If you’re like most people, you invest time for money. In fact, I can think of very few ways anyone could generate a positive income flow without investing at least some amount of time. Even purchasing a lottery ticket and hitting the jackpot requires intention, effort, and time (although very little of each).
The typical job is a time-based cash machine. You work for $10/hour and get $80 at the end of the day. During that period, your employer owns you and your talents. Sure, there are some limitations to what the boss might ask you to do. But your time is still tied up with your paycheck.
Types of Passive Streams
One of the great benefits of developing an internet business is the possibility of disconnecting time from income. You can find countless systems and approaches to making money via the web if you do your homework. Consider the following list for some ideas that might mesh well with your personal talents:
- Blogging: generate lots of traffic to earn cash with AdSense or other pay-for-click ads
- Subscription Site: collect monthly fees for exclusive content
- Programming: Develop software, web applications, or similar products
- Info Products: Sell information (ebooks, eclasses, etc.)
I have listed these examples in order (top-down) from highest to lowest time-investment required. Blogging, for example, requires daily effort, while info products like ebooks can be easily automated with little maintenance. Of course, these are only general guidelines and some exceptions do apply.
Why Create Passive Streams?
You will have your own reasons for making income passive, but it’s important to identify those reasons right away. If you don’t know why you’re doing something, you’re less likely to do it. On the other hand, if you spend time thinking about your intention, you’ll become more motivated to achieve your goals.
Passive income is not unlike an investment in which your money “works” for you. This metaphor is often applied to savings accounts and stock markets, but it’s useful for thinking about passive income too. Spend 3 hours per day writing an ebook for one month, and you’ll have invested 90 hours of time. You may not see a handsome return on the time-investment at first, but in time your earnings per hour will continue to rise with each copy sold.
I use the plural streams here because while that book is working for you, more time is now available to work on that next book. So on and so forth. Once you have multiple streams working at once, you can rest assured that your investments are appropriately diversified (yet another investment term).
It is true that you can’t get something for nothing. Creating the products will require some of your time. But as with the stock market, the more you invest now, the more your return will be later.
Tags: passive income | internet business | info products
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