There’s no denying that money is a major part of life. And while we all can’t be Scrooge McDuck and have a pool of gold coins to dive into, we sure have the opportunities to have the financial security he does—that’s where exploring passive income ideas can really help.
The reality is, we live in a world where economy and volatility are often used in the same sentence. A second (or third) job can lead to mental, physical, and emotional burnout. So having a stream of revenue on autopilot can provide the protection you need from economic uncertainty.
“It’s so important for [you] to be financially educated and financially independent,” says Jaspreet Singh, the CEO of Market Briefs and host of Minority Mindset on YouTube, in an interview on The Mindvalley Show with Vishen. “Because if you’re not, you’re relying on somebody else, like maybe the government or any other entity, [and] then it puts you in their hands.”
So whether you’re looking to quit your day job, pay off debt, or simply build wealth for your future, understanding the ins and outs of passive income can change your life.
What is passive income?
As its name suggests, passive income is a stream of wealth earned without any active involvement on your part. It can come from a variety of sources, such as rental properties, dividend-paying stocks, interest-bearing accounts, and business investments.
The beauty of it is, you break free from the time-for-money trap that traditional active income requires of you. Instead of trading hours of your life for a paycheck, passive income allows you to earn money “while you sleep.” In other words, it’s financial abundance without having to constantly trade your time for it.
[Passive income] is income that you can get without doing anything.
— Jaspreet Singh, CEO of Market Briefs and host of Minority Mindset on YouTube
Don’t mistake it for extra income from side hustles, though. A lot of people set up a product page on social media or an online marketplace and assume that the stream of income will magically flow. Most of these businesses end up shutting down because they still require time-for-money.
Only 20% of American households earn passive income through dividends, interest, or rental properties, according to Census Bureau data. But if you want to get in on the game, there are plenty of passive income ideas that can help you join the ranks of the financially secure.
What are some passive income ideas?
“Recessions and market crashes are scary, and they can be painful for the majority of people,” says Jaspreet, “but they also create the most opportunities if you know where to look.”
In his sit-down with Vishen, he provides some effective ideas for passive income based on his own experience. You can listen to the whole interview for more insights:
In the meantime, here’s a list of how to create passive income ideas to get you started:
1. Rent out your property
Buying a property doesn’t necessarily mean you have to live in it. It can also make you extra money with a rental property that can bring in a steady stream of income every month.
Granted, buying to rent can be a huge investment. But, taking a cue from Jaspreet, opportunities are there for the grabbing.
The host of Minority Mindset purchased a condo for only $8,000 in 2012, when the original price was $150,000. He explains, “The reason why I was able to purchase it that cheap was because of the real estate crash a few years prior.”
And when you’re able to seek out real estate investments like Jaspreet, you can leverage them to your advantage.
What to keep in mind: There are landlord-tenant laws in most countries, so you may need certain skills to be a successful landlord. You need to be able to find good tenants, set fair rents, and maintain the property.
With that being said, you can read up on the subject or hire a property management company to take care of the day-to-day tasks for you.
2. Invest in dividend-paying stocks
One of the more popular passive income ideas to build wealth is investing in dividend-paying stocks. It’s when you become a shareholder in a company and receive a portion of its profits on a regular basis.
For example, you can buy shares of Apple, whose annual dividend yield is around 0.5%. That means if you were to hold a single share of Apple stock for a year, you’d earn about $0.88 in dividends for that year.
What to keep in mind: Several factors contribute to the annual payout: the current dividend yield, the dividend payout ratio, and any changes in a company’s stock price. And more importantly, remember that stock prices can be volatile; there’s no guarantee that the payout will remain the same in the future.
3. Invest in a high-yield savings account
Savings allow you to be prepared for the unexpected. Moreover, they help you achieve your financial goals, reduce debt, and plan for retirement.
However, according to Jaspreet, the interest rate on your savings is often less than inflation, which means “the value of savings is literally becoming less every single day.” He adds that the purpose of traditional savings accounts is not to make you wealthy but rather to protect you in emergency situations.
With that being said, what can help you earn money? A high-yield savings account.
It’s similar to their traditional counterpart, except they offer higher rates. And as one of the best passive income ideas, investing in this type of savings allows you to easily access it if you ever want to transfer more money or need to tap into it.
What to keep in mind: Interest rates can fluctuate over time, and high-yield savings aren’t immune. While you’d still earn money on your savings, the ups and downs of interest rates mean that the income stream won’t always be the same.
