Let’s get right to it; you want to make more money, and you want to do it while you sleep.

I have had my fair share of wins and fails with finding different ways to make money from the comfort of my home, making me one of the best people to tell you what you should spend your time on in generating passive income. Without further, I present my first suggestion.

Number 1. Starting a YouTube Channel

Benefits:

Low start-up costs

Starting a YouTube channel requires little to no investment. All you need to get started is a phone with a camera, natural lighting, and a place to prop your phone (a tripod is optional).

Passive Growth

Once uploaded, your videos work for you around the clock, earning income even while you focus on other tasks. With just a video, a thumbnail, and a click to post, you unlock the potential to make money—even while you sleep.

Here are a few steps to get you started:

Define Your Niche and Audience

• Decide on the type of content you want to create (e.g., lifestyle, education, beauty, gaming).

Set Up Your Channel

• Sign up for a Google account and create your YouTube channel.
• Customize your channel with a professional profile picture, banner, and a compelling channel description that highlights your content focus. Pro tip: Use Canva to create a professional banner, Just type “YouTube Banner” in the search bar, and it will populate design options with the recommended size ratios (2560 x 1440 pixels). Canva is free!

Plan and Create Quality Content

• Brainstorm video ideas and plan your content in advance. Get inspiration from your favorite you-tubers.
• Edit your videos to enhance quality and add engaging elements like text, music, or transitions. Capcut is another great free platform to use.

Number 2: Print-on-Demand Products

Print-on-demand (POD) products hold a special place in my heart…

just kidding, I started this process and failed, but I’m here to help you not make the same mistakes.

(POD) is a business model that allows you to sell custom-designed products, like T-shirts, mugs, tote bags, and more, without having to keep any inventory. 

Print-on-demand is low-risk because you don’t need to buy products upfront or manage shipping. You only pay for production and fulfillment after a sale is made, which means you can focus on creating and promoting your designs and benefiting from the passive income it brings.

Here are two products I created, cute, right?

Well, I thought so, but here’s where I went wrong. If you want to get into POD, you have to MARKET, MARKET, MARKET your products. You cannot just create them and say, “Here you go, buy it now.” You have to be diligent and intentional if you want to actually start earning money with POD.

Beginner Resources:

• Once again, you can use Canva to create a design and upload it to a POD platform like Printify, Printful, or Redbubble. I used Printify, and I loved their easy-to-use platform and simple integration with Etsy.

• Sell on a platform like Etsy, Shopify, or even TikTok Shop.

• Product Ideas: T-shirts, Mugs, Tote Bags, Tumblers, Baby Clothes, Hats, Socks and Blankets.

Getting Started With (POD):

Choose a Profitable Niche

• Focus on a specific audience or interest, such as fitness enthusiasts, pet lovers, or motivational quotes.
• Research trending designs and products in your niche to understand what sells best.
• On Etsy, filter by “Star Seller,” Click on the link in the browser and erase the word “star,” replace it with “best,” and it narrows the search results by best sellers. You’ll be able to look at what is trending now and create designs that have more potential to sell.

Example:

Create Eye-Catching Designs

• Ensure your designs are high-resolution and look great on multiple product types (e.g., T-shirts, mugs, tote bags). Suggested design size (4500px X 4500px).
• Keep your designs simple and clean while aligning them with your target audience’s preferences.

Number 3: Creating an Online Course

Creating an online course is my final suggestion to earn passive income.

If you know about working in IT, Cosmetology, Fixing Cars, Repairing Credit, or even How to Bake Cookies, lean into that and own it. You have skills that can be shared with the world, and creating an online course could be your first step to putting what you know out there and earning income from it.

Once the course is created and launched, you can earn money every time someone enrolls, making it a great way to monetize your knowledge while helping others learn valuable skills.

Platforms

• You can share your expertise on a platform like Udemy, Teachable, or Skillshare.

• Types of Courses: Skill-Based Courses, Business and Entrepreneurship, Tech and Software, or Parenting and Lifestyle.

Getting Paid

Ok, we’ve talked about a few different ways to start making money, but now you may have the question, “How do I get paid?”. Wait no more, and I shall tell you.

YouTube:

With recent updates, there are two ways to get monetized on YouTube.

Option 1:

• 500 subscribers
• 3 uploads in the last 90 days
• 3,000 public watch hours or 3M (Million) Short Views

Option 2:

• 1,000 subscribers
• 4,000 public watch hours or 10M (Million) Short Views

Once you meet the eligibility requirements, you’ll be able to start generating revenue through the YouTube Partner Program, ads, and potentially, sponsorships and brand deals!

While writing this post I’m at 882 subscribers, so feel free to subscribe to my channel if you’d like to help me reach 1,000 subscribers.

Subscribe Here.

Print-on-Demand Products (POD):

POD depends on whether you started a website or used a shopping platform like Etsy.

for this scenario, we will go with Etsy and Printify.

Payment:

Etsy and Printify have a fairly easy integration.

When you set up your Etsy account, you will be prompted to create a shop name and add your direct deposit details.

After you make a sale and process the order through Printify, Etsy will pay you, deducting their fees.

Important Notes:

• Price your products accurately to avoid being underpaid and paying for shipping costs, etc.
• Set up an account with funds dedicated to processing Printify orders, as you’ll need to cover the costs of processing orders before receiving payment from your first sale.

Fees:

If you can’t tell by now, my goal is to give you options that are free or low start-up costs.

However, I wanted to inform you that as of February 21, 2024, Etsy implemented a ” shop opening fee” of $15 that is due at the time of sign-up.

Additionally, here is a link directly to Etsy that shows all of their fees per sale. Etsy Fees

Online Courses:

• Platforms like Skillshare pay creators based on how much time students spend watching their content, providing ongoing income as your course gains traction.

• Your course can act as a gateway to sell other products, services, or premium content, further boosting your earnings.

The Skillshare help site has great information on FAQs like

• How they Calculate Your Earnings
• Expectations
• Tracking Your Earnings and more!

Recap:

Let’s recap because we talked about quite a bit today.

We went over three effective ways to get started with generating passive income. Starting a YouTube Channel, Creating (POD) Products, and Teaching an Online Course.

Each one of these options could do wonders for your financial future, but you have to actually start and stay consistent.

I challenge you to take some time to reflect on the life you want for yourself or your family. Write down one specific goal and the first step you’ll take to achieve it.

Additionally, as a bonus, I have created an ebook available for purchase, that includes all three options listed above and TWO additional paths to generating passive income. Including selling digital products and investing in stocks.

If you made it this far, I can’t express enough how grateful I am. Thank you for reading my post and preparing to make a change in your life!

Don’t forget to sign up for the Mama’s Money Reset newsletter to get regular updates directly to your inbox.

See you in the next post, where I will discuss “10 Meaningful Valentine’s Day Gifts for Men“.