People are also cheaper then buying real estate, can think, and can be quickly exchanged for a better model, if needed.

This post may seem wrong but its true.

It’s great to go with real property for passive income in developing countries like mine. There are many ways to go: rentals, buy and sell, and as staging for other businesses. It does take a lot of work in the beginning of course. This is a great site by the way! Thanks sir!

When I was, yes past tense, looking, I wanted something that I could invest a small amount of time and a little money in and have it earn me money hands free.

Hope everyone is as luck as I’ve been.

Joe Wood
http://www.thecrustylandlord.com

There are volumes written about going the self-publishing route, but basically it boils down to 1) a novel and engaging idea, 2) knowing ahead of time that there’s a need and audience in touch with that need. Then you start building out from there.

In my own case, I wanted to apply pastoral counseling models to people’s baggage about money, so I wrote “Healing Your Financial Soul: An interactive guide to restoring your relationship with money”. (A bit lengthy, but describes it well.) From there, I’m doing weekend seminars based on the book and having fun with that. I see this becoming at least a part-time job/profession, actually.

The best start for me was going to one of Mark Victor Hansen’s (Chicken Soup guy) MEGA publishing seminars — it’s a deluge of information and a lot of selling, but very informative and a good start-up investment.

1. Real estate – I’ve purchased two condos out of the state I live in (way too expensive here) and hired property managers. This has created a slightly positive cashflow for me but I don’t count on that money. This is a long term investment which I think will serve me well in retirement both income wise and tax wise.

2. Selling stuff on Ebay and Etsy – in the last few years I have become very interested in de-cluttering. Mostly, I donate items to Goodwill but if I feel I can get good value, I will sell on Ebay or (if vintage or handmade) on Etsy. My goal has been to post at least two items a week. Income from this is slow but steady and it’s kind of fun.

3. Commission Sales – I found a product (gift cards to be used as employee incentives) that seemed a natural add on to my HR business. It’s not passive but there is no minimum sales required. I can put as much or as little into it as I want but what ever I sell I get a commission on.

As I said, I get bored easily so I’m always willing to try new things. At one time I became a notary which made me some money but I decided to give it up because it became mainly friends asking for favors. I also tried being a travel agent – not so much because I wanted to be a travel agent but because I got travel agent discounts whenever I traveled.

Also, if you are interested in print on demand publishing, check out Booklocker. http://www.booklocker.com, and read Angela’s website, http://www.writersweekly.com for great marketing tips.

Lisa
Cents To Save

I know plasma is one component collected during the blood donation process, but wondered if you are talking about something more unique with your specific mention of ‘plasma’?

And how do you earn money from doing it? I live in the UK, where it is only a voluntary cash free donation, as far as I am aware. $640 in 6 months is a fair amount!

Oh, and I drove by her house the other day (a beautiful large, urban home built in the 1920s) and she drives a 7 year old Buick – that says a lot right there!

Or…make an appointment with a tax professional (it’ll probably cost you $75 – $90 for an hour) who is well-versed in the documentation of legal home business deductions. Not all of them are.

You will have to call around to find a good one. (Just like ballplayers, there are good and poor tax professionals.) Go in with specific written questions and take notes. When you are paying out good money, you want clear, accurate answers.

Also, it’s been my observation that you want to hold mutual funds in tax-deferred accounts (IRA, 401k.) I think the documentation and taxes on a mutual fund in a taxable account would be overwhelming. You have to really read those prospectus to know what’s held in them. (Here’s a good link about mutual funds:

http://finance.yahoo.com/funds/tax_issues/article/100631/Put_Your_Funds_in_the_Right_Accounts

Again, don’t go by me. I’m a retired PE teacher, and I hold ALL my mutual funds in tax-deferred accounts just to ease any headaches for me and my CPA/EA. This is another instance when you want the savvy and expertise of proven tax professional. I am not that guy.

I like the tenor of your article and of your entire site, Trent. It is honest, easy to read, and has excellent information.

You understand that growing passive income requires a tremendous amount of upfront energy.

The plan can be simple, but the execution in definitely not easy. There is a lot of hard work in establishing even an online business, and like Jesse said above, “To build a truly profitable website, a ton of work is required — ongoing work.”

Starting a homebased online business is not for everybody. Neither is making or keeping a lot of money. Many people do not want to spend 5-10 minutes of documenting expenses each day just to save a few thousand dollars.

Congratulations on a great blog and for your transparency in sharing your dreams and goals, Trent. I hope you…and all of (us) your readers make a million dollars. You help us tremendously. My girlfriend loves this site.

All my best,
Cade

Flea
http://beasurvivor.blogspot.com/

“Bum Marketing”: There are many, many different ways to do with affiliate marketing without paying anything. Some people actually do make quite a bit of money, but most people can make $200-$500 with just “sweat equity” of about ten hours a week. For some people this is major money, so I highly recommend it. There are a couple of mailing lists that are great, but Travis was the one to coin the term “bum marketing” and he has a free site and list dedicated to showing other people how to do it (bummarketingmethod.com).

A lot of people think that affiliate marketing is a scam to get you to buy someone’s products, but it really does work and there are tons of ways to do it 100% free. Most people just want everything *right now* and think they’ll recoup any investment overnight (not the case). I highly recommend it, especially if you have time but no money.

The other thing would be to do free offers from sites like SwatCash, but I will say that is extremely boring :)

I’ll second the plasma donation thing. I wound up stopping because I didn’t have as much time during the day as I wanted, and also I got to where I hated needles. But yeah, even in that depressed area, I could have made an extra $45 a week — completely worth it in that area and the place was always packed.

You appear to be missing the larger picture, here. At your [young] age, you should *not* be placing (or planning to place) “investment” dollars into so-called passive income vehicles (e.g. mutual funds that pay significant dividends, high-yield stocks, bond funds, et. al.).

The concept, at your station in life, is to invest in things that will appreciate significantly over the long term (which generally carry higher risk and lower immediate rates of return).

Once you’ve accumulated a moutain of money that touches the sun, you can move it into passive vehicles (GNMA, Bond Funds, Tax-Exempt Money Marktets, et. al.)

If you were able to consistently earn 3.5% (annually) on your money (after taxes), how much of a nest egg would you need to live?

Let’s see:

$1 Million @ 3.5% = $35,000/year
$2 Million @ 3.5% = $70,000/year
$3 Million @ 3.5% = $105,000/year

Invest in things that generate immediate income now, and you’re cheating yourself, long-term. At your age, your number one priority, financially, should be to earn/accumulate as money as possible, and invest it wisely. Taking into account health care costs, the $3 Million scenario, above, is probably the bear-minimum goal you should *aspire* to.