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More Money With Less Work: The Game of Passive Income Explained

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article |Passive Income|More money with less work: the game of passive incomePassive income has proven to be one of the most effective strategies for all those seeking financial freedom. I being a very big believer of passive income have started several businesses that have provided me with financial freedom. I have gained all I have today through digital marketing and affiliate income. I have recently started a blog – www.SMTPServers.co on marketing automation where I do an affiliate for automation tools to increase my passive income.

The concept of passive income describes the generation of sales without having to work for it. But is that really possible? How does passive income work and which success factors need to be considered? What business ideas are possible?
In this guide to building a passive income stream, I have described the procedure step by step and given successful examples of passive income.

The problem: if you want to earn more, you have to work more

Make money without working for it. Don’t we all dream a little about it? The principle of passive income is described on the Internet on mostly dubious sites as a concept that enables money to be made without real labor – so to speak, become a millionaire overnight. But what is really there about the concept of passive income?

The origin of the idea of ??passive income is based on our supposedly inefficient use of labor. A self-employed craftsman who wants to double his turnover, but already works 50 hours a week, has a problem: His turnover increases proportionally to the work done. If he works less, he earns less. If he works more, he also earns more. The same applies to a freelance web designer. If she accepts four orders a month and is thus almost fully utilized, she can no longer increase her sales significantly without having to sit in front of the computer during the night.

Passive income: the theory

Anyone familiar with the concept of passive income will quickly notice that one has to break away from the basic pattern of work efficiency that we are familiar with. To put it more simply, if you want to earn more, you don’t necessarily have to work more.

By automating work steps, it is actually possible to achieve higher sales with little or possibly even no additional effort. Thanks to the success of the Internet and digitization, a large number of processes can be digitally mapped and thus automated. There are plenty of free autoresponder tools available online which you can use to automate your client interaction.

In addition, there is the enormous reach of the Internet, thanks to which, the potential customers from all over the world can reach us with just one click of the mouse.

The concept of passive income looks complicated at the first glance, but it is actually quite simple to implement. The following is an example of the four steps involved in building a passive income stream:

1. Step: Develop the product

A freelance web designer writes a book on the development of modern websites on vacation and needs three weeks to do so.

2. Step: Selling the product automatically

She self-publishes the book as a print edition and e-book on sales platforms such as Amazon & Co on the Internet. The books-on-demand provider takes over the entire book production.

3. Step: Generate passive income

With every book sold, she receives an author’s margin – for the next few years. All processes are automated, she has no work whatsoever.

4. Step: Regular product maintenance

A book about the development of modern websites should of course be revised regularly so that it remains up to date and is also sold frequently in the future. A little time must be invested in product maintenance.

These four levels are the basis of passive income. However, in order to be really successful, it is important to orientate yourself on the following success factors.

Success factors in passive income

In order to generate passive income, there are three factors to consider that are decisive for the success of passive income:

  • Digitization of the product
  • Automation of the processes
  • Distribution to an existing reach

With the concept of passive income it is necessary to create a product that can be reproduced without additional effort. Only in this way is it possible to decouple the relationship between workload and sales result. Digital products such as texts, e-books, images, videos or software have this property and are therefore ideally suited for use as a product for passive income.

The next step is to find sales processes that can be automated. After all, as a self-employed person, you don’t want to sell your book (if we go by above example) yourself, but rather be able to distribute it automatically without your direct involvement. The Internet serves as an excellent automated sales channel. The management consultant could sell his e-book fully automatically via his own website, with every process step being digitally mapped: from acquisition via online marketing to sales initiation on the website to payment processing and e-book download.

The automated sale of a digital product via your own website can already generate passive income, but this requires the implementation of appropriate online marketing measures, for example with Google AdWords or Facebook Ads . The creation of such campaigns costs time, money and is not an easy matter for the inexperienced. For this reason, the third success factor with passive income is the use of an existing range of potential customers. Internet marketplaces such as Amazon or Fotolia (selling photographs) are predestined for this: Millions of people can be reached through them without having to invest a cent in marketing.

Examples of passive income

But enough of the theory. The following examples are among the most widespread and most successful implementations of the passive income principle:

  • Becoming an author: Selling books and e-books
  • Selling photos and video clips: Success with online marketplace for photos
  • Templates and construction kits: passive income for web designers and developers
  • Successful through online advertising and affiliate income

Becoming an author: Selling books and e-books: Let’s be honest. Who wouldn’t want to publish a book? As part of the passive income, the self-employed now have the opportunity to make this dream come true. The main effort lies in the writing of the book, a reproduction is relatively cheap. E-books as digital goods can easily be multiplied. All processes are outsourced inexpensively through production and distribution via self-publishing, so that in the end the e-book and print version can be automatically sold via Amazon.

And for whom is the book concept suitable? Ultimately, it comes into question for all those who have accumulated special specialist knowledge in a field and can put this into words accordingly. Management consultants, web designers, doctors but also craftsmen with specialist knowledge and a good writing style can generate passive income in this way. The great thing about it, by publishing a book, you create a brand for yourself and position yourself as an expert in a certain area. This can lead to appearances in various media, which in turn strengthen your own brand and generate additional orders.

Sell photos and video clips: Success with online marketplace for photos: Photographers, cameramen or motion designers can take advantage of the digital properties of their products by selling them to a large number of different customers from all over the world instead of the usual one to just one customer. On online marketplaces for photographs and moving images, such as Fotolia or Shutterstock, artists can post their works and offer them for sale worldwide. Once you as a photographer have built up a certain portfolio with high-quality images, an attractive passive income can be generated.

Passive income for web designers and developers: Self-employed web designers and programmers are usually paid on an hourly basis. If you want to earn more, you have to acquire additional customers and do extra work. Fortunately, the concept of passive income is particularly suitable for the software industry. By developing website templates for well-known content management systems such as WordPress, TYPO3 or Joomla, a web designer can sell one-time work to a large number of customers. As a sales channel, he either uses his own website or uses marketplaces with an existing reach that have focused on the sale of website templates.

The programmer can also take advantage of marketplaces by bringing his developed WordPress plugins, Java classes or shop modules to the man there. But the development of Android or iOS apps and their sale via the respective app stores, possibly also as part of a freemium model, can generate attractive passive income with a corresponding added customer value.

Successful with online advertising and affiliate income: Are you an expert in a field and have unique knowledge? With the appropriate content and a little know-how in search engine optimization , you can find a source of passive income via your own website or blog by using advertising banners or for your visitorsPlace affiliate links on your website. In order to generate attractive income, the number of daily website visitors should be at least 1,000 – this is usually only possible after a year at the earliest. It is therefore important to show perseverance with this type of passive income.

Even college students can generate passive income.  Are you a college student?  Click here to learn about passive income opportunities for college students.

Get rich with passive income?

If you have understood the concept of passive income, it is best to get to work straight away. Because for a successful passive income stream some time and work will be necessary. The belief that passive income means turnover without work is therefore wrong. Especially at the beginning, a lot of energy has to be invested in the development of a product that has the properties necessary for passive income and also offers potential customers real benefits . Only when the product has been created and all processes have been automated can you at least lean back a little and hopefully celebrate your first successes.

But can real wealth be accumulated with the concept of passive income? In principle, this is certainly possible. A few, such as successful author Timothy Ferriss, who describes his approach in the book “The 4-Hour Week”, have made it to a successful entrepreneur with passive income. However, this remains the exception. The concept of passive income should not be considered the unprecedented Path to Wealth, but rather as a new, efficient tool for the self-employed, in which working time can be used more efficiently and in accordance with the current state of technology, so that more time remains for the important things in life.

