Are you burnt out? Fed up of living paycheck to paycheck? Tired of having to work all hours to earn an average wage?
I will share with you how to generate extra money that will help you become financially free. These real passive income ideas for beginners will help you earn money even when you sleep!
I didn’t have the typical journey to passive income.
You know the one:
“I hated my 9-5 and felt completely burnt out. I wanted to find a way I could earn money but have more time for myself.”
I’m sure this is the position many of you are in and it is great you have decided to make a change and strive for the life you want.
It’s just happens to not be where I started.
I have never had a “proper” job.
I have got jobs before, but life seemed to get in the way of me actually starting them!
My goal was always to work for myself as I felt that a 9-5 would limit me and my life.
From the age of 15, I knew that I wanted to reach financial freedom and live life on my own terms.
Over the years I have tried many side hustles and passive income ideas.
Since finishing University, I have been fully focused on creating Passive income streams and working for myself.
I have done extensive research into passive income and learnt what works and what doesn’t so you don’t have to.
So now I am going to share with you real passive income ideas that you can start with very little to no money.
All of these ideas can help you replace a full-time income without having to work all day every day.
But is it really possible to make money while you sleep?
What is Passive Income?
To understand it better, lets think of a regular 9-5 job as a source of “active income”. You clock in each day and get paid for each hour or day you work. You trade your time for money.
Passive income is where you can earn money without actively working for it.
You can theoretically set up the passive income stream and leave it to run automatically. You can then get paid for years to come after only working for a few hours on the initial set up.
This does not mean it is easy.
In fact, some passive income streams can take more work than a 9-5 when starting out.
But their potential is well worth it!
You may need to work for nothing for a few weeks, but you can then reap the benefits every day for the rest of your life.
“A wealthy person is simply someone who has learned how to make money when they’re not working. -Robert Kiyosaki
I am sure you have heard that the “best” way to make Passive Income is to invest. And don’t get me wrong, if you can, investing is an amazing form of passive income that can really help you reach financial freedom.
But in this list, I am going to focus on Passive income ideas you can start with little to no money.
They say “it takes money to make money” but with the right resources, anything is possible.
So, if you’re starting from nothing, don’t worry, that is exactly how I started and I’m here to tell you it is possible.
Why I love Passive Income
- You can make money without actively working each day.
- You pick your work schedule.
- Freedom to spend your time how you want.
- Can earn for years after the set up.
- Possible Unlimited earning potential!
- Can create multiple streams which is more reliable in uncertain times.
- Can try different streams- More variety than a usual job.
Passive Income Ideas to start Today
Now I will list every passive income stream I have researched or used myself over the past few years.
I wish I could point you towards the one that will work for you and bring the most success. But in reality nearly all of these ideas could give you complete financial freedom… or earn you absolutely nothing if done wrong.
There is no single, right answer to passive income, so choose a few that interest you and look doable in your current schedule and see what you can learn.
Start today and you will be one big step closer to financial freedom.
Print on Demand
Print on Demand is an excellent business model for passive income. It is where you can sell products without holding any stock or getting involved in any manufacturing or shipping.
You create your own digital designs then place those designs on certain products such as t-shirts, duvets and even doormats. You can then sell these to online customers and your production partner will take care of the rest, leaving you with the profit.
There are many platforms that you can sell print on demand products on. You could set up your own website with shopify, use a marketplace such as Etsy or even go with a print on demand specific platform such as Redbubble or Socitey6.
I started on Redbubble because it was completely free to set up meaning I could literally start with nothing. I then could reinvest my profits into my new etsy shop.
If you are interested in starting your print on demand journey, my Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Print on Demand is all you will need to get going.
Start a Blog
Don’t get me wrong, starting a blog is not 100% passive. From experience I can tell you it takes A LOT of work at the beginning.
But once you’re established with some high quality posts, you can continue to earn money from those posts for years to come.
If you want to start your own blog but don’t know where to start I would highly recommend The Treasure Map to Blogging Success in 30 Days. This is the e-book I bought before launching my blog and I don’t think I could have launched without it!
It is PACKED with so much valuable information and will guide you step-by-step through creating, launching and growing your very own successful blog that will make you passive income for years to come.
You can learn more about this affordable blogging e-book here and even read reviews from many other customers who have now found blogging success.
What I love most about blogging is that you can build multiple streams of income from your one blog. Once you have consistent traffic the sky really is the limit!
The next 3 passive income streams can be used to make money on your blog or as standalone businesses.
Affiliate Marketing
You may not have heard of affiliate marketing, but it has one of the biggest potential profits of all of these passive income ideas.
The concept is very simple. You research a niche (or maybe you have a blog in that niche) and when you love a product or service you can recommend that product to your audience and earn a commission every time someone buys that product through your link.
The biggest challenge is to build a quality audience of people who would want to buy your recommendations. But if you already have an audience this is a simple and passive way to make extra money.
This is why it is a favourite amongst many successful bloggers.
Don’t worry you don’t need a blog to start affiliate marketing. Some of the most successful affiliate marketers use social medias such as Pinterest or Instagram to advertise their products and share their links.
Advertising
Advertising can be the most passive income stream if you have a good platform.
If you have a blog, you can simply place ads on your blog by applying to platforms such as Google Adsense, Adthrive or Mediavine. Once accepted, you will simply earn money based on how many people see the ads on your blog (your traffic).
Alternatively, if you have a car and drive quite a lot every day, you could advertise on your car.
Yes, that’s a real thing!
Companies like Nickelytics and Wrapify will pay you for having an advert placed on your car for an allotted time.
You can get paid up to $500 per campaign! Just for driving around in your day to day life. A truly passive income stream.
Write an E-book or Course
If there is a topic you’re particularly passionate or knowledgeable about, you could share that with your audience with an e-book or e-course.
This will take quite a bit of work to make, but once completed you can continue selling your products over and over again, with no need to hold stock or pay for materials.
Amazon kindle even has a direct publishing platform where you can self-publish your book onto Amazon and start earning royalties straight away!
I would recommend sticking to informative and profitable niches and not delving into the world of fiction writing. However, if you have always wanted to write a novel then go for it!
You could write the next big thing!
Dropshipping
If you liked the principle behind print on demand, but do not want to design anything, then dropshipping is for you.
You can start your own online shop using shopify, then find a great product from drop-shipping supplier. Once set up, you drive traffic to your website, the customer buys it and then your supplier will package and ship the product straight to the customer and leave you with the profit.
The world of drop-shipping is very competitive so you will have to do your research to find a unique and high-quality product to sell. Then the key is driving traffic to your website.
Traffic = Customers = Sales
Sell Printables
Selling digital products online has never been easier. If you have an eye for design, organisation or simply can use a computer, then selling printables on etsy could be a very easy and lucrative passive side hustle for you.
You design your printables once, upload them to etsy and then everything is automated. Once purchased, the customer will receive a download of your printable and you will receive the profit.
No money has to be spent on inventory or shipping so it is a great business for beginners.
The variety of printables you can make and sell seems to be endless.
If you are artistic you could create digital artwork, alternatively you could make some aesthetic quotes as these are very popular on etsy right now.
If you are more logical and less artistic then you could create diaries, spreadsheets, organisers or even habit trackers.
So many people want to organise their life, but don’t have the time to sit down and make resources to help them. This is why printables are so sought after right now.
I personally love selling printables because you do the work once and then can “set and forget” it.
In my experience this is a really good passive business for beginners.
If you want to get started right away my ultimate beginners guide to etsy will give you the head start you need.
Sell your Photos
Did you know you can make money by selling your own photos online? And you don’t even have to be a professional photographer!
