10 Super Unique Ways to create more Passive Income this year
As the world slowly gets back to normal in the aftermath of the covid-19 pandemic, not all of us are keen on returning to our 9-5 desk jobs. The freedom of getting work done at your own pace, in a location of your choice, without having to travel for hours every day just seems too good to be true. But what if there was a way? A way you could work, and get paid sitting right where you are and doing what you love without having to work yourself to the brink of exhaustion. Or maybe you wish to generate a little bit of extra cash on the side along with your job/primary income. That’s where passive income comes in.
What is Passive income and how can it help me?
No, it’s not rocket science. Before we jump into the many passive-income types, hear me out. The concept of passive income is rather simple. Like I mentioned, whether you’re running a side hustle or just wanting to make a little extra money each month, passive income can be a terrific approach to help you produce extra cash flow. Passive income can help you earn more during the good times and tide you over if you are abruptly laid off or deliberately take time off work.
You can have a decent amount of money flowing in while working your main job/source of employment, or you can take some time off and lay back for a little if you’ve built up a steady source of passive income. Whatever the case, a passive income will provide you with a great amount of additional security.
Building wealth through passive income may also appeal to you if you’re concerned about being able to save enough of your salary to achieve your retirement objectives.
Now, before we get into the greatest passive income options for your lifestyle and skills, it’s important to define WHAT passive income actually means, as the term is commonly misunderstood.
Although passive income isn’t a miraculous money-making system that will make you rich without doing any effort, it is a method of maximizing returns so that you can work less and less over time. In other words, as time passes, effort decreases while earnings increase.
To put it in layman’s terms, regular profits from a source other than an employer or contractor are considered passive income. Passive income, according to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), can originate from multiple sources, like rental property or a business in which one is not actively involved, such as receiving book royalties or stock dividends.
Does Passive Income mean I don’t have to work at all?
This is a common misconception people have when they hear the term “passive income”. The short answer is no, passive income, just like almost every other type of income is not a standalone remedy for all your money problems. You will be more comfortable and have a lot more freedom but some work (even if in trivial amounts) will need to be put in.
In practice, you might have to undertake some or all of the work upfront, but passive income frequently requires some additional work along the way. To keep the passive cash flowing, you may also need to keep your product updated or your rental property well-maintained.
With the basics now out of your way, it’s time to check out a few ways you can start generating passive income
- Renting storage space
Self-service storage appears to be one of the most convenient and easy to manage businesses. The reason is that millions of people hunt for safe places to store their belongings every day. Data shows that Self-storage was rented by 9.6% of US homes in 2018 alone. Even in a downturn, self-service storage businesses do well because consumers will always desire a safe location to put their belongings.
Storage spaces can be a valuable source of passive income if you have the right location, enough units, solid company management abilities, and a loyal customer base. Self-storage has helped people like B. Wayne Hughes (Forbes’ 804th richest man) build their $2.8 Billion fortunes on just renting out storage spaces.
- Drop Shipping
Dropshipping is one of the most popular forms of passive income. If done correctly, drop shipping can prove to be insanely successful and improve your financial status exponentially. It is, however, one of the more difficult ones to set up as you will be required to first set up your own website or find a suitable platform to take and manage orders from.
Here’s how the whole thing works. First, a customer places an order for a good, and you receive the money. Your supplier receives the order information as well as the shipping information. The supplier is also paid according to the amount that you and the supplier agreed upon. The supplier will now pack and ship the product to your customer in the same manner as if it were supplied from your own online store after you make a successful payment. Drop-shipping allows you to sell things online without needing to have them in stock. And even though it requires a decent amount of work to set up, it is also a more time-efficient method of generating passive income. The difference in pricing between when you sold the product to the consumer and when you bought it for yourself is your revenue.
- Dividend Stocks
Shareholders in firms with dividend-paying stocks receive a payout from the company at regular periods Companies pay cash dividends from their profits on a regular basis, and all you have to do is own the stock. Dividends are paid on a per-share basis, so the more shares you own, the more dividends you’ll receive. Owning dividend-paying stocks can be one of the most passive ways to make money because the income is unrelated to any activity other than the initial financial investment. The funds will be deposited directly into your brokerage account. All you need to figure out and manage is the risk, which will require some learning and experience.
