Passive Income 101 – Session #6: Starting Small

Hello Forevercashers, and welcome to Passive Income 101 – Session #6. Today I wanted to talk about starting small.

Passive income is what you get after having worked hard once. Afterwards, you just have to give your asset periodic checkups and maintenance.

The result is that, month by month, you can sit back and collect the money from your asset as it rolls in. As mobile home guru Lonnie Scruggs used to say: “Never let your mail carrier pass your house without leaving a check!” 

You have heard me talk about some of the most profitable passive income cash streams, like rental properties managed by third parties and monetized websites. But those streams can take a little time and money to set up. So today let’s look at some ways that you can start small and see passive returns in a short time.

• Submit a design to cafepress.com. One of the more enjoyable places to make a quick buck, cafepress.com lets you submit designs that they will sell in their online store. They will handle the orders, print the t-shirts and mugs, and take care of shipping. All you do is collect the per-item royalty that they pay you. Focus on trendy items (like pop culture and fashion), funny items (bumper stickers and hats), and things that people can use to show their political affiliation (buttons). 

• Get paid for your videos on youtube.com. Recording some videos of a cute puppy or toddler can mean money in your pocket. This website explains how to monetize your YouTube videos, which basically means giving YouTube permission to run their ads on your channel. You will get paid each time a person clicks on your video and the ad pops up. That means that while you are asleep, someone in Europe or Asia could watch your video making you earn a little bit of money. 

• Sell an eBook on amazon.com. Either write an eBook yourself or pay someone (perhaps using elance.com or odesk.com) to do it for you. Then list your book for free on amazon.com. They, in turn, will pay you a percentage of each sale. 

• Invest in a dividend-paying stock. Perhaps the lowest paying passive income stream, it is also the easiest to set up. All you have to do is purchase stock in a company that shares its profits with investors. As each earning period ends (usually in three month blocks) the company will calculate their profits and divide them up among the investors, sending a check in the mail or making a direct deposit. You can get paid without even lifting a finger.

Now, you might be thinking that none of these ideas will let you retire tomorrow. And you know what? You’d be right. But I listed these examples as something you should try to see that passive income really works and is a real thing. I want you to get some quick wins so that you will stay motivated.

Also, I think that it’s best to follow the old saying: “Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket.” Setting up multiple cash streams – even smaller ones – can only protect you and guarantee your financial safety down the road.

Setting up a passive income stream is worth the effort. Start small; but start.