Passive Income: 5 Proven Ways to Make Money While you Sleep.

Today I'm going to share with you 5 ways to make a Passive Income online, regardless of the industry you're in. These are tried and true methods from not only creating an income stream, but one that can work for you while you're sleeping, at your J.O.B, taking time with family, or on holiday...if you get your business properly set up!

I was self employed for a long time, but when I started my first "real" business, I was sure I would finally create the freedom I was looking for. My background is in Event Marketing and Branding, so when I decided to branch out on my own I niched in Event Design where I knew I could earn more for private events. I was tired of working for the man, doing most of the work and not feeling compensated or appreciated. Somehow I thought that working for myself would be different. 

As it turned out, I was still working long nights and weekends, and I was juggling all the balls like a one man circus, many of which I knew very little about. I was head of Sales, Marketing, Design, Event Creation, Client Appreciation, Customer Service, Accounting, and every bit of clerical that came with it. 

I was following in my parents entrepreneurial footsteps...long hours, great pay, but little freedom and definitely not the kind of business I could step away from and still be making an income. My mom is a hairstylist and spends long hours on her feet. She gets paid when she has a client in her seat. My dad works around the clock as a Realtor, and sometimes without an end deal or result. Done traditionally, It's a feast or famine world, and the number 1 reason why I don't sell Real Estate or Ferraris. I like residual income.

While I was growing my Event Business I met a man who introduced me to the Cash Flow Quadrant Concept. It perfectly described what I had experienced growing up with self employed parents and what I was experiencing in my business...trading every moment of my precious time for money. It was then I realized I needed to create a way to work smarter, not harder, and I needed to find ways to leverage tools, my time, and make money even when I wasn't working. I need to create a residual income to pay my residual bills, which made perfect sense to me, and it needed to be passive.

Passive Income Vs Residual Income

So is there a difference between passive and residual? Yes slightly. Passive income can be made without you being present, but it may only happen once. Residual income is a reoccurring income that comes from repeat business. I make both, and I recommend both. I'll give you an example: I've built relationships with clients who purchase from my online store every 1-3 months. This is reoccurring. Because I've taught them how to do this by themselves, I've made this a passive income as well. Now if you are a hairstylist with repeat clients, this is not a residual income, because you still have to cut and colour their hair every time they come in. Do you see the difference?

How can I Create a Passive income that is re-occuring?

The first thing you want to do when setting yourself up for a passive and residual income is to consider your assets and then figure out how you can turn them into an income. Your assets may be a product, your wisdom, your experience, material expenses, or hobbies you're particularly good at. 

Think about the trends that are happening in the world right now. Let's take Airbnb and Uber for example. Here we have 2 companies that took their website and marketing skills and created a hub for entrepreneurial minded people to create an asset from their expense. Instead of just paying for your home, now you can also make money from it. This is considered a passive income for the home owner, but this is both passive and residual income for Airbnb. Now for Uber, this is a platform that is allowing people to make an income from their car expenses, yet much like a hairstylist, the driver is still trading time for money, but uber has both a passive and residual income. How can you create an asset that allows you to have the best of all worlds?

5 Methods to Consider that can Start Creating a Passive Income right away.

Network Marketing

Network Marketing is one of the most common ways for the average person to create above average results. It has very low start up costs, requires very little experience, and a you can weave it into your schedule in as little as an hour a day - if you join the right team with the right system for success. The benefits of partnering with a company are similar to that of a franchise, but without having the high overhead. As a partner with these companies your primary focus is growing your list, learning how to brand and market  yourself, and simply facilitate the exchange of products and payment. Each company will have a head office that takes care of the market research, product development, packaging, shipping, warehousing, training, website creation, and back end office. They will create all of the income projections, help you launch into new markets, as well as provide great incentives like car bonuses, cash bonuses, jewelry, trips, and much much more. Keep in mind, not all companies are this generous, and not all leaders are created equal, so do some research before you jump in. 

