Passive Income Ideas That Will help You in Generating Some Extra Money on the Side

With the financial instability that accompanied the pandemic, many people were left scrambling as they held onto their jobs and made ends meet. The unpredictability of life was displayed to us on a global level, thanks to COVID-19. In such cases, if you have other sources of income or passive income, it can be extremely helpful. 

There are many ways through which you can earn a passive income and it can help you in case of emergencies. Or it can be something you can fall back on if you lose your job, and need to support yourself. You can even use the additional money to build your retirement fund and the best part, you can get started today. But first things first,

What is Passive Income?

Passive income refers to the income generated from sources other than a contractor or an employer. There are primarily two ways through which one can generate such an income are: 

• rental property
• a business that doesn’t need the individual to participate actively, such as investing in stocks, getting paid book royalties, etc. 

Generally, the initial setup might take some time and even require a certain investment, but after that, it’s pretty easy. You may need to maintain or keep your content updated. It all depends upon the passive income ideas you know of, and then choose. 

The money you can generate from passive sources depends upon what it is, and it can be a lot or just a decent simple amount. Don’t think of it as some ‘get-rich-quick’ scheme or something. You will need to put in some effort, and even more so initially to get the ball rolling.

Some Passive Income Ideas that You Can Opt For in 2021  

A few passive income ideas in India that can help you in earning some extra money on the side have been listed below:

1. Stock investments

This option requires some knowledge and money going in. By this, we mean that you need to have prior knowledge and some funds that you’ll be investing. It takes a spot on this list because it has proven to be a wonderful source of side income for many. 

If you play it safe and study the market carefully, you can make some decent money off stock investments. You can buy stocks, bonds, and mutual funds, among others, and be all set for your retirement – depending upon your plan. 

2. Silent business partner 

Another population, something along the same lines as stock investment, but instead of stocks, you’ll be investing in a business. You won’t be lending the business money but instead, you’ll be buying a stake in it.

After this, you become a part of the business and will be given a percentage in the profits, and the money you have invested will be supported by a portion of the assets of the firm. There are several websites that can help you look for businesses searching for silent partners. 

You don’t have to lend a friend or any acquaintance money but choose from a bunch of promising startups and small businesses. Further, you can also minimize your losses by investing small amounts in multiple startups instead of just one and make some extra income.  

3. Selling stock photos

Even though this is a little specific option – for those who like to do photography and like to click a lot of pictures, you can sell your photos using stock photography websites such as Shutterstock and earn some extra income. 

These photos can be about anything and belong to a wide variety of niches such as travel, food, or anything else you would like to cover. Your photos can be put up for sale by registering yourself as an independent photograph on the various stock photography websites that exist.

Although this can be pretty time-consuming, for those who like to do photography, the time that’ll be invested in the time will be pleasant only. Further, obtaining financial independence is all about opening up your time to do more of the things you love. 

The following options (4-7) are all related to digital marketing and if you wish to opt for those and more options like them, doing a digital marketing course might be in your best interest since it would make the whole process so much easier. 

4. Affiliate Marketing 

Blogging, which comes under the content marketing channel of digital marketