Doesn’t everyone want the kind of life where they can sit on the beach with their toes in the sand while earning money? That’s the appeal of passive income. These aren’t schemes to “get rich quick,” but they do allow you a way to earn consistently without being tied to a 9-to-5 job. Alternatively, they offer organizations an additional revenue stream that can be used to help get into the green without much effort. What is this work model and what are the best business ideas for passive income?
Understanding Passive Income
Investopedia calls passive income, “Earnings derived from a rental property, limited partnership, or other enterprise in which a person is not actively involved.” This is based on the IRS tax definition of passive income, which admittedly seems a bit outdated during the era of the Internet. Today, there are all kinds of ways to earn passive income that have nothing to do with a physical storefront, rental property, or even dividends from the stock market.
Don’t assume that passive income doesn’t require upfront work. There is very little income generated without hard work and risk, so your passive income stream will take some effort to get it started. However, that work is done primarily at the start, with some intermittent maintenance efforts along the way. The attraction of passive income is that it allows you to literally make money while you’re sleeping. Passive income is not tied to the traditional “hourly wage for an hour worked” model. It allows you to detach your ability to earn money from the time you have during the day by automating the service, investment, or product purchasing process.
If you’re thinking about a passive income stream, here are some of the best business ideas for passive income in 2021.
Traditional Business Ideas for Passive Income in 2021
Rental Properties
Investing in rental properties has always been a great way to earn money on the side. Having regular rent flowing into your bank account from these properties is a proven and effective passive business model. But buying rental properties carries a lot of risks. You’ll have to deal with the cost of the property along with expenses and the financial risks associated with owning the house or building. What if you have a tenant who is late on their rent? What if you have vacant apartments you can’t rent? What if there is an unexpected cost of a hot water tank or furnace breakdown? For the experienced rental owner, this is a lucrative way to earn a steady income. However, do your research before jumping into this venture.
Investing in Stocks or CDs
When the market is running smoothly, the stock market is a good place to invest and receive a decent return. If you invest in dividend-yielding stocks, they can yield payments from their profits at regular increments. Dividends are usually paid per the number of shares you own. This is a truly passive investment; you buy the stock, sit back, and assuming the company makes a profit, collect your check. Like any investment, it’s a good idea to do some serious research before taking the plunge.
CDs are the opposite of investing in the stock market. A high-yield certificate of deposit (CD) is a safer way to invest without being affected by the fluctuations of the stock market, however CDs often offer rates much lower than the typical return from stocks.
Best Online Business for Passive Income
Rental properties or investing in the stock market are traditional ways of earning passive income. But the Internet has allowed individuals and businesses to earn passive income in the digital space in ways that can be just as lucrative. For example:
· Selling online classes, content, or other information products is a smart way to generate income. Online classes are a type of distance learning that allows the student to access a curriculum whenever and from wherever they want. Classes like Udemy, Coursera, and SkillShare allow you to create a course curriculum and market it on these sites. You can now self-publish and sell an electronic book on Amazon or other sites, and once you’ve written it, you can sit back and wait for people to buy it. One of the main benefits is that there are no printing, shipping, or storage costs to worry about. E-books represent about 20% of the publishing market in the U.S. today.
· Start a blog or a podcast. That sounds easy, right? The trick, beyond finding a niche where people actually read or listen to what you say, is to monetize your content. You can do this by selling advertising on your site, but that’s only really feasible after you’ve developed a following. You can use the site to sell your online content, such as classes or e-books. You can even set up an online store and sell products or become a consultant and sell services. However, none of these are the best ways to make money from your blog, podcast, or website.
· Sell affiliate commissions. One of the best ways to passively earn money online is to start earning affiliate commissions. This type of third-party selling allows you to sell other companies’ products or services and earn a commission off of what you sell.
While these are all good ideas for ways to make passive income next year, what is the number one best online business for passive income?
Why White Label Video Conferencing is the Best Business for Passive Income
Reselling software-as-a-service in an affiliate relationship is a great way to earn passive income. One of the hottest types of software to sell in 2021 is video conferencing. With remote work the new normal, video conferencing is the hot commodity that virtually everyone needs to communicate today.
But what if you could take that video conferencing solution and personalize it so that your clients' name and logo appeared on the product? That is the exact idea behind MegaMeeting’s White Label Video Conferencing solution. By becoming an affiliate and connecting MegaMeeting with new customers, you earn passive income on our video conferencing product.
MegaMeeting does all the heavy lifting, providing an onboarding team for your clients, customer service, and of course, the fully secure HD conferencing solution for the people you connect with us. For each subscription you sell, you receive a monthly residual from the client’s payment. This is a turnkey solution with a hot product and a guaranteed way to earn passive income.
If you are ready to explore passive income, we have the best business idea for passive income. Contact us today to find out more.
MegaMeeting solves the biggest challenges of modern video conferencing. For users, it is an all-in-one platform that delivers both video conferencing and webinars in a single, simplified interface. For attendees, it is 100% browser-based, making it highly accessible; joining a meeting is instantaneous from a single click. For enterprises, it is highly customizable, with white-labeling options for a private branded solution. For developers, it is API-driven and easy to integrate.
Powered by WebRTC, Node.js, React, and GraphQL, it is a cutting-edge platform that is fun and easy to use for users and developers alike.