Alternatives to passive income

Do you like the idea of passive income? In the following, I present two more concepts that make it possible to generate additional income with the same amount of work:

Passive income through growth

If you are already self-employed as a freelancer or business owner, you can generate additional income without any additional effort, given the corresponding order situation. By hiring employees , you can take on additional jobs that should earn you more than the new employees cost you. Growing your own company is therefore an attractive opportunity to receive passive income.

Generate passive income with seminars and lectures

Even if the concept of passive income is not entirely correct here: If you, as an expert on a certain topic, have a lot of know-how, then you should pass your knowledge on to others. You can reach a large number of customers at the same time through paid lectures or seminars, but you only have to do your work once. In addition, you strengthen your personal brand at the same time and can enforce higher hourly rates for individual orders.

And now let’s get down to work – I wish you every success in building your passive income stream!

About the Author

Aabhas Vijay is a seasoned entrepreneur and digital marketer, who loves to explore tricks and tips on how a business can use a free SMTP to automate most of the user interaction and increase his passive income.

3 Legal Tips Every Entrepreneur Must Know

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article |Legal Tips|3 Legal Tips Every Entrepreneur Must KnowEvery business faces the possibility of legal issues at one point in time or another. Did you know that the smallest companies in America with about 250 employees and less encounter legal issues the most? This highlights why business owners need to know all legal matters related to their business, to be on the safer side. How can you keep these issues to the bare minimum? Below are a few tips to help.

1. Be sure to document any agreements or contracts

As an entrepreneur, you may need to go into agreements with various professionals along the way, for example, contracting some independent service providers. For all such engagements, contracts will most likely be involved to set clear terms and conditions. In such cases, it’s advisable to have all contracts and agreements documented for future reference. For accuracy’s sake, be sure to contact a lawyer to assist you with your drafts so that your documents are well prepared, can be easily understood and enforced by law. Doing this will also help prevent any future misunderstandings.

2. Guard all your ideas and innovations

Being an entrepreneur mainly involves identifying problems and coming up with creative ways to solve such gaps. Even if your business idea already exists, there’s something that sets you apart from your competitors; whatever that differentiating factor is, you can protect it. All you need to do is speak with a lawyer and know how best to protect your ideas, designs, or creations. Your lawyer may suggest using the help of copyrights, trademarks, and many other forms of protection that will benefit you and your business.

3. Protect yourself, your business, and any other personal possessions

Starting up a business as a sole proprietor comes with many benefits, like your ability to enjoy the total profit. However, a sole proprietorship has less protection as compared to a limited liability company. Be sure to have a chat with your attorney for advice on what business choice would best suit you and be most beneficial to you. You may end up switching to a limited liability company and getting access to the required protection your assets will need. You can also protect your business and properties by ensuring you have all the necessary documents, such as your certificates, licenses, and permits. The type of business you’re running will determine the kinds of documents you’ll need to have. Your attorney can offer advice to help you know all the requirements of your type of business.

Similarly, taking care of personal injury within the office building must also be considered by entrepreneurs. There are many incidents that has been noticed regarding the personal injury of employees within the office premises, thus, read more about it if you are not aware of its legal consequences.

Another way to protect your business is by making sure you have the right insurance coverage. Workers’ compensation plus general liability insurance are good options to have. Lastly, be sure to conduct a safety and risk assessment for your business. It’ll help you ensure that your work premises, hardware, and business operations align with best practices. Additionally, contact capable personal injury attorneys whenever you experience any damages to your personal or business properties.

Starting a business comes with several legal rights and responsibilities, and sometimes it may come across as burdensome or even boring. Despite your take on this legal aspect of the business, the fact remains that the legal stuff is vital, so get all the assistance you can. Find yourself an attorney to handle all the legal issues to protect your business from any trouble.

Three Ways Property Owners Entice and Retain First-Rate Tenants

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article | Three Ways Property Owners Entice and Retain First-Rate TenantsHave you ever rented to a tenant who refuses to pay rent on time, adhere to rental agreements, or get along with other property residents? If so, then you understand the value of a high-quality resident.  Whether you are trying to attract a reliable, considerate tenant with a stable income or are simply trying to keep one, these three techniques will increase your chances of finding a first-rate, long-term tenant.

