Everybody would love to earn money in their sleep, but most never try. Of course, we lose 100% of the ventures we don’t try… Even if we succeed with just 1%, that can make all the difference.

First rule: believe it can happen. Then, take “baby steps” to get there (you don’t need to quit your job or drain your bank account).

Most people assume launching a business will cost a chunk of startup money. With some business ideas, that’s true, especially in the brick-and-mortar world.

But we’re in the gig economy, where digital products often out-price physical products. Even with the ongoing disaster in crypto, one digital “bitcoin” is still worth thousands more than a paper dollar.

The truth is, you can start a passive income stream with next to nothing. As someone who’s made aliving online for more than two decades, here’s some of my more treasured secrets…

This is going into a premium course soon, but it’s free for Medium members, many of whom helped me on my journey.

Begin by Knowing Your “Ikigai”

Find your “reason for being” (Ikigai in Japanese) for your niche.

This is where passion, mission, profession and vocation meet. Start by thinking about what you’re good at, and what you love. Then you filter that through what the world needs, and what you can be paid for.

This will give you your passive income niche! ✨

Once you know your niche, proceed through these steps to make passive income with little-to-no money.

1. Picture yourself how you want to become, and believe it can happen…
2. Create your free Creator Page over at Pensight to host your:
   • Online courses
   • Coaching bundles
   • Digital downloads (e-books)
   • 1:1 Video Meetings with clients
   — all are free (Pensight earns through a small percentage of your sales … Start here.
3. Create social media profiles with using your Creator name above.
   • For example, start a Youtube or TikTok Channel (TikTok currerntly gives much more exposure to new accounts) and begin posting content that links back to your Pensight page.
   • Search on your favorite platform for your niche, filter for the highest viewed or most liked, then make your own versions of those videos.
   • Start a Facebook page, or whatever platform you enjoy being on, as you’ll do better if you like the “vibe.”
4. Write for Medium and Newsbreak which both allow free author promotions within your stories (just be sure to mention if there are affiliate links).
5. Spot trends. Use Google Trends (be sure to view the multi-year results) to see if you niche is rising or falling in popularity. If falling, consider a slightly different approach with perhaps different keywords.
6. SEO: Head over to AnswerthePublic and type in some keywords from your niche, then note the most searched-for questions. You can then create posts using those questions as the headline and answer them. Boom. ✨

Other things to consider before starting…

Traffic & competition: Check how much traffic certain keywords get, and competition there is, over at WordStream for free. Look for the most searched-for keywords with the lowest competition, and then begin creating content using those keywords throughout your content.

Passive income and taxes: yes, the government wants its share of your passive income. Be sure to report this accordingly and keep track of all your valid expenses as you can often deduct those from your total income.

Liability: Getting an LLC can protect you from personal liability if something happens to your business. You can get a free one here (though your state may charge a fee).

To start: Save this article and go through it slowly, taking baby steps along the way. The value of passive income not only benefits your wallet, but your relationships and personal life as you suddenly have more time to do the things you love. ❤️

Or for faster setup, try the 15-Day Challenge!