Is Passive Income REALLY Passive?

Hmm… isn’t the path to wealth interesting? I love the term “PASSIVE INCOME” and wish I had heard of it sooner, it fills me with excitement every time I think of being able to earn money without working. However, my definition is gradually changing to something more “realistic”.

You see, you have to CREATE passive income before it starts to really have an impact on your financial situation. It takes time, energy and effort in order to get to that point of critical mass where your strategy will start to produce a sizeable income for you. Unfortunately, most people are too focussed on the first word, PASSIVE, and then think that nothing has to be done at all to profit. That is why there are so many schemes out there willing to literally take people’s money from them with the promise of riches abound without having to do anything at all.

Yesterday was a perfect example of this, as I found myself driving a 250 mile round trip to manage some of my property portfolio. With a new tenant in one house, I wanted to introduce myself and make a good first impression. After all, I see being a landlord as providing a service to a customer, and it’s important to build that relationship to encourage long-term success.

Without going into too much detail, there was a fair bit of work that needed doing, and rather than paying someone else, I decided it would be more financially worthwhile to complete the work myself (plus I am really starting to enjoy doing it!). There is obviously also going to be some cost involved, and this is what puts so many people off investing in rental property. However, with effective management these costs can be covered by the rental income.

So whilst I was having to pay out quite a bit of money on one property, a couple of short meetings later I received some very good news. In fact, I was given 2 significant PAY RAISES in the space of 1 HOUR! Most people are lucky to get 1 per year!

Am I saying this to impress you? No, of course not. But I want you to know that I have been doing this for less than 1 year and these were my 3^rd and 4^th pay rises in that time! If you take a little time to educate yourself then it becomes fairly simple. However, you do have to put the effort in at the start in order to build the passive income.

Do you need lots of money to start? No, of course not. In fact, it is easy to buy a rental property with positive cashflow without having to use any of your own money! (Interested? Email info@danstorey.com with your questions). Remember, leverage is the tool the rich use to get richer, and using OPM (Other People’s Money) is one of the simplest ways to begin!

If you haven’t found a way to create passive income yet… DO IT NOW! You WILL need to put some work in at the start, and I would personally run in the opposite direction of anyone who claims otherwise. However, once your strategy is making money for you, you will be able to manage your portfolio more in order to maximise your returns.

It is important therefore to choose a strategy that you will enjoy, as if you have to work at it early on, then doing something that you are not passionate about will quickly drain your energy. Personally I love the idea of property, both the buying and maintaining aspects, so that vehicle is perfect for me. The other method I use is network marketing, particularly Success University. The reason I like this method so much is because it is a very low risk and low cost system with huge potential for those involved. You can get involved for just £1 and have the potential to replace your income within a matter of months!

However, passive income is not for everyone! Some people like to work for 45 years and then retire on a pension that is nowhere near what they need, let alone would like! Personally, I don’t like the idea of eating catfood on crackers! If you don’t either, do yourself a favour and start something today that will help you to build a residual, passive income!