4. Affiliate marketing
The basis of affiliate marketing is that you promote other people’s products and earn a commission on sales.
For example, if you have a blog, YouTube channel, or email newsletter that focuses on business ideas for women, you may want to partner with a company that has products for that audience. It could be anything from sportswear to feminine hygiene; you could create content around that product and encourage your readers to buy it.
There are huge advantages to being part of an affiliate program. One of them is the upward trend of this type of passive income—so much so that 81% of advertisers and 84% of publishers use affiliate marketing, according to a Forrester report.
What to keep in mind: “Successful affiliate marketing requires building a relationship of trust and providing value to your audience,” says Hans Baetsen, senior partnership specialist in affiliate marketing at Mindvalley. He adds that you should provide authentic promotions, listen to your audience’s feedback, provide an affiliate disclaimer, and use multiple channels to maximize your results.
6. Online courses
Here’s a grand idea: Get paid for what you know. That’s what creating an online course can do for you, especially with the increase in the popularity of online learning.
The thing is, we all have something of value that we can teach others. Take, for instance, Jimmy Naraine, trainer of Mindvalley’s Course Pro Quest. He started teaching confidence and self-esteem courses on Udemy, eventually becoming an award-winning educator as well as a Udemy partner.
There are several platforms you can use. You can teach on Udemy, LinkedIn Learning, or Teachable, or alternatively, you can start a YouTube channel. Whatever you’re most comfortable with, the choice is yours.
What to keep in mind: If you’re hesitant to create an online course because of fear, Jimmy has advice for that: “I could probably spill something on me, I could trip, and it doesn’t matter as long as I give you value.”
7. Sell your AI-generated creations
Businesses often need visuals for collateral like marketing campaigns or social media posts. So if you’re looking for passive income ideas with little money and have a knack for creating visuals via AI, you can monetize your passion by selling them online.
The process is relatively simple:
- Find an AI program that provides a text-to-image service, like Midjourney, Canva, or Adobe Firefly.
- Generate the images you want.
- Find a website you like, such as Shutterstock, Adobe Stock, or iStock, to sell your creations on.
- Upload your images.
Every time someone downloads one of your images, you earn a commission.
What to keep in mind: It may take some time to build a substantial portfolio and earn income. However, its potential is significant, so keep sharing your creativity with the world.
8. Sell designs online
One unique business idea that relies on your artistic talent is selling designs online. There are a few ways to do this:
- Print-on-demand. You create your designs and upload them to a supplier’s website so that they can be printed on products like t-shirts, phone cases, mugs, and so on. It’s essentially on a per-order basis, customized to the customer’s preferences but under your own brand name.
- Digital downloads. You can often find this on Etsy or Creative Market. This option allows customers to purchase your designs, download them, and use them for their own projects.
This option can help put your artwork out into the world, earning passive income as a result.
What to keep in mind: Creating and selling designs online isn’t a touch-and-go type of project; it requires some upfront effort. That includes building a portfolio, establishing your brand, and marketing your work.
9. Write an ebook
Writing is a great way to turn your knowledge, experience, or passion into something profitable. And with the rise of digital publishing, it’s incredibly easy to become an author and share your work with the world.
Your book could be about anything, from your cancer journey to how to attract money. The topics are endless.
“Writing ebooks is a very simple way to test the market and find a niche that works for you,” explains Kerry Fisher, author of The Extraordinary Living Series. She adds that it can be less than 100 pages, but put something out there to “test the market and see what’s resonating with your audience.”
Choose a topic that you’re knowledgeable about and that has a clear audience. Conduct research to make sure your topic is in demand and there’s a market for your book. Then, create an outline and start writing.
What to keep in mind: Like selling designs, this type of passive income does take upfront effort. People need to know about your book, so marketing and promoting it is an important initial step so that you can enjoy the royalties later.
10. Sell NFTs
Non-fungible tokens, better known as NFTs, have gained so much popularity as a way to sell digital artwork, collectibles, and other digital assets. Think Justin Bieber’s Bored Ape. Or Reese Witherspoon’s World of Women. Or Mindvalley’s NFTs (for which the proceeds go to support Ukraine).
The idea behind this cryptocurrency is that it represents ownership of a specific digital asset. And as an artist, you can create your own and sell them on various NFT marketplaces.
What’s interesting is that you retain ownership of the original digital asset. So if it increases in value over time, you can continue to profit from its sale.
What to keep in mind: Because it exists on a blockchain, it’s important to be knowledgeable about this type of technology. Plus, there’s a lot of competition in the market, so it can be difficult to get noticed by buyers.
