Do you believe you can make money even while you sleep? Well, you can. There are a number of people who are in this phase in their financial lives. They have set up systems and procedures that enable them to earn when they asleep and physically absent.
The financial terminology that best describes this financial state is passive income. Basically this is income or earnings received by an individual that does not require their direct day to day involvement. It usually requires doing the groundwork initially to set it up and then take it to the marketplace in exchange for money. If done properly then the product continues to provide steady cash flow for long periods of time with the promoter not having to put much effort into it again.
This concept is widely popular among creative people such as writers, musicians and painters. Books, music albums and works of art are produced once, but could go on providing a lifetime of income that might outlast the producer and continue producing income.
It is also in use by the wealthy who diversify their earnings by seeking to establish multiple streams of income from as many sources as possible. Now these investors cannot be everywhere involved actively in all their business interests, so they invest in other people’s ventures and earn returns.
Some familiar kinds of passive income include owning rental property, royalties on an invention or creative work, and network marketing. If you want to earn more, work less, and have a decent retirement, you’re going to have to start creating income streams that do not require your direct involvement. Whether you’re just starting your business, or you’ve been running it a while, the sooner you start thinking about how you are going to shift your business model to create more passive income, the sooner you can achieve personal and financial freedom.
The advantages of embracing this model of wealth creation are numerous, with none more beneficial than the fact that one can get involved with many things that can bring income. There are many things one can do to make money while asleep in Nigeria. Here are some of them:
Operate an online store: Online retailing is the fad these days. You can open an online store selling products that people can order anytime day and night. The key to success is finding quite unique products at prices that resonate with the customer. Sites such as jumia and konga are earning income for retailers as one does not need a physical store location and they also handle delivery and returns. These sites also allow their retail partners showcase their products all at no cost until a sales is made then they deduct commissions. There’s nothing better than waking up in the morning to see that people ordered your products while you were asleep.
MLM/Network Marketing: In essence, you make money from signing up people who sell the product, who also sign others up and so on. A number of highly reputable entrepreneurs such as Donald Trump & Robert Kiyosaki are big fans of Multi-Level Marketing.
Do your research first and make sure that it is a product line you are familiar with and passionate about selling otherwise you will be wasting your time and your friends and family may laugh at you when you approach them with your sales pitch. There are several network marketing programs such as GNLD, FLP, Avenues2wealth that provide residual incomes for many Nigerians.
Literary/Musical pursuits: Able to shred a guitar? Or write a love story maybe? You can make passive income from these skills by receiving royalties. Not to be confused with Her Majesty, a royalty is a payment you receive for someone using your work or creative assets. It’s a common form of payment for musicians, actors and authors. They get paid an ongoing sum of money as people listen to their music, watch their movies or buy their books.
Online Training Courses: This entails creating a course of study on a particular topic and getting paid every time someone downloads that content, or signs up to go through the course. You must however be an expert in that topic and produce compelling content that people would be willing to pay for.
Mobile Applications: Creating applications or apps in today’s mobile ecosystem can earn you money 24-7. With nearly a hundred million Nigerians accessing the internet with nearly all of them on their smartphones and other devices there is a need for more apps that make life easier.
It is however essential to design apps where there is little competition and that fills niches and gaps.
Property/Real Estate: For those who can afford to acquire property real estate is an excellent vehicle guaranteed to earn returns. This involves investing in the purchase of a rental property and then giving it out to tenants who pay rent yearly for the rights to use this property.
Year after year the property owner continues to receive income which continues to rise as the value of the property and rental rates continue to increase. One can literally not lose when investing in property for returns in a place like Nigeria.
Sell a renewable product: Dealing with inventory, returns, customer service is costly. So if you’re going to sell a product, why not sell one that requires little to no brick-and-mortar storage space, and that you can easily reproduce? What would that be? A digital product! For example, an eBook, a e-zine, a digital magazine, and an album are all products that require only some server space, and better yet, your customers can pay for and download them basically endlessly. If you invest the time to produce it up front, once it’s available for sale, you won’t have to reorder any more products or pay rent on a storage facility
Invest in Stocks: It takes money to make money, but if you have it, investing in stocks and funds is one of the most common ways to “earn money while you sleep,” as it can reward you with great returns by basically doing nothing but waiting. There’s also a lot of risk involved, so if you’re gun-shy or new to investing, it’s important learn about various types of investments and diversify your portfolio. If you have a nest egg ready to invest, engage the services of an investment advisor to help you navigate the choppy waters.
These are just some examples of opportunities that can generate income while you sleep, however it takes effort and work to pull it off. Nothing good comes easy. However these opportunities demand effort at the initial stages such as raising finance to buy property/stocks, or researching to come up with good content for books, music, online products etc. The thing is they have the potential to continue producing for you a long way into the future. You too can earn while asleep.
Kenneth Doghudje