- Start a Blog
A blog is an excellent way to earn money with minimal effort. Of course, building this will take time and effort, as you will need to write the blog on a regular basis and build an audience. Even so, you can generate a sizable income from your blog through affiliate marketing or by selling ad space on your website.
If you don’t know how to start a blog, you could make money by purchasing an existing blog. This is a fantastic “hack,” as you can benefit from the traffic and cash flow that has already been established.
- Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing entails collaborating with a business to showcase and promote its products or services. You earn a commission whenever someone clicks on one of your affiliate links and visits your partner’s website. You can make passive money from your affiliate marketing connections in a variety of ways. Sponsors could be mentioned on your YouTube channel or podcast, as well as featured in buying guides with links to the company’s items, product reviews, video unboxings, and more.
Do some research to locate a brand that resonates with your fundamental principles and the demands of your target audience before becoming an affiliate for them. There’s no point in becoming an affiliate for a fast-food brand if your blog is about healthy eating habits.
- Write an E-Book
While starting and monetizing a blog is a great way to generate passive income, writing a book or eBook is far superior because you only have to do it once!
Instead of a blog, write a book or eBook and sell it to share your creativity or specific knowledge. You’ll get royalties every time someone buys a copy, which could quickly add up if you hit the mark. The royalties on a printed book typically range from 5% to 20% of the book’s cost. eBooks are much more profitable, with a profit margin of around 25%. Audiobook royalties typically range between 10% and 25%.
To earn a living from your writing, you obviously need to write a great book. However, even a few sales could help you earn the extra cash you need for an upcoming holiday or bring you closer to your early retirement goals.
- Selling Ad space on your website
If driving around with a large advertisement on the side of your car isn’t your thing, you could sell ad space on your website for a sizable passive income. Most blogs use Google Ads to match their site with advertisers and generate a monthly revenue stream.
The profitability of Google Ads on your website is determined by the volume of traffic you receive. If your own website doesn’t have enough traffic to make money this way, you could consider purchasing an existing website (see idea #4) and selling ad space on it.
- Resell retail products
In recent years, reselling has skyrocketed to one of the most lucrative side hustles. People are buying retail products and reselling them for up to 2000% of the price they paid. For example, all limited edition Nike SNKRS releases (especially dunks and jordans) are immediately resold on websites like StockX for hundreds of dollars of profit. This goes for the fashion industry in general, brands like supreme, palace, ASSC, and Yeezy constantly resell for hundreds if not thousands of dollars of profit.
Not only that, but you can use online sales platforms such as eBay or Amazon to sell products that you find at low prices elsewhere. You’ll be able to arbitrage the difference between your purchase and sale prices, and you may be able to build a following of people who follow your deals.
- P2P (Peer to Peer) Lending
Peer-to-peer lending has become increasingly popular in recent years, and it can be a lucrative method to supplement your income if you have some spare cash.
With peer-to-peer lending, you simply lend money to borrowers who might not qualify for a traditional loan. You can charge interest on the money you’ve lent until it’s entirely repaid, just like a bank. P2P lending is a potentially high-risk endeavor because you can’t guarantee the borrower will be able to repay you, just like any other investment. As a result, only lend through reputable P2P lending platforms and never lend more than you can afford to lose.
- Refinancing your mortgage
This one isn’t technically a money-maker but it could save you thousands if you’re overpaying on your mortgage.
Refinancing helps homeowners to get a lower interest rate on their mortgage, which commonly translates to reduced monthly payments. If you don’t have a mortgage, you might consider refinancing your other debts to avoid squandering your hard-earned (or passive) money on excessive borrowing.
CONCLUSION
Once you’ve found yourself the perfect passive income opportunity that fits your lifestyle, abilities, and passions, it’s critical not to let that extra cash make you lazy. Make every dollar you earn work for you by putting it in a high-interest savings account and letting it work for you regardless of what you’re doing.
It’s also a good idea to put some of your passive income back into the business. To increase your passive income and investment, you could, for example, purchase more storage units or stocks.
Whatever method you choose to increase your income, make sure it fits into your schedule, and don’t be afraid to try a few different approaches.