1. Implement an Effective Tenant Selection Process

Quality residents are easier to find if you have a detailed screening procedure. Do not allow your need for a renter to prevent you from checking an applicant’s income, references, criminal history, previous eviction history and credit rating. Having the potential applicant provide references from previous landlords and employers will give you another opportunity to identify any red flags before generating a lease agreement.

2. Keep Your Property Well Maintained

Regular cleaning, painting, and appliance replacement will make your property look like a nice place to live. Property investment gurus like Paul Daneshrad understand that you must treat your properties as assets. Therefore, a landlord must keep their rental property impeccably maintained if they wish to entice good tenants to stay. Renters who make regular payments enable you to make repairs, comply with building code requirements, pay utilities and taxes, and supply other services to residents. You do not want to tick them off a tenant by not promptly responding when they inform you that something is broken. Keeping up with maintenance schedules and maintaining your property will reduce the likelihood of things breaking.

3. Use Effective Communication Strategies

Approachable, frequent, and clear landlord-tenant communication will help you build positive relationships. It is especially considerate for you to show flexibility in how you communicate with tenants, as some people prefer emails, texts or phone calls. Make yourself available in person and through all three of these communication modes. High-quality residents will want to stay long-term if you are easy to reach in the event of an emergency. Providing your tenant with a 24/7 contact goes a long way to building a trusting, professional relationship that will last.

Reliable and responsible tenants are hard to find, and not keeping them long-term can make your property management experience difficult. If you are choosy in your selection process, impeccably maintain your property, and practice frequent and clear communication, you are more likely to attract a trustworthy resident.

The Importance of Business Insurance and the Types of Business Insurance that Every Business Needs

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Running a business and being your own boss is a dream that most people nurture. After all, is there is anything better than being answerable to no one, and working at your own pace? Owning a business provides you with full control of various aspects of your life. You get to decide when to work, whom to work with and how to work. You do not have to be answerable to anyone, and that is perhaps the best thing ever. However, as appealing as the idea of running your own business sounds, it also comes with a number of challenges. Being an entrepreneur is not a cakewalk.

You have a world of responsibilities to shoulder and take care of the smallest details. One slight error of judgement or carelessness on your part can lay waste to the little empire you built for yourself and leave you with nothing. You not only have to take care of your employees but also feel responsible if anything happens to even one of them. Plus, there are several other aspects to factor in too, while running your business. From accounts to shipping, shouldering the weight of a business is not an easy task. That is why, if you have ever nurtured the dream of becoming an entrepreneur, you need to be careful about and consider several things.

Having said that, in this article, we shall shed light upon one of the most important aspects of running a business. We shall talk at length about the necessity of business insurance and the types of business insurance plans you need to know. Most entrepreneurs pay very little attention to this crucial part of their business. They fail to comprehend the complete scope of business insurance policies and the role they have to play in securing their business, and thus, end up leaving a lot of money on the table. That said, let us now proceed to the main part of this discussion and help ourselves become better and responsible entrepreneurs.

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Why Does Your Business Need Insurance?

There are a number of insurance policies that people come across in their lifetime. From home insurance and car insurance to life and health insurance, the types of insurance policies are very many. We do not waste a single minute before purchasing the right life insurance plan or car insurance for that matter. We want to protect our loved ones long after we are gone, and also protect the car that we have invested in. Then why would you think that your business is any different?

You have spent a lot of time, invested yourself emotionally and financially and put in a ginormous amount of effort in building your business. Therefore, leaving it at the risk of various potential threats is inane. This is where business insurance policies step into the picture. Let us now look at a few other reasons why you must purchase business insurance without fail.

