Want to Create Passive Income with a $0 investment?

There are so many articles that talk about passive income and how to make one. There are several options related to investing or types of investing that could generate a side income. However, all these sources require some type of dollar investment. And that’s where my hunch with this post is to identify different mediums of generating passive income without any dollar investment.

The idea of passive income

After reading Tim Ferris's “The 4-Hour Workweek” I started to get curious about the idea of passive income. The gist of the book sounds fascinating being paid while you are taking a vacation. It feels good when dollars get credited to your account and you only have to work 4 hours a week.

This thought made me curious to deep dive and understand what does passive income really is. And I started to invest my time in understanding how to build a passive income. With this post, I want to summarize the five most easy ways that I find interesting to create a passive income.

What is passive income?

An income that is generated besides your main job (active income). It could be a regular income generated from a source other than your employer.

It is an earning with zero maintenance that needs little or no daily effort. You create it once and get paid all the time.

It might take some effort to get up and running a passive income source, but it could eventually earn you money while you sleep.

Income generated from rental property, company stocks, etc.

Passive income is taxable usually.

Why do you need one?

• It gives extra financial security along the way. Consider getting unemployed may be due to crises like the COVID-19 pandemic. Extra cash in hand never hurts.
• Retire early — With such an income source, you plan to retire early. Early retirement could open many other doors for you.
• It could also be helpful if you outlive your retirement fund.

How long does it take to create passive income?

You won’t be getting wealthy overnight. There is no quick turnaround. However, consistency is the key here. With consistency and quality, you can make some good money over the long term.

It usually starts with a few hundred to thousands of dollars over time. Moreover, the number of income streams also adds to it.

How about you create it once and get paid for your work over and over again? No one hates some additional bucks at the end of the month.

Easy ways to make passive income with $0 investment

The idea is to create something once and get paid over and over for your work. The maintenance of your work is little to no effort. Seems pretty interesting, right?

Here are the ways that seem interesting to me:

1. Create an online course
   You can use your skillset to create an online course. Though building a course requires some time commitment, it comes with a huge reward at the end. You can use platforms like udemy or coursera to create a course. The course could be related to anything like teaching an instrument, a programming language, or even how to learn a new skill. This is my favorite method of creating a passive income as it brings value to both the creator and the course taker. You create quality content over time. And your work will continue to get paid when people actually subscribe or take it. It is like creating value and adding value to people's lives. Your creative intrinsic mind is calling you.
2. Affiliate Marketing:
   Promoting a product can get you some extra cash. The simplest thing is to be an Amazon affiliate. You can promote the product through your website or blog. It would be natural if it is the product in which you believe and is high quality. A few words from a trustworthy source can bring you some money from the purchase your fans would make. In other words, consider it as a product recommendation with a slight fee.
   Another example is sharing your referral code with your friends, family, and fans. Your referral code will give some perks to both you and your subscribers.
3. Create a Blog or YouTube channel:
   Find what you are good at or something you want to share or make people learn. It could be a cooking video, working out the video, storytelling, or Minecraft castle-building tips. Share your knowledge or experience through a blog or a YouTube video. The world is watching you. There is an audience waiting for you. You need to start telling your story. I’m taking my first steps in building this writing practice.

Though these methods look enticing, there are a few must things:

• A quality product that is simple to maintain. If it is not simple, it won’t qualify as a Passive income source.
• Consistent effort in building new things.
• Build something that creates or adds value to someone or something
• Keep patience. It takes some time to start getting some returns.
• Sharing your knowledge is the greatest asset. Be curious. Curiosity will make you think. When you think, it’s important to understand when to act. When you think, you don’t act so when you act, you don’t have to think.

Stay curious. Be creative. And, Keep building.

I’d love to hear your views, opinions, and additional sources of passive income if you know of any.