When I got my first paycheck of $1700 before deductions ($1300+ after deductions), I knew I had to learn to make more. Earning that amount, though not bad, it wasnt good enough for me to take care of myself, much less afford having a family and luxury.

So the first thing is to learn to earn more, and ideally, build income streams that are more automatic ala business passive income.

My #1 recommendation: Start an online business

person using MacBook Pro

This is at the very top of my business passive income list for so, so many reasons:

do it as-when based on your available free time and energy…which means you can do it outside your day job (keep your day job so that you have roof over your head and comforts to keep you going)
not limited to a geographic space like a city or country
low start up cost (as low as $100-$400/year to start) means very high profit margins…as compared to traditional brick and mortar businesses
it’s tech-based: 99.9% uptime online, and can scale with technology and better still, it can serve a LOT more people than me doing one-to-one (or one-to-ten!)
a way to meet and make new friends, connections and relationships
you can scale with tech without hiring employees (or hire later as you grow)
multiple sources and streams of income selling other people’s products (you can create your own products too later)
build a meaningful business that you can help your clients with
a learnable skill you can teach to your loved ones…and do more online businesses if you want to
online businesses can be sold for 30-50x of their monthly profits if you wish to sell

Examples of online businesses

Publishing sites such as blogs, websites and online magazines
e-commerce businesses powered by shopify, etsy
ebooks and kindle books
Teaching courses
Etc

Learn how to build an online business

I have used (and still use) these two different platforms to build online business as well as to market my offline business.

Wealthy Affiliate (Review)

Wealthy Affiliate, or WA for short, uses mainly WordPress for their sites.

WordPress is a very popular content management system (CMS), that powers roughly 25% of the world’s website, and they have a whole host of upsides such as cost-friendly, very versatile and with some downsides – read the review for more information

Solo Build It (Review & Walkthrough)

Solo Build It (SBI) is a non-WordPress, proprietary software that I used to build my offline business websites, and they have helped me consistently get leads and clients there (average 7-10% of group sales).

It’s for this reason that I happily and ethically recommend SBI again and again, because it has worked for me, not on just one site/business, but on two. Read the review and walk through above to find out more

My comparison between Wealthy Affiliate and Solo Build It here.

I dont know what niche or topic to do!

Everyone knows something that someone else wants to learn from, including people wanting to learn something from you.

You may be surprised, but we all do this – we all know something we’d like to learn from someone else that we’re impressed with. At the same time, we know people who ask us regularly for a particular topic.

Maybe it’s

teaching your dog tricks…including to use human toilet bowl
or how to smoke meats beautifully
teaching your baby to be nappy free as early as possible
create blueprints that you can sell, such as tiny homes, garden sheds and even knitting
stock or crypto investing, staking and trading
etc

Articles on making money online

I love my offline business (my first physical therapy business was acquired back in 2014; and now I’m involved in Phoenix Rehab) where I help my therapists earn a good revenue-sharing living treating patients with sports and orthopedic conditions. I’m very proud of my offline business and team, and I know I’ll be serving my therapists and patients and doctors for a very long time to come.

Next best thing: Physical businesses that can scale

two men in ladder on wall

These are the most common businesses that you can and should consider where typically

the market is growing
cost and risks are low
competition isnt super saturated
you can start small
you can learn
current competitors not high tech / savvy

The more specialized you get, the better your profit margins and higher chances of success.

These are not commodity markets, so that means that you can always value-add and not compete on price. There are always customers who are willing to pay for better services as well as speed (especially speed). Service providers are always in demand, especially good and fast ones…who can charge an even higher mark up and profit margins.

Aka the odds are likely good that you can win

Physical business goal: good profits margins which you can either use to hire (passive business income) or invest for passive income (investment passive income).

Home services:

Lawn mowing / trimming / landscaping
Pest control
Firewood delivery
Residential Painting
Pressure washing / concrete cleaning
Thermal imaging – utility saving
Vacation rental management
Custom closet build-outs
Mobile car detailing /washing
Mobile car mechanic
Window cleaning
Tree trimming / arborist
On demand irrigation
Green home consultation
On demand holiday decorations
Pool / hot tub services
Deck staining
Gutter Cleaning
Maid services
Laundry services
Carpet cleaning / steaming
Deep kitchen cleaning
HVAC system cleaning
Chimney cleaning
Graffiti removal
Mold removal
Water damage remediation
Fire damage remediation
Home deodorization / perfuming
Interior painting
Exterior painting
Trim staining
Interior design
Home office build out
Countertop epoxy design
Epoxy flooring
Custom furniture refinishing
Mirror installation
Custom lighting installation
Custom wallpaper installation
Garage door service / installation
Gate and keypad entry installation
Cabinet making / refurbishing
Aquarium installation
Secure package delivery box installation
Pet grooming
Pet care / walking / boarding
Dog underground fence installation
Trophy animal mounting
Private investigating
Manned home security services
Limo / transportation services
Moving/Hauling
Smart home Installation
Hot tub wiring / installation
Privacy fence installation
Decorative retaining wall design / build
Security installation
Solar panel installation
Putting green installation
Home cinema installation
Irrigation system installation
Acoustic insulation installation
Lighting rod installation
Awning installation
Pool safety alarm installation
Storm shutter installation
Foundation repair
Hurricane prep service
Septic service / pumping
Boat cleaning
Boat shrink wrapping
Boat repair/maintenance
RV / boat winterizing
RV cleaning
RV pickup/delivery
Home appliance repair
Golf cart service / repair

Vehicle Services

Mobile oil change
Mobile tire sales/service
Mobile glass repair
Mobile mechanic
Mobile dent repair (paintless)
Mobile decal and wrap services
Locksmith

Event/Seasonal services:

Off premise bartending
Catering
Specialty food trucks (keep it simple and very fast)
Event DJ
Event management
Photography
Videography (wedding or corporate)
Photo booth rental
Porta Potty rental
Tents/Party rental
On demand cleanup crews
On demand junk removal / hauling
Casino tables and dealer rentals for events

Entertainment:

Hunting guides
Hiking tours
Biking tours
Event management
Party rentals

Personal care:

Mobile haircuts
Mobile makeup
Mobile hair styling
Mobile massage
Mobile Pedicure / Nails

Training / Coaching / Consulting

Hunting dog training
Domestic pet training
Special needs pet training
High end athletic coaching / training
Remote athletic coaching
College acceptance consultation
Credit repair consulting
Personal style consulting

Trades/construction:

Electrical
Plumbing
Carpenter
General Contractor
Heating and air HVAC
Civil engineering
Structural engineering
Architecture
Asphalt / Concrete
Door/Window installation
Painting
Bridge Painting
Masonry
Carpet/Flooring installation/refinishing
Ceramic Tile installation
Fence installation
Auger Boring
Surveying
Septic tank install and service
Insulation installing (spray and standard)
Elevator installation and service
Asbestos removal
Welding
Warehouse storage rack installation
Roofing
Siding
Epoxy flooring / counter tops
Fire sprinkler system installer / detector installation
Excavation
Equipment operation
Pipe fitting

Business Services

Videography
Drone Pilot
Customer service
Bookkeeping
Mobile Headshots
Cleaning
Bartending/Catering
Mobile fencing for festivals or construction sites
Porta potty rentals
Dumpster rental services
Junk removal
Training video creation
Liquidation services
Furniture building (dorm, office, hospital, hotel, etc)
Slushy machine servicing
Parking lot power cleaning

Real estate transactions:

Home inspection / thermal imaging (utility analysis)
Realtor
Moving services
Appraiser
Loan officer
Property manager
Vacation rental management
House staging

Retail / Hospitality

Simple and efficient food trucks
Mobile retail pop ups
Mobile brick and mortar (any brick and mortar business, except mobile)
Linen washing
Beer line cleaning / keg tap services
Deep cleaning restaurants

Niche carpentry:

Building gun safes into walls
Closet build out
Home bar building
Egress window framing/installation
Home office build out
Wine cellar building
Sauna Building
Steam shower installation
Hidden safes and secret entry construction
Cubical building
Patio building
Fence building
Dock building
Fireplace building
Cistern / water gatherer installation
Home sound room or studio build
Home stairlift installation
Urban farming systems
Custom beekeeping builds

Quick-and-easy side hustle that cannot scale

man riding a bicycle

I dont recommend these as they typically cant scale, and are moreso for quick and easy extra pocket money, think:

Delivering stuff such as
1. Food: GrabFood, FoodPanda, UberEats
2. Parcels: uParcels
3. Bigger items: LalaMove
4. People: Uber, Grab, Lyft
5. Groceries: Grab
Hosting with AirBNB
Rent out your room, space, garage, shed, car
Do errands, chores and odd-jobs
Pet and baby sitting
Sell your plasma legally

Businesses that I DON’T recommend

red and white stop road sign

I dont recommend businesses that have a lot of passionate people involved. The more passionate, the more unnecessary drama, poor decision making, self-centered ie selfish reasons rather than real market needs.

I dont like playing or competing with large companies. Think Lazada, Amazon, Taobao and similar marketplaces with SO MANY COMPETITORS.

I dont like competing with manufacturers and countries that produce like mad.

I dont like to compete with super smart people with crazy degrees or businesses that are funded from VCs.

I dont like needing a crazy unicorn idea that requires me to train customers from scratch.

Aka I dont like it when the odds are against you or me.

These are not recommended unless…you’re either super passionate, able to make lots and have lots of time and funds

Tech / Online

Blockchain
Online influencing (Instagram, Facebook, Youtube etc)
Dropshipping
Amazon selling
Apparel selling
Online sales in general
Health / Diet / Fitness blogging
Software development
Social media app creation
Scalable digital services
Lead generation
Web / App development
Logo design

Personal:

Health coaching
Diet coaching
Personal training
Crossfit studios
Yoga studios

Hospitality including F&B

Restaurants (except specialty fast food and high end dining)
Bars
Bakeries
Coffee Shops

Real estate

House flipping
Home/apartment rentals (still good opportunities but be careful because it is highly competitive and in the largest cities a lot of foreign investment is driving up real estate to levels that are not feasible).

Event management

Concert promotion
Music production

Retail / Any brick and all brick and mortar but especially:

Bike shops
Shoe stores
Any boutiques

Where To Next?

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