I have a great job that, for the most part, I really enjoy. The problem is that I actually have to show up every day if I expect a paycheck. If I stopped showing up, so would the money. Even worse, if I got sick or injured there is absolutely no way my family could survive on what our long-term disability insurance provides. With that being said, I need a better plan.
An Assessment of Where I Am
In order to properly formulate a realistic, and hopefully, profitable plan, I really should start at the beginning. Currently, I have 5 developed websites. Two of these are relatively new and need a lot of work before they could be considered fully complete. The other three are in tightly searched seasonal niches that typically produce only around $250 a year (total).
By looking at last month’s income report, you can see I am not really killing it when it comes to my online empire. That’s OK! I am doing something about that right now.
How Much Am I Currently Spending Each Month
For the most part, my online expenses remain relatively constant from month to month. In February, as an example, I spent $19 on aWeber (which I am not using at all), $35 in hosting, $5 in product delivery fees (e-junkie), and $15 on two membership sites that I don’t really use. This comes to a grand total of $74.
If I earn nothing from my online sites, I still have these expenses that I have to pay. Sure, $900 is not a ton of money, but I could be investing this money in a Roth IRA, or even in my kids’ 529 plans. But since I know I can get this to work, I choose to invest this money in myself for 12 more months. After that, if I am still not making a decent return, I am done!
Passive Income Plan
In my book, cash flow is King. It is the difference between real wealth and poverty. As such, I am going to spend the next 12 months building sites that consistently generate positive cash flow. Whether this turns out to be $5 a month or $500; it really doesn’t matter. The key is to move forward and do something.
Phase One – Site Creation
The first thing I need to do is to get my sites up and running. Since cash is tight right now, this means that I will actually have to create all of the content myself. In order to achieve my goals, and still spend quality time with my family, I will actually need to wake up 2 hours earlier each day. Instead of sleeping in until 8am, I need to set the alarm for 6am.
Even if I manage to only write 2 posts a day (5 days a week), I should have my first site launched by March 15th. Once this site is live, I will move on to another.
Phase Two – Focus on the Winners
I fully expect half my new sites to be duds. Chances are, in fact, that only one of them will work out like I hope. As such, I will focus my attention on the winners, while allowing the losers a bit more time to mature.
Like most online marketers, I really enjoy reading monthly income reports. It motivates and inspires me like nothing else. It also amazes me that so many morons are making a killing online. Seriously; some of these people can barely string four words together in a logical fashion. The funny thing is that it really does not matter. Perfection can never truly be obtained so I am going to simply try my best and see what happens.
Phase Three – Outsource
Despite my apparent lack of success, I am a businessman at heart. I want to run my business; not actually do the work. Once I have successfully completed phase two, I am going to outsource anything I can. I am going to move from being an employee to an owner. Only then, will I truly be able to leverage the awesome power of passive income.
So, what do you think? How are you using passive income to build real, sustainable wealth?