My Massive Passive Income Brain Dump: What Do You Think?
Let me count the ways that we can earn passive income:
1. eHow/[insert another site that pays on similar model]
2. Sell Your own eBook/product based on your expertise
3. Membership Site based on your expertise
4. Niche site
5. Build your own web application
After reading Anthony Feint’s excellent post, Break It Down, I urgently grabbed a piece of paper, drew 2 big lines so now that the piece of paper had 4 big quadrants. In the middle, I drew a circle.
You see, I’ve made up my mind to make the move to San Diego in June, or I’ll never do it. Friends have warned me about the conditions in California, the economy in general, and how elephant poop is going to drop on our heads as we make our way there (or apparently die in a horrendous earthquake that is destined to hit after we move). However, I am determined. In June, around my birthday (or right after), I want to make the move and begin a new phase of my life. Whereas many people are moving abroad (i.e. Thailand), I am making a move to a more expensive part within the United States.
Let’s be honest here: I don’t want to look for another job. I don’t want to sweat bullets and compete with other nerds who more than likely have binary running through their veins and analyze algorithms on the weekends for fun. I don’t want to solve puzzles while being watched like a lab monkey.
I’m moving to California to enjoy my time there, not to worry about a job, how I’m going to make it, or even worse, end up at another job that I don’t care for. This is where passive income plays a huge role for me. It’s really important for me to start making some money online come June. I’m not hoping to achieve a full-time income, but I need some part-time income and can use my part of my savings until I can earn a full-time income online.
Man, I went off on a tangent. Back to Anthony’s post and my piece of paper. I believe I came up with ~$3400/month as my monthly cost, including car insurance and health insurance, excluding taxes. In fact, I want to make more, way more. But that’s not the point right now. The point is, how can I make this happen?
Then I broke down the my Target Monthly Income into my daily income, which turns out to be 3400/30 = ~$115. I need to earn $115 per day. For some, that might be pretty high, but I’m not so sure it is. $3400 * 12 = ~$50,000/year. I make more than that right now.
eHow is fun and great, but I’m working on building my articles slowly, and I’ll be lucky to start earning $150/month by June. That’s not about to pay rent. I am thinking of “monetizing” this blog (don’t worry, I’m not about to sell any “make money like me” ebook, as that’d be a scam), but the audience here will be built slowly over the years and that won’t take care of my rent in the next 6 months either.
It’s time to take drastic actions. Can I create a niche site or two? Sure, but ranking a site can take around 6 months and I don’t have much time. However, this doesn’t mean that I won’t. I’ll probably utilize Google Adsense for these sites and offer affiliate products.
Cut To The Chase Already, Punk!
I need to create a product or offer a service, something that gives value to the end user. I’m a programmer. I create things. Can I take the experience from my first two jobs and see how I can help people who are where I was two years ago? My insecurity, probably like yours, holds me back. What if I offer a product and “smarter” programmers take it apart? (See how our minds create our own fears?)
Ranking this product on Google will present more challenges and before I think that far, how can I determine demand? The ways in which I can determine need/demand for my product:
-Create test website. Offer my “product” around price of $35.00
-Test demand through Yahoo ads, Google Adwords, and forums (not sure how to go about last one)
-Ranking will be a huge challenge, so maybe ask for a review from a major site or two
-Re-tract foot from my mouth
I’ve been working as a .NET programmer for two years. Why not take everything I’ve used, had problems with, researched, and put it together into an information product? I could package the code files, add videos, etc.
Of course, lines get muddled and I start thinking about creating a fun, project-oriented .NET community, with smart, realistic tutorials by people who have real world experience, like me. Offer some value filled free content but also offer a membership site for video tutorials and web development tutorials.
Re-tract foot from mouth again. I’m succumbing to my brain, which keeps going into circles. I have a product idea in mind, this is where my heart truly is, so why not start here? Anyone who wants to learn .NET or people starting their first .NET jobs could pick up my product and learn a lot.
It’s either the above (creating my own product) that could yield me a decent money the quickest, or finding and creating a niche website. What is confusing, for me, about niche sites is this: should I focus on one affiliate product or create a niche website that offers a bunch of related products? (I might be thinning the line here).
In the long run, creating my own product will give me more credibility in my profession( or it could blow up in my face).
