choice. Knowing that you don’t have to be perfect, that you are allowed to fail, and that your only aiming for B- work (at least in the beginning), DO SOMETHING.
Also, keep in mind that you are not limited to one stream of passive income.
In fact, I strongly suggest that – over time – you continue to add different streams of passive income. This will give you:
- Diversity so you don’t get bored
- Security so you don’t have all your income eggs in one basket (if something goes down, you’ll still have other outlets to generate revenue from)
I have multiple passive income streams and am continuously researching and adding new ones. Some I make $10/month from. Others I make $1000/month from.
Here are three of the ones I use and resources so you can learn more.
Affiliate Marketing
Amazon Kindle/KDP Books (many don’t require any writing)
Selling on Etsy
- Manifest Passive Income with Etsy (free workshop)
- How To Guide: Create Virtual Backgrounds to Sell
- Done-for-You Kids’ Coloring Book PLR Kit
Add one at a time, but once something is up and going, look for another revenue source to add.
Passive income is not a myth. It is possible to earn money while you:
- Sleep
- Are on vacation
- Playing pickleball
- Are at your child’s ball game
- And practically anything else
Take the first steps this week. You’ll never know how much you can earn until you actually start.