All you need is a good quality phone camera and an eye for a good photo and you are half way to a new income stream!
There are many websites that will pay for your photos, but the main ones I have found are:
- Getty Images
- Shutterstock
- Canva
- Adobe Stock
- Stocksy
How it works is you upload your images to one of these sites, then you are paid a small percentage of the sale every time it is downloaded by someone.
Generally, you can make up to $0.50 per download.
I know that is not a lot, but if you have uploaded a few hundred photos, and each one gets downloaded multiple times, then you could make a hefty sum just by uploading a photo.
Once again this is a great “set and forget” income method that could keep paying you for years to come.
Make a YouTube Channel
YouTube is a modern day phenomenon.
At the end of 2022 there were more than 51 Million active channels and 2.1 Billion monthly active users.
This is truly a freight train that is not going to slow down. So starting your own channel could be a great and reliable source of income for you.
You can make many kinds of videos from vlogs about your day all the way to educational guides.
You don’t even have to show your face if you are camera shy. Many successful channels use photos, words or animations instead.
You upload videos on to your channel and get views. People can then subscribe to your channel so they can see when you next upload. Once you get to 1000 subscribers you can sign up to the Youtube Partner Program where you can monetize your channel by including adverts in your videos.
As you may know many youtubers make a fulltime income and beyond by simply uploading one video per week. It is well worth a try!
Start a Podcast
If videos aren’t your thing, then you should consider podcasts. Podcasts are like the new radio show. You upload an audio file or perhaps a series that can be listened to around the world on many different platforms.
The only start-up cost you will need is a good quality microphone. Luckily these have become much more widely available and affordable in recent years. In this highly recommended podcast bundle you’ll get the microphone and all the accessories you will need to start recording (affiliate).
Once you have recorded and edited your first mp3 file you can’t upload them directly to sites like Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
You need a podcast hosting service.
You can upload your files to the service and once set up they will automatically upload your files to all of your chosen platforms.
I would recommend using Buzzsprout as your host as this is one of the biggest and easiest podcast hosts available.
You can earn passive income through podcasts much like you can with blogging and Youtube. You can insert adverts into your show, get sponsorship deals or use your platform to promote affiliate links.
Narrate Audiobooks
The popularity of audiobooks has skyrocketed over the past 5 years, meaning narrators are in high demand.
All you need is a clear speaking voice and the ability to bring characters and emotions to life. Both of which can be improved over time.
You can easily find your first few gigs on Fiverr where many writers are looking for narrators for their books.
Pay can vary significantly on your experience and who you work for.
Some may pay by the hour or pay a flat fee for the book. But some companies offer a royalty split with the author meaning you can get paid each and every time the audiobook is purchased- making it a great source of passive income.
Sell Empty Books
We have mentioned self-published books, but what if you don’t have time to write a whole book?
You may be surprised to know that you can make and sell blank books. And it can become a very profitable passive income stream.
“Low content” books are books that are mostly empty on the inside. Diaries, planners, notebooks and gratitude journals are all examples of low content books.
You can design the interior of one of these books, save it as a template, design a cover then simple publish it on Amazon KDP like any regular book.
Amazon is quite saturated with low content books so the key to making money is choosing a good niche for your book to be in.
This is often thought to be a type of print on demand as it has the same production chain, includes a similar amount of upfront work and is very dependent on the niches you choose.
Get Cashback on what you already buy
This may not “earn” you passive income in the traditional sense and you’re not going to make a full income, but if you are already buying something, then getting cashback is almost like free money!
Who can say no to that?
You can now get cashback on nearly everything!
My favourite cashback app is TopCashBack, boasting thousands of online shops and with the average user earning over $400 per year. And if you signup with my link you can earn a bonus £10 once you receive £10 in cashback, effectively doubling your first earnings!
But there are many more ways to earn cashback.
You can even earn cashback on your regular grocery shop with apps like Shopmium and Greenjinn.
It may not change your life but as the saying goes:
“Look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves”. Unknown
Rent a Room
We are now moving on to making passive income from what you already own. I am aware not everyone will have each of these things, but everyone will have at least one of them.
First, you could rent a room. If you own a house or property with a spare room then you are sitting on passive income.
You can also do this if you rent a property but you MUST check with your landlord first.
You can list your room on Airbnb and start making passive income right away!
Or you could even list your entire home when you are away which would earn you much more.
Rent your Clothes
Have you got clothes in your wardrobe that you hardly wear?
Maybe you’re saving it for a special occasion or maybe you regret buying it in the first place?
There is now a Brilliant solution!
You can rent out your clothes and earn money from your wardrobe.
No more Buyer’s guilt!
You simply list your items and like minded people can rent them out at a small fee per day. This is also a very eco-friendly idea which is helping to combat fast fashion culture.
You can upload your clothes on sites such as Rent my Wardrobe and Hurr and if you happen to have some designer items you could make even more on My Wardrobe HQ.
Rent Equipment
Many of us have random equipment that doesn’t get used very often. So why let it all collect dust when you could rent it out and earn from it?
Fatllama allows you to rent out “almost anything”. And they really mean almost anything!
From musical instruments to drones, sewing machines to wheelbarrows and even old phones!
You could be sitting on a small fortune!
I would highly recommend going on Fatllama and seeing if you have anything lying around that you can earn some passive income on.
Rent a Parking Space
I don’t know about you, but it seems like parking is getting nearly impossible in towns and cities. I have actually spent over an hour looking for a parking space just because it was a busy Saturday!
So if you have a spare parking space at your property, you have struck gold!
You can rent out your parking space on justpark.com by the hour, day or even month!
What you earn depends on the location of your space.
Typically, if you are in a city you can earn more than if you are in a smaller town. And if you are lucky enough to have a spare parking space in London you could earn upto £400/month!
Rent out your Car
Finally, if you only use your car once or twice a week, you could rent out your car.
Sites like hiyacar.co.uk and turo.com (in the US) let you list your car on their marketplaces where you could be earning up to £650/month.
Many people use the money they earn to cover the cost of their fuel and car insurance. This is a great idea if you need a car but don’t get to use it very often.
BONUS- Buy a Vending Machine
Although you need money to start this idea, I have decided to include it as a bonus because I think it is such a great and unique way of earning passive income.
Buying a vending machine is definitely more of an investment compared to the other passive income ideas I have shared. But some of the best vending machines can earn hundreds of pounds per week, so it is worth looking in to.
The main costs involved are the machine itself, the products to sell in the machine and potential machine repairs.
When starting a vending machine business you must consider the location of the machine very carefully. If you place it somewhere very quiet, you may not even make £5 per week, but if you can get it in a prime location you really could earn a good income.
Personally, I would love to start a vending machine business and I will definitely be looking into it in the future.
So which ideas will you choose?
As I said, any of these ideas can make a great passive income stream. But each require real work.
My biggest piece of advice for you after working on passive income streams for years would be:
Focus on one income stream at a time.
Wanting to establish multiple income streams is amazing and in the long run I do believe that is how you can reach financial freedom.
However, don’t try to do everything at once.
Establish an income stream and make sure it can continue earning without much of your input before you try the next one.
Otherwise, you may rush, not do your best work and not make your full earning potential.
If you are looking for financial freedom, Passive income is the way.
I challenge you to start one of these ideas Today!
Let me know your favourite passive income streams and which one you will be trying next.
- The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Print on Demand
- 9 Reasons why you Need to Start an Etsy Shop
- The Secrets of Passive Income
- 10 Healthy Habits for New Business Owners
Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate and/or referral links which means I may earn a small commission if you choose to purchase or signup (at no additional cost to you). Please note that I will only ever promote products and services that I truly believe in and would recommend, with or without earning a commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