If you you're thinking about joining a network marketing company to create a residual income, there's a few things you'll want to consider. You want to find a knowledgable leader who can help you start earning right away, and its best to find a company with a great track record for success. And You want to find products that compliment your lifestyle, your passion, or your business. Perhaps it's something you're already using and sharing, so why not turn your expense into an income? That was how I got start...I loved the products, they complimented my lifestyle, I was passionate about helping others, and they complimented my husbands business and client's needs. Our leaders had a strong system that helped me earn a paycheque right out of the gates, and promote quickly, and in the process I developed my own system for our team to build and grow online.

Here ar​e some examples of how someone who is self employed could easily integrate a complimentary product into their business plan.

  • Hair stylist/Salon owner: Beauty, Personal care products, fashion, jewelry
  • Trainer/RMT/Fitness centre/Yoga Teacher: wellness products, nutrition, apparel, online programs and trainings
  • Make Up Artist: Cosmetics, Skincare, Fashion, editorials and tutorials
  • Coaches - Network Marketing, Affiliate Marketing, Books, Courses, Speaking Engagements or workshops
  • Web or Technology based: Tech companies that offer phone and wifi service, Tools and resources

Curious to learn more about how you can make an extra $1K a month or more, join a tribe of thriving entrepreneurs, and have me as your personal mentor?  ​>> Learn more here  <<


Create products or services 

Creating products or services that compliment your business can position you as an authority in your niche, but can also be a great way to attract and generate leads for your business. For example, I have created a brand around teaching people how to leverage the internet to create more freedom and flexibility in their business and in their lives. I started out as a network marketer, which I still am, but I've been able to expand my offerings. And in this process, I often find people who my network marketing business is a perfect fit for. So what can you create to start building your presence online and gaining more visibility?

  1. Write a book and sell it on Amazon. This is a great way to get your name out there and share your message with a large audience. You can include resources in your 
  2. Book that link back to your website, as well as ways your readers can work more closely with you. This is great for any industry...coaches, realtors, network marketers, etc.
  3. Create an Ebook you can use as a Free Offer to subscribers or sell through your website. This is a great way to educate your consumers how to DIY, but also allows them to decide if they'd rather do the work themselves or they may decide to hire you to do the work. I've seen this implemented well with web designers, online systems businesses, coaches, bloggers, Personal Trainers, and many other industries.
  4. Create a printable that can also be used as a Free Offer or sold through your website or a store like Etsy. This is a great product for designers to use that can be for those entrepreneurs who can't afford to have designs created to order. Also great for planners, business coaches, network marketers, bloggers, and anyone who has a resource that can be duplicated to serve multiple clients needs.
  5. Create a course based on something you've learned through working in your industry. This can be a course for your clients, but it can also be a course for other industry professionals in your niche. For example, if you use a method for marketing your business online that has brought you a huge amount of success, how can you duplicate and package this system and provide it to others who are looking to also create success? If you are a language teacher, instead of only coaching 1 on 1, design a course that can be accessed through online modules. If you've had huge success in real estate investment, teach others how to also make wise investments.

Affiliate Marketing/Ambassador

Becoming an affiliate or ambassador for a company is much like network marketing in that it is a referral based business for a company or brand that is already established. The best way to make money doing this is by creating your own brand and social media presence where you can become an influencer within a niche. Then you can recommend and make sales on multiple affiliate products. This is becoming a common opportunity and is offered through popular companies like L’Oréal Paris, Vega, Lululemon, and Amazon. These companies no longer have a need to pay for advertising because it's all done through social marketing and word of mouth through their affiliates. 

Generally the way it works is that each sale is tracked through an affiliate link or promo code. The one downside to affiliate marketing is that not every purchase may be attached to your link, so you want to make sure you're focused on building strong relationships, and staying on top of your marketing efforts through Blogging, Vlogging, Email Marketing, etc. If a potential customer clears the cookies in their browser and clicks on a competitors ad, the sale will go to the most recent affiliate.