You Could Be Sued

The law across most of the countries makes it mandatory to purchase business insurance policies. Therefore, if you do not invest in the same, you could be sued. Plus, in an event where a lawsuit has been filed against you, or there is an instance of a liability claim, without the right business insurance policy at your disposal, your business could shut down. It only takes one employee or an unhappy client to sue you. And even if you happen to win the suit, the cost of legal defense could leave you in tatters and cause your business to fold.

Business Insurance Keeps Your Business Afloat

The second and perhaps the most important reason to purchase business insurance is that the right policies keep your business afloat. No one can predict natural disasters. In the event of an earthquake or a fire, your business might suffer irreparable losses and damages. The right business insurance policy, about which we shall discuss in the next section, shall help you pull through the tough times and make the difficult phase relatively easier. Without any business insurance policy, your business might never be able to recover and fall flat on its face.

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Business Insurance Protects Your Employees

Your employees are an irreplaceable resource. You might have cutting-edge technology at your disposal and AI that makes your job easy and hassle-free. But you cannot manage without human labor. You need your employees to run these machines and technological innovations that you are ever so thankful for. Without your employees, your business shall have a cataclysmic downfall. Therefore, it is extremely important that you have business insurance that protects the interest of your employees as well. From workers’ compensation to disability coverage, your business insurance shall help your employees make a living despite the odds and stay safe at all times.

The Policies Cover Acts of God

One final reason why it is imperative for businesses to purchase business insurance is that these policies cover Acts of God. Acts of God are events that are not human-made disasters. Therefore, if your business experiences losses due to earthquakes, floods or tornado, the right policies shall cover these damages. There are two types of insurance policies that protect your business against such losses- all-risk insurance and peril-specific insurance. Without these insurance policies, you might end up losing everything, and it might then be extremely challenging for you to rebuild your business.

Types of Business Insurance You Must Know of

Now that we have discussed at length all the reasons you need to invest in business insurance, it is now time to look at the policies that you absolutely need to have. As we already discussed at the beginning, running a business might seem appealing, but it has several inherent risks. As an entrepreneur, you will not always have the best time in your business. There will be highs, lows and potential threats that you need to navigate. However, if you invest in the right business insurance policies, you might have to suffer less when disaster strikes. Therefore, without any further ado, let make our way to the next section of the article and enlighten ourselves.

Professional Liability Insurance

The first type of business insurance that you need to learn about is the Professional Liability Insurance. This policy is also known as the Errors and Omissions Insurance and for good enough reasons. This insurance policy covers your business against professional negligence due to errors on your part or failure to deliver on time. The best thing about this policy is that businesses can customize the policy based on what rubrics they function on.

Property Insurance

Just as employees are one of the most vital resources of a business, equipment, workspace, and other properties are equally important. Can you imagine your business to function without the right computers or the right tools? Plus, some of these pieces of equipment like desktops, electrical parts, crucial tools like permanent lifting magnets (the best of which you shall find at https://magnetized.com/products/model-1037jr-permanent-lifting-magnet-1000-lb-capacity) come at exorbitant rates. You cannot always manage to buy them all over again once they are damaged or lost due to a calamity like a flood or fire.

This is where your business needs Property Insurance. This insurance covers pieces of equipment like the ones we discussed a while ago, signage, inventory and furniture sets in the event of a fire, torrential rains or even theft. However, there is an aspect that you need to be careful about while purchasing this insurance. A standard version of this insurance might not cover earthquakes and floods. You have to talk to your insurance agent to clarify this part and figure out what extra policy you need for such instances.

Workers’ Compensation Insurance

One of the most important insurance policies that we need to talk about is the Workers’ Compensation Insurance. You must not wait for your business to expand and hire more employees in order to get this policy. Once you have hired your first employee, you need to purchase this policy.

The Workers’ Compensation Insurance covers the instances where a worker is injured or passes away as a result of his responsibilities in your business. In such a situation, the policy shall cover the workers’ medical treatment, and provide the families with death benefits as well. Your workers are an integral part of your business. You cannot do without them. Therefore, it is mandatory that you purchase the Workers’ Compensation Insurance as soon as you hire your first worker.

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Product Liability Insurance

If your business is associated with manufacturing and selling products, it is imperative that you invest in Product Liability Insurance. It goes without saying that every business takes the necessary precautions to make their products as safe as possible. However, human beings make mistakes and sometimes the mistakes could lead to lawsuits being filed too.

The Product Liability Insurance comes handy at this juncture. This insurance policy helps you fight the battle easily in case you have a lawsuit filed against you due to a product failing to perform as was expected.

Vehicle Insurance

Another insurance that you need to buy to secure your business is Vehicle Insurance. This type of insurance comes handy, especially if your business uses vehicles for shipping and transportation. You need to insure your company vehicles fully. They cost a fortune, and you might not be able to invest in them again once they run into some kind of an accident.

If your business uses its own vehicle, your personal insurance will cover these situations of accidents. However, if you lease out vehicles, you will need to get a policy that shall insure you against third-party injuries.

Business Interruption Insurance

The final type of business insurance that we shall discuss in this article is the Business Interruption Insurance. In the event of any disaster or natural calamity, you might be forced to fold your business for a while. And this shall obviously cause you to lose a significant amount of money. This is where Business Interruption Insurance comes handy.

This insurance policy shall cover your expenses and prevent your business from running into a major financial debacle. Until you are ready to open your office again, this insurance policy shall cover you and protect you from further legal and financial complications.

Summing Up

There are a number of other business insurance policies that you might want to invest in if you have a business to run. However, the ones that we have mentioned in this article are the most important, and you must purchase them without fail.

However, if you are interested in finding out more about these policies, dig around some more and enlighten yourself. Your business is like your child, and therefore, you must do everything in your capacity to protect it.

3 Tips to Avoid Wasting Money As a New Entrepreneur

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Finances Article | 3 Tips to Avoid Wasting Money As a New Entrepreneur

Most new entrepreneurs are at several particular and distinct disadvantages to the established players in their fields.

Perhaps first and foremost, giant established companies will have vast financial resources at their disposal, which can be used to pursue all manner of different innovations and campaigns, while also allowing them to more easily and effectively absorb losses.

For a new entrepreneur, there are all sorts of different things that should be taken into account when it comes to following the most productive path forward. Figuring out how best to avoid wasting money is a key priority.

Here are some tips on how to avoid wasting money as a new entrepreneur

Don’t invest in countless training materials, but learn “on-the-job”

There is a very large industry out there focused on selling books, instructional DVDs, motivational speeches, and more technically-focused “training materials” and “mentorship programs,” for entrepreneurs in general.

While some of these may certainly be helpful in particular contexts, the truth is that, in the majority of cases, these training courses, books, and so on, are unlikely to make much of a difference to your professional life. What they likely will do, though, is to drain your bank balance.

For the most part, the best way to learn how to do things as an entrepreneur is through “on-the-job experience.” Both your successes and your missteps and mistakes will give you a lot of insight about where you need to make adjustments versus staying on the current path.

Invest extra where it counts, but don’t fall for the idea that higher prices always reflect superior outcomes

In a professional context, there are always going to be areas where investing extra money results in a higher overall quality of service, and superior outcomes overall, that can significantly enhance the experience of your customers and improve the prospects of your business.

At the same time, however, there are also going to be many areas where spending a lot of money will not make much difference in outcome compared to spending a more moderate amount of money.

An important art to master is figuring out where that extra investment of money will really count, and where it won’t. The cheapest UPS domestic shipping rates are likely to get the job done well, in many cases.

Work on a focused number of things at a time, instead of trying to cover all the bases

The more you try to “do it all” as an entrepreneur, and to “cover all bases,” the less progress you are likely to make on any one thing at a time, and the less efficient you are likely to be with your money, as well.

By focusing on a limited number of things at a time, you can make more impact with your money, and can also keep your business moving in a more coherent direction.

While you can certainly branch out and add new features to your business over time, trying to do too much at once is often a road to self sabotage.