5 Sources Of Passive Income At A Time

About 4 months back I decided to get serious about earning passive income by content creation. This was not the first time I was venturing into this, but this time I was sure I would be in it for the long haul, and not give up like I had before.

Read on to learn from my experience in the big bad world of passive income and side hustles.

Youtube

So the first thing I went for was to revive my old YouTube channel on gaming and tech and create a new one on content creation and branding.

The thing about YouTubing is the barrier to entry is low, but the time it takes to bear the fruits of your effort is too long, additionally, it takes a lot of time to create content.

In the case of YouTube just recording a video is not enough, a time hog in the process is the post-editing, you usually spend longer editing the video than actually recording it.

I have a 2-year-old, and like any toddler, she keeps our hands full. It is not easy to create YouTube content due to the time it takes.

In the initial days, the number of views is low, so obviously there is no earning, the only dopamine you get is seeing your video views increasing, but that too for a small-time YouTuber does not go beyond a few hundred.

I quickly realized that my current strategy was not going to help me see returns shortly, and I had to figure out other ways to stay motivated to avoid burnout in my first venture itself, so I started dabbling into other avenues, so I could come back with my experiences on those to Youtube as a platform.

I also started a podcast with a fellow writer from Medium, which I have already posted 3 episodes of, so that is something I added to my kitty.

Barrier To Entry — Medium

Income Potential — Medium

Expected Time To Get Returns — Long to Very Long

Tip For You — YouTube is the biggest search platform after Google, develop a presence there with a plan so you do not miss out. But before that find a niche or area of expertise and win there so you can bring the same experience as fuel to grow on YouTube.

Helping Build A Business

This is the second avenue I dabbled into, I see many extremely talented individuals around me who can do much more than what they are currently doing, restricted only by their procrastination. I have a very close friend, whose wife is someone similar.

Since the time I first met her she had been thinking of starting a homemade food business, but seems she was not getting the right push, and was delaying it for another day. With my newfound passion for side income and intent of being a solopreneur, about a year back I decided to push her to do what she is meant to do and start her home-based business.

I set up a Facebook page for her and started researching how to start a home-based baking business. Before going in full on we decided to start baking for friends as a hobby and grow on it gradually.

While doing so I planned to sharpen my business development and marketing skills. Now I am not in it for the money, at least till I know whether my part in this venture is making a difference or not.

I dream of making this business the best it can be and use this experience to help more such individuals in developing business strategies, and eventually get into the field of business or life coaching.

This is expected to be my second source of income and is the seed I have planted to form the basis of my future expansion in the field.

Barrier To Entry — Low

Income Potential — Medium To High

Expected Time Of Seeing Returns —Medium To Long

Tip For You — Everyone has an inherent skill, mine is my knack for doing good research. It is time to capitalize on that and also look for procrastinators around you. Support others to realize their dreams if you can, as that can lay a foundation to build a support system around you, which once established can be used to grow both financially, and as an individual brand.

Building A Personal Brand

In the process of these experiments, I bought myself a website hosting plan to support multiple websites I set up for myself and eventually for the small businesses I am planning on setting up.

I have had a domain with my name for the longest time. I quickly set up a couple of WordPress websites for me and my YouTube channel. The idea was to set it up so if someone searches my name on Google the websites that come up should be under my control. I wanted to be an authority in at least my name on the internet, an essential part of a long-term plan for my solopreneur journey.

I don’t want to run around at the last minute wasting more precious time building authority on my name. Luckily now if you search Jijo George on Google my name comes up in the top 3 results, I want such results to show up even if you search my first name.

Barrier To Entry — Low

Income Potential — Medium To High

Expected Time Of Seeing Returns — Long

Tip For You — Put yourself out there and own your name, before someone else does. More about it on my post below. Below are my views on personal branding for your reference.

Earning Via Blogs

Next, I came across Medium while on YouTube while searching for other options for passive income.

This is when I realized that you can earn money with your first blog if you promote it properly.

I love the Medium Partner Program, the best part is the barrier to entry is low, and you can potentially start earning almost immediately. The best part is blogging does not need you to spend hours editing your content, unlike YouTube, since you can read and review written content from anywhere.

This started my foray into the world of online blogging and content promotion via social media and so far I am doing pretty well compared to my other ventures. I have already recovered the money I spent on a subscription to become eligible for this program.

So from just a Medium perspective, I am already net positive. As my repository of stories grows I expect to have better returns per hour spent. I have been reusing my content from Medium for my Substack newsletter, another blogging platform I intend to grow in the coming months.

This blog is also Google Adsesne approved now it is not earning big money, but it has the potential to be big.

Barrier To Entry — Low

Income Potential — Medium

Expected Time Of Seeing Returns — Very Short

Tip For You — Create and promote, Medium is an amazing source of side income if done right. Create and promote consistently, engage with others, and join social groups with other authors. If done right it can do wonders for your motivation.

My E-commerce Store

My latest venture in an additional passive income is an Etsy store and another third-party POD store. I intend to sell digital designs, POD Tees and merchandise.

This is a long haul and needs a lot of time and effort, with potentially no income for a long time.

I plan to gradually increase my listing on the store, and promote it widely on social media, and via digital ads.

Once I have a substantial amount of listing I can use my blogs and YouTube videos to direct my viewers to this store to get digital products in line with their interests. These products can complement my writing and provide my readers and viewers with content they like in a tangible form.

Barrier To Entry — Medium

Income Potential — High To Very High

Expected Time Of Seeing Returns — Long to Very Long

Tip For You — Setting up an Etsy store or any other e-commerce store by itself is not tough, what would be tricky is the marketing part.

Among thousands of other stores, standing out will be very tough, but using the above tricks, you can create your little niche and community that would be willing to trust you with their support. If this community wills it and your content ideas are good enough, this could be a very viable source of side income.

Am I going to Fail?

Now and then I wonder, am I spreading myself too thin?

I plan to create content for or work towards each venture above every day. So some days I am on Medium engaging with people and writing blogs.

Other days I create designs for my Etsy/POD store. This has not been easy, for the past months, I have been waking up daily at 4 am, and doing this before I start my 9 to 5 job.

Waking up early is essential since that is the only time my toddler who is usually fast asleep does not need our attention.

Now as I put so much effort in I often wonder if I am spreading myself too thin by concentrating on multiple things, no matter how interesting they are.

I think I am not since having a mix of different things ongoing helps me avoid burnout.

Luckily the things I am concentrating on are compatible with each other, for example, my experience in helping a business helps establish my brand, and my blogs can be sourced as a lead to my newsletter, or Etsy store. I am no expert, and I am just going with the flow.

Conclusion

Now I have delved into all these fields expecting them to bear results in the next year. I have given myself some milestone targets to achieve in the coming months. I would love to hear from those on a similar path, and like to know how their journey has been so far.

Please drop your tips on how I can do it better.

Also, let me know if you want me to expand on any of my ventures above.

I agree I am just a beginner, but I have learned that things you learn as a beginner are usually more helpful to others than those from an expert. Experts leave some things that now come naturally to them owing to years of experience in the field.

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