I have worked with a few different affiliate programs and it's cost me both time and money to find a program that really resonates with my audience and can fufill the needs of most entrepreneurs who are wanting to build an online business...whether they are wanting to take their offline business online, monetize and scale their online business, or diversify their brand with an extra stream of income. This program has it all, and it's the first I've seen that pays out 100% on commissions. Check out the video my good friend and business partner Julie Burke put together to show you how you can create 1K days. ​ >> Click to learn more <<


Personal Branding

Personal Branding is a way to promote and sell various products and services through Blogging, Vlogging, and Online Advertising. It can include any and all of the above models I've mentioned and can be integrated into one place. You can use it to: 

  • Sell your own products or partner with a company
  • Be paid by companies to promote their products or services
  • Set up advertising
  • Use it to educate and inspire your clients and potential clients to do business with you
  • Create a membership site 
Passive Income

First steps to Creating Your Passive Business

I use all of these integrated under one umbrella, my personal brand. The common thread they all share is that in order to build these using the internet and social media there is a skillset required, but it's the same skill for each of them. Marketing. To effectively market your brand and make sells (yes selling is part of the process, otherwise you work for free) you want to focus on educating your consumer through valuable information about the benefits of what you offer. Learn how to craft your personal brand and message to share on Social Media with my Free Social Media Guide. It has some great tips for getting started and building a strong foundation for your brand.

Passive Income

You need to learn how to connect, inspire, and educate so that people will take action and make a purchase. Now listen closely, the marketing is what happens on social media, the selling happens in a private conversation you have 1 on 1 with your new prospect or client. The next step in this process is providing them an introductory offer upfront in exchange for their information. This can be a free sample, a discount, an ebook, a printable, a video loaded with valuable info, etc. This process works just like a trade show. Have you ever entered your information in at a booth to win a free trip? Same thing. 

How to I set up my Passive Income System?

Once this person subscribes to your list, they are raising their hand and asking for you to provide them with more value, and if they like what they see they will upgrade to becoming a client or partner with your business. There's a formula and system that you can set up to get this all working like a well oiled machine, and this formula is called Attraction Marketing. You do the work on the front end to set it up, but your system does a lot of the actual selling for you, and delivers the product without you having to facilitate every step of the process. Yes you still must do the work, but a system like this will help you get paid even when you aren't working. 

Imagine waking up to emails each day notifying you that you have a new lead or telling you you've made a commission. What would it be like to login to a back office to see that your clients have purchased from your online store from the content you've created and the relationships you've developed? Imagine doing this all from your computer and being able to be location free. Imagine having more time to do the things you love because you're no longer trading time for money. Is this the kind of lifestyle and security you would like to have for yourself and your family? I know for me this what exactly what I was looking for so I found the best mentorship I could, I learned as much as I could, and I put those skills into practice. I've never looked back, and now I want to share what I've learned to help you achieve the same results. 


Learn more about Affiliate Marketing >> Click to Learn More <<

What to look for in Network Marketing and our turn key system for success >> Click to Learn More <<

Work with me as your personal mentor >> Click to Learn More <<

Learn how to build your business online with the Influencer Academy >> Check out the AIM Academy <<


Did this help you? If so, I would greatly appreciate if you left a comment and shared this with your Facebook friends by simply hitting the share button! xo Johanna

Here are some additional resources for your business, because you're awesome! 

  • Live Video: Do you work towards your strengths or your weaknesses? Click Here
  • Live Video: Should you brand yourself or your company? Click Here
  • Join My Free Facebook Mastermind Group Click Here

About Johanna Hunt

I teach entrepreneur minded professionals how to create abundance of time, freedom, health, and financial security. I have a multi faceted business in the Health and Wellness Niche, and my specialty is in online marketing and simple social media strategies.

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