FINANCE
(aka do less, earn more)
Income streams that look after themselves are an appealing prospect, but is the idea too good to be true? Laura Whateley investigates
Imagine how most of us earn and we think of cash coming in through a salaried nine-to-five, freelance work or tiring-sounding side hustles. But there are lots of ways, sometimes small or basic but often surprisingly lucrative, to set up passive income sources – so-called because they generate money without you having to be present – whatever your means. The value of passive income has been brought into greater focus since the pandemic, which highlighted the need for a financial safety net if you have to take time out for illness or caring duties, as well as to bolster pension savings at a time when many are concerned about how to build up a big enough pot to fund older age. In her Substack The Hyphen, writer Emma Gannon details how putting in place a ‘little ecosystem’ to make money passively, far from being an exhausting exercise in running several jobs, actually helped give her a three-month break during a period of burnout. Passive income is not an effortless path to getting rich quickly, though. It requires careful financial planning, an upfront investment of time and often some initial savings. But whatever your skill set, there are ways to take advantage of passive income. The following ideas may not make you an overnight billionaire, but little-and-often earnings can add up to a big difference for your bank balance, and, maybe more importantly, your peace of mind…
Teach an online course
All you need to teach someone about what you know – whether it’s guitar playing, watercolour painting, sign language or caulking a bathroom – is a camera and some enthusiasm. Gannon spent a day filming an online course, ‘Discovering Success: 7 Exercises To Uncover Your Purpose, Passion & Path’, for the site Skillshare and now earns several hundred dollars on a monthly basis. Skillshare, which specialises in creative learning, charges users a membership to access courses, and in turn, the course teachers are paid a proportion of this as royalties.
Laura Lamn, from Kent, is a folk singer who runs Singing Mamas, a singing group for new mums, and online singing classes as a teacher via Skillshare. She sews in her spare time and has also uploaded courses on making toys and clothes. Her husband encouraged her to create them after she gave birth to her son. ‘I wanted work I could get on with at home,’ she explains. ‘I also wanted a creative outlet. I already had professional video and audio equipment due to my background in music and performing, so I just needed to invest time. I decided to try one course and see how it went. Money came in straight away, and I felt such a sense of accomplishment that I continued.
‘Every time I create a new course I see a spike in income. I get paid per mi
