This is possibly the most valuable information I have given you via this blog!
That’s quite a statement, but I’m about to show you a business model, which you can use in order to secure your financial future. It’s based on how I earn the vast majority of my income and how every wealthy person I know has secured their future.
My life changed when I heard my mentor, Jim Rohn say;
“Profits are better than wages!”
You see, I thought I owned a business, but I didn’t. The reality was (and this might sound familiar), that I simply employed myself. I worked really hard and was making a lot of money – but when I stopped working, the money stopped too. That’s because I was essentially earning a wage. It was more like a job than a business!
When I explain this idea to young entrepreneurs, I put it like this:
If Bob relies on wages for his income, his income will stop when he’s not working. Bob’s income will drop or stop when he’s ill. When Bob retires, his income drops too – even though he needs more money when he’s retired, because of all that time he has to fill and those additional bills (such as medical bills etc.)
However, if Bob relies on profits rather than wages, he will generate money when he’s asleep or at the gym or taking his dog for a walk. If Bob becomes ill, he makes just as much money. When Bob retires, his income continues just like before.
This approach is sometimes called passive income.
Passive income
No matter what line of business you are in, I STRONGLY recommend you develop some passive income streams. Today, I have over 20 passive income streams, which means I earn money on a daily basis, without having to exchange my time.
For example, I sell a massively popular audio program which I recorded for businesspeople and entrepreneurs like yourself. It sells all over the world, 24 hours a day. I get up each morning, check my paypal account and see how much money I’ve made while I was asleep. That’s passive income in action.
No matter what line of business you are in, there are many opportunities to develop sources of income that will work for you, while you are doing other things.
Financial freedom
My passive income streams are what allow me to spend so much time doing what I love (like writing this blog post for you.) I also get to pick and choose how many hours I work, who I work with and where I want to live; (here in the relaxing Yorkshire countryside rather than a crowded city.)
It also allows me to pursue my passion, as a marketing coach helping small businesses, that would never have been able to afford my services if I relied on that income for my livelihood. I’m able to work with people and help them do the same as me, and I can do it for peanuts – because I subsidise my time, to pursue what I love!
In stark contrast, exchanging your time for money has a number of non-financial pitfalls. For example, just look at the experts we see online, who seem to spend half their life away from their families; travelling to their next speaking gig. Many of these hard working men and women have young children and I’m sure would rather be with them, than getting on the next plane or giving their ‘talk’ to the next group, miles away from home.
My income streams
For the best financial security and quality of life, I believe it’s important to move away from that form of time-based income and exchange it for passive income.
Here are a few examples of passive income that I use:
- Licenses: Companies pay me annual license fees, to use marketing and sales material, which I produced for them. This is my single largest passive income stream.
- Audio product: People buy my Motivation Master Class mp3, then download it in seconds onto their computer. I have no stock or dispatch issues to deal with, so there are no limits on how many I can sell. By the way, it’s brilliant!!
- Affiliates: I have a number of affiliate products that are linked to me, via various websites and blogs, like the Headway theme I use to build / develop this blog.
- Investments: I have certain investments, which pay me an income.
- Land: I receive income from renting land that I own, which pays me a recurring income.
There are stacks of other ways to attract passive income, such as; referral fees, software licenses, advertising, ebook sales, MLM residuals and book royalties etc. The key is to find one to begin with, which suits you and then to develop it and add to it.
Is it easy?
No, I don’t think it is easy – otherwise everyone would be doing it, right? I spent years mastering the skills required to develop and then market my products. There are people that sell books on the subject, that make it sound like all you have to do is spend 20 minutes developing a product or filling a website with ads and links and BOOM – magic money.
That’s BULLSHIT!
But it sells get rich quick books, often written and read by people who work 16 hours a day, so they can “make money while they sleep!”
Most passive income requires 3 key elements:
- Courage
- Research
- Marketing
I believe people (especially those that read this blog) have the courage required. However, very few people take time to fully research what passive income streams to use and even fewer bother to learn how to market them effectively.