3 tips for passive income stream from Jaspreet Singh
Living from paycheck to paycheck is not an ideal lifestyle. So having financial freedom is essential to being able to live life on your terms.
That’s why having continuous cash flow is so great. Even in the most volatile economy, it can help you achieve your goals and keep the stress of financial instability off your shoulders.
Knowing how to create passive income ideas is good—it’s like having a car. But what’s going to get you from good to great is knowing how to move the car.
That’s where Jaspreet’s tips come in handy. And if you’re ready to take control of your financial future, let’s take a closer look at what he has to say.
1. Cultivate a “minority mindset”
It’s all about a “minority mindset,” according to Jaspreet. It has nothing to do with ethnicity or the color of your skin, but rather it’s about thinking differently than the majority of people by “looking for the opportunity instead of worrying about all the problems.”
It empowers you to overcome your money wounds. As Ken Honda, Japan’s “Zen Millionaire” and trainer of Mindvalley’s Money EQ Quest, says, “Worrying about money is an addiction that keeps you from focusing on what else is going on in your life.”
What’s more, it promotes a mindset of abundance. So when the opportunity strikes, especially during economic recessions, you’ll be aware of the many opportunities to jump on—kind of like a Black Friday sale, but for investors.
Jaspreet Singh’s tip: “When you know where the opportunity is, you can capitalize on it, and this is where more millionaires are made than any other time.”
2. Get financially educated
Being “financially educated,” according to Jaspreet, means knowing two things:
- How to analyze an investment and
- Knowing what you want to buy.
It’s about understanding budgeting, saving, investing, and debt management. On top of that, it’s about being able to apply that knowledge in your everyday life.
And it’s an important aspect to apply to your passive income ideas. Moreover, it’ll allow you to make informed decisions about your money and take control of your financial future.
Jaspreet Singh’s tip: “At the end of the day, time in the market beats timing the market many, many, many times over, meaning if you hold your investments for long enough, there will, the majority of the time, if you have a good, strong fundamental investment, [be a] win over the long term.”
3. Be prepared
Part of being financially educated is being prepared to pounce on opportunities when they present themselves. And to do so, you need to have the capital, cash, or access to cash.
After all, you can’t buy an $8,000 condo below market value like Jaspreet did if you don’t actually have the $8,000.
So what’s the plan of action? Put money into your savings. If it’s traditional savings, great; if it’s high-yield savings, even better.
Jaspreet Singh’s tip: “When times are okay, start putting cash aside [so that] when you have the resources, you can capitalize on the opportunities that might come your way.”
4. Bonus: Know yourself
In his interview on The Mindvalley Show, Jaspreet emphasizes the importance of really knowing yourself. It’ll help you understand why you make the decisions you do and how you react to situations in the market.
If you’re not an entrepreneur, he advises against making a career change and building a business. Instead, his suggestion is to “look for opportunities in the stock market or the real estate market, potentially the crypto market.”
But each and every one of us is unique. We’re not all going to be gung-ho about buying Coca-Cola stocks, diligent enough to research each product or service, or have the patience to hang tight through an economic downturn.
Jaspreet Singh’s tip: “This is where you have to know yourself. If you hate crypto, don’t invest in crypto; if you hate real estate, don’t invest in real estate; [and] if you hate the stock market, don’t invest in stocks.
We all have our own interests, and depending on where we are in our lives, we have to figure out what aligns with our lifestyle, our goals, and our risk tolerance.”
Make your money work for you
Having a secondary income stream can be a game-changer on your road to financial freedom and stability. From investing in dividend-paying stocks to creating an online course, there are numerous passive income ideas to choose from.
If you’re looking for guidance on how to boost your financial IQ and unlock the power of passive income ideas, you can learn from Ken Honda in his Money EQ Quest on Mindvalley. He’ll guide you with practical tips and strategies to build a healthy relationship with money, as well as a “minority mindset.”
Over 280,000 students have taken his program, and it’s made an impact on many, like this self-mastery coach:
I was able to see how my relationship with money was represented in many other areas of my life, including my business, my health, and the relationships I have with those I am inspired to live life with. The concept of being happy is a state of consciousness that permeates my entire life, thanks to this course.
— Tracey Knight, self-mastery coach
It’s truly life-changing. The best part is, you can sample lessons from it by unlocking your free access.
And just like how your passive income ideas are great investments for your future, an investment in you is personal growth, which can pay dividends for a lifetime.
Welcome in.
