5 Ways to Create Passive Income Fast

As small business owners, we know that we can never bill for all the hours we work, and we will never come to the end of our To Do list. Running your own company can feel like running a never-ending marathon, even though most businesses are started with great enthusiasm and passion. After years of blood, sweat and tears, it might be nice to build something that runs itself for a change!

We came to this point in our own businesses and now want to share what we’ve learned about generating passive income with you.

Passive Income

Creating products, selling online, setting up affiliate relationships, making your own videos, creating e-courses and e-books – all of these used to be out of reach. You had to be a huge corporation with a team and budget behind you to create any of these passive income generators.

But in the last couple of years, we’ve had passive income game changer after game changer. Software and hardware costs are coming way down, and support providers are popping up to facilitate many new possibilities. Here are just a few examples:

1. Creating an e-Store in 5 Minutes

Did you know that you can create a free account on any number of product creation sites, and they will not only print your image, slogan or logo onto products for you, but they’ll also take care of shipping and billing as well? It’s a hassle-free way to have your products made so you can set up an e-store fast. Imagine – that’s just one way to use e-commerce.

2. Affiliate Relationships

Is there a series of products that you recommend to clients regularly, but never receive compensation for? Many companies, such as Amazon and Shopify, have great affiliate programs that you can add on to your own website. Each time a customer clicks on your link and purchases the product or service, you can receive between 4-10 per cent of the sale. Many businesses are offering affiliate marketing compensation, and these examples are only the tip of the iceberg of these opportunities.

3. E-Books

Did you know that an e-book can be a single page? In fact, the shortest e-books get downloaded more often and serve many purposes. They can be used as free teasers for a larger product, can be incentive items to increase your mailing list or can be viral marketing pieces that spread your brand. Creating a book cover has never been easier either, now that professional photographers are licensing their photos on a massive (and affordable) scale.

4. Automating with Video

If you find yourself repeating things again and again to many clients, it’s not hard to start video recording your nuggets of wisdom. You can put these together into an e-course, post them to a paid membership site or pick and choose which ones to email to each client as part of the services you provide. Add a logo to the beginning and voila! Your brand has grown legs to run with while you’ve automated part of your passive income process.

5. Diversify Your Portfolio

Just like investing your money, it’s important to wisely invest your time. Yes, you need to take care of the day–to-day running of things, but it’s also smart to put aside a couple of hours to invest in something that will support you long-term. If your passive income streams can free up some of your time, you may find you can get to those crucial money-making advancements that you’ve been too tired to tackle.

Start Simple

Each business has their own unique “low hanging fruit” for passive income – a niche within your work that’s easiest to build on and creates the fastest return.

Learn More

Want to know more? Take advantage of Small Business BC’s wide selection of seminars for entrepreneurs and small to medium-sized business owners. Space is limited, so don’t miss your chance to register today.

Plus, don’t forget that you can meet one-on-one with an expert to get specific information that applies to your business by booking an appointment with Small Business BC’s Ask the Expert service now.