Nobody out there really wants to work for money. We work for what money can get us. Money is a means to an end. We all want money to increase some facet of our lives. The biggest issue is that all too often you have to sacrifice huge amounts of time to achieve your goals. What if you didn’t need to commit to continual work but could front load all of your work and then earn a steady continual cash stream based on that initial work with minimal continued effort.
Well that income method is known as creating Passive Income and here’s how to make a passive income. There are 4 basic methods that I use to earn a passive income. These methods are specifically chosen because of the front loading option that exists with the work. Most of these strategies require some work in the beginning stages but once they are created require very little continued service.
Stocks & Dividend Investing
Investing in stocks can be a simple or highly complicated practice depending on what your desired results are. Generally, as with anything, the more time and energy you put into learning and participating in the stock markets the more money you stand to earn/loose.
There are a few different styles of investing out there but the three basic styles get divided by time frames of the trade being executed:
- Day traders are the most active in the markets and usually place trades that last less then one full day
- Swing traders come second as far as activity goes placing trades that last between a few days to a few weeks.
- Investors usually place trades for long periods ranging from months to decades.
For our passive income strategy we want the longest term period so the plan is to invest. Now the difficult question what to invest in???
I suggest looking for a larger company because you’ll want stability and a proven track record. You not looking for the rocket ship here your looking for continued steady growth. Generally the companies that rocket ship up quickly rocket ship right back down. These companies are fine to trade for profit but as far as long term investing for a passive income??? Not the greatest pick simply because it will require more active participation in the market.
You should also be looking for a company that offers a dividend. Dividends are a percentage of your investment that the company periodically gives back to you while it meets it’s expected targets. Depending on how active you want to be you could pick a higher divided company with some increased risk. The catch between profits is always increased risk vs. sustainability.
Owning a Rental Property
This is by far the most well know passive income strategy. This method is so well-known for a couple of reasons. Firstly it is by far the most visible, most people have had to deal with a landlord or rental property at some point in their life. That being said many people out there have never owned a rental property for profit in their lives.
The second reason being a land owner is such a well-known passive income strategy is that it has been around forever. Now I’m not saying it’s the oldest profession or anything but it is definitely up there. Maybe the second or third oldest. Owning land and allowing others to live and/or work on it for profit is an amazing income strategy.
The biggest issue many faces with this strategy is that it normally requires a large initial investment. Depending on the location and scale of your intended rental property the initial investment could range from tens of thousands to tens of hundreds of thousands of dollars. The large properties that everyone always envisions are a bit unrealistic for beginners but a mid-range property with a trusted property manager can create a generous steady income.
A trusted property manager will be the second hurtle to leap in this journey for passive income. I emphasize trusted here because this person will essentially be doing all the leg work for you so you can enjoy the passive side of this income. I actually try to find a competent and trustworthy property manager before I finalize the purchase of a rental property.
I also try to cluster a few properties in the same general area. I do this both because it’s easier to check on the properties if the need arrives and also so that I can use one property manager for multiple properties.
Starting a Business
This method might have the heaviest work load but also provides one of the better and more profitable passive income strategies. Now with that in mind some might even say that this is not a passive income strategy at all but a full-blown job. Well, yes in the beginning as with anything it will require a large amount of effort to get things rolling. STOP.
Here is exactly where most people get caught in the roll of their own business and right here is where I’m telling you to stop ans step back. The moment your business plans and procedures formalize and no longer need your direct input as the owner you need to begin training your replacement. Train your staff well and treat them well and your business can and will flourish without you.
This is extremely hard to do in the beginning as most business owners want to be involved in all the decisions. This is where I draw a distinction I prefer to be involved in all the critical decisions in my businesses and leave the daily and the mundane to trusted and competent employees.
True by hiring good employees you will have to pay them better and your profits will be lower. Also, True and MUCH MORE IMPORTANTLY bye hiring good employees your time on investment drops to near nothing and you are free to do as you please.
Building an Online Business
Creating an online business is, in my opinion, the best of the most passive and profitable ventures. Once you have your online business fully created it practically runs itself. There are also limitless avenues you can take with an online business ranging from direct sales to information sharing to simply blogging. One top of a limitless range of possible online businesses you could begin there are also a ton of simple ways to monetize you website.
The Hardest Part of Starting an Online Business is the amount of freedom that exists with its concept, beginning stages, development, maintenance, and overall creation. Deciding which path you should take is a difficult step but one you must start with. I’ve seen many a beginner get lost in the first few steps to creating an online business and my suggestion to everyone is to have some idea of your desired business before losing yourself in details.
In these beginning stages it truly helps to to have some guidance to suggest where the next logical step should be. Creating an online business is a big project and many hands make light work, especially if someone has experience and is willing to direct. This is where a mentor/training program comes in and oh boy are there a lot of programs out there. Be careful when looking for training/mentorship as there are a lot of schiesters out there with big claims of success and big dreams of walking away with your money. You’ll want to look for a service with:
- Free trail periods – so you can test out there style and program
- Training – You will want materials that you can use on your own time and live mentorship
- Active members – Having other people that can also help with your issues as you learn together is a huge value
- Quick response time – Ask a question, any question and see how fast and answer takes. It’s sometimes surprising
- Ease on Use – Be sure to test things out and make sure it fits and is intuitive
With all that said the Best Online Business Training/Community that I have encountered is the Wealthy Affiliate program. If you want to create a business that can almost guarantee a steady income with minimal continued work then the WA program is what your looking for. Their services and training actually helped me create my first PROFITABLE website.
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Once you have your website/business up and running it begins to require less and less upkeep especially when you have taken your content creation to its desired level of completion. Depending on how you decided to monetize your site you may just periodically receive checks in the mail from advertisers or you may have to request payouts through an affiliate program (These are just two examples and no where near the only income methods online). I prefer to use as many different income methods as any online business will allow.
True Freedom
When I think about all of these strategies a slow smile spreads across my face. it has been through these strategies that i have been able to travel while still maintaining a steady income. It is truly a wondrous feeling knowing that all you need to run your business and maintain your income stream is brief uses of the phone and internet.
And now for my closing thoughts my suggestions of where you should begin.
Whether you have tons and tons of money or are nearly broke my suggestion is to start with an online business. It is one of the more inexpensive ventures that has the opportunity for a huge return of time invested. I also suggest starting here because the longer you have an online business running the more opportunities to monetize arise. If you are like the me from years ago and still worked 9 – 5 while trying to better your lifestyle, an online business can be done totally on your time night or day.
No matter what you decide to do the biggest hint I can give you is to get started now. Like Right Now. Stop Waiting just begin. If you have no idea where to begin, again I suggest WA but no matter what you choose to do, what venture you explore you need to get started NOW.
Please leave me a comment below with your own experiences, questions, or suggestions.
I would love to hear from you,
-Atlas