I have March, April, and May to make something happen. I am thinking of devoting each new month to snowball a new venture. For example, March could be dedicated to testing demand for my product. If there’s potential, speed up creation process by outsourcing (quality over speed though!) If not, maybe refine the idea. April, I could set up an affiliate site and focus on creating backlinks for it and content creation. May could be dedicated to whatever is needed to be done, at that point. I will need to keep building on these projects and May could be full of just doing that, as well as finalizing my plans of moving, etc.
Duuuuuudddeee…
Whoa, massive brain dump. With all these choices, you think it’d be easy to establish a couple of passive income streams. Hopefully while you’re reading everything here, you can pick apart my brain and maybe analyze where you’re getting distracted as well. Our brains have a tendency to take off. Since it’s Friday, a massive brain dump might be appropriate. You’re welcome to do that here as well!
Have you thought about offering products or services in which you specialize or have some sort of experience in? How did it go? Best or worst decision you ever made? Have you experimented with eHow or niche sites? Please share any tips!
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23 Responses to “My Massive Passive Income Brain Dump: What Do You Think?”
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Hi! My name is Moon Hussain and my goal is to earn enough passive income to travel the world without worries. I'll be discussing all the strategies that I'm using to make money online. To keep up-to-date, please subscribe.
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It seems you are where I was a few months ago. I’m going to give you my honest opinion. Beware, I only mean to help you, not demotivate you.
It seems that, because your June deadline is approaching, you are looking for a quick solution to creating a passive income stream. If I was you, I’d really think about all your possibilities and ideas (your brain dump of today is an excellent start) and skip the things you are not passionate about. From what I read, your current job is not exactly your dream job, but I just want to warn you to be careful to not ‘create’ another job like that by starting a project/passive income stream that you’re not passionate about. A project can seem interesting because it generates money, but that’s an illusion that disappears over time (sooner that later).
Right now, it might seem like it’s all about money so you can move to SD, but in the long run money is the last thing that’s of any value. Moon, my best advice is to do what you really, really like doing. Doing what you like doing is what gets you out of bed in the morning and makes you go to bed (too) late. I too have a well-paid job, but I’m not going to stick with it. Money is nice, but after a while it’s just … money.
I really hope you find what you like doing and at the same time make money of it. That’s the combination a lot of us are looking for. With all your potential, I’m sure you’ll be able to do just that!
Bart´s last blog ..Meditation: Getting Started Part 1
Bart,
Thanks for sharing your advice. It seems that I’m at a crossroad in my life where I need to make something happen for myself, so that I can live life the way I want to. I am the type of person who needs something to be passionate about so I’m always interested, but my short term goal is to make money. My long term goal is to make money by creating a business that I love.
If the latter happens now, that’d be great. I’m giving myself a few days to think about this “stuff”. It’s all part of the journey, I guess.
Nicely put, Bart.
So Moon, you’re moving near my neck of the woods, eh? Talk to Punch Debt if you need SD advice. He lives out there.
I think if you have a good sizeable savings (I mean we’re talking SD here) and you have the time to create passive income…then you’re good. And maybe the quick draw is what you need to get the venture going.
But I agree with Bart, have a back up plan. And follow your passion (hence the reason I am thinking about creating my veggie business).
Nice brain dump. Another way to create passive income if you have time and money is to invest in Certificates of Deposits.
Money Funk´s last blog ..Taxes 101: 3 Ways to Reduce Your Taxes
Christine,
I did not realize you were in CA, let alone SD. CA in general is a welcome change from the east coast, esp. after the record number of snow storms we’ve had here this year
Even though I could easily survive over 6 months (maybe a year), I’m uncomfortable with draining my account like that. I would rather create sources now, a few months ahead of time, as these things take some time before you see decent results.
My mind is everywhere and that’s a bit of a problem, but hopefully something will grow out of these crazy thoughts and speculation. Hence, the blog
p.s. I’ll have to check out Punch Debt soon.
BTW, your header about ‘Get to the Chase Punk’ made me laugh.
I think charging $35 is a decent price. But you also need the back up, like you say with some big reviewers. Check out the guys behind Beyond Blogging. They scored interviews with high rankers and sold it for $30-$35 (can’t remember exactly what I paid for it). Funny thing, I haven’t had time to read it yet. LOL.
Time to get your guest post in with Problogger.
Money Funk´s last blog ..Taxes 101: 3 Ways to Reduce Your Taxes
Haha, yeah, that was me talking to myself after I realized how long I had rambled on for
I was checking out Beyond Blogging but not in-depth yet. I just need to push my ideas into actions. Not sure what you mean by guest posting with Problogger, heh. I can wish!
Guest post with ProBlogger and you’ll drive mass people to your site. But do so after you implement your product.
Product + People = Sales (or its in hope that it will).
Money Funk´s last blog ..Menu Plan Monday: 21-Day Vegan Kickstart!
Ah, yeah, I get what you’re saying now
That’ll be the day when we can hit up Darren. ‘Hey, yeah Darren, it’s me Moon. Got a guest post for you.’ heh.
I like it
Go for the web application, seems like it has the most profti potential
maren kate´s last blog ..9 Tools an Entrepreneur can’t live without
Maren,
That’s something I need to really think about before I put in all the time and money into it, but it is something I want to delve in, since I’m a programmer.
Hey Moon – In terms of offering your own product, I would advise against doing so against a specific deadline. The road is often bumpy and full of unexpected obstacles and this is exactly the reason that most people fail at their e-Product venture.
When I created my first eBook, it took one year for it to start earning money and that year involved a lot of frustration. However, I am happy that I stuck through it all as that one eBook has become a decent success.
But I would never have managed to make it through that year if I was also not working on other projects that I was far more passionate about. So I would look at passive income not as a something to create quickly, but as something to generate over time, especially if you have some savings to rely on at the moment. It definitely is a bit risky to put all of your hopes on one information product and to try and get it up and running successfully in a short period of time.
Earl´s last blog ..Unexpected Encounters With Intriguing People
But with that said, the process of creating passive income is something you can start today! So it doesn’t hurt to dedicate an hour or two each day and get the process going…the sooner you start, the sooner you will reap the rewards.
Earl´s last blog ..Unexpected Encounters With Intriguing People
Yep, Earl, I entirely realize that IF I start working on these passive income streams, I’ll start to see results in 6 months-a year. Love the input, thanks again
Earl,
Thanks for your input. My ebook could end up taking the form of a membership site and there are quite a few things I need to learn about to get that going. I think that would lean towards a long term goal, something that I want to map out in the span of 1-2 years. I’ll be contacting a couple of people to learn more about the business model, etc.
Every day is a new day, some days fine, some days mixed emotions like the mixed, dirty snow/sleet outside, just muddled.
You said you’re a programmer, right? Have you ever thought about designing websites under membership like Elegant Themes? $19.95 annual fee to use the themes on the site.
Money Funk´s last blog ..Menu Plan Monday: 21-Day Vegan Kickstart!
How’d this comment end up under spam? Christine, I am a programmer, not a designer. In fact, designing is a huge setback for me, so that’d be out of the question. I do have a couple of ideas in mind though.
Thanks Moon for mentioning my post – im uber thrilled its helping you!
I like your snowball idea – adding a new product each month. Im doing the exact same thing. I want a new product to launch for each month until August. There not going to be huge projects – maybe just a small guide or widget etc. But the snowball effect is definitely the way to go.
And seeing as you have programming skills – launch a web app already!! Who cares if other programmers pick apart your work – they’ve picked apart my app, but it earns me a living. Get your minimum viable product online asap. Creating a web app has opened so many doors for me – I get blown away on a weekly basis by companies emailing me about my little app.
And do also launch an ebook – its also something which I’ve done. I’m still learning about the best ways to promote it but its quickly proving to be a nice income source.
By the sounds of things, your starting to figure out exactly what you need to do – you already have the knowledge required its just a case of putting your down and churning through the work.
Good luck – and thanks for the mention.
Anthony Feint´s last blog ..How to Stop Getting Frustrated on a Slow Day
Anthony,
I’ve discovered so many gems at your blog; keep up the great work!
Thanks for the encouragement, because it certainly does get hard. I don’t want to take any “wrong” steps, and that keeps my brain in a constant struggle of trying to determine what the “right” step is. I just need to take that step and see what it leads me to.
Alright Anthony, thanks to your comment and support, I’ll be doing some serious dumps of web app ideas and ebooks. Look for updates in the next couple of weeks!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, it’s always interesting to see how others are approaching their goals.
I really like the idea of breaking down to the essentials. I too did something similar recently because I’ve been wanting to save up for a few new items. I broke it down into how much I would need to earn to reach my goal.
When faced with a large number, you’re intimidated but when you have the actual day to day it’s much more manageable. You realize how if you focus on bringing in the consistent money from the break down, you’ll reach your main goal in no time.
Murlu´s last blog ..Become A Guest Blogging Superhero
Murlu, exactly the point. Breaking things down can help you develop a much clearer plan. Stick to your guns and work hard. Hope to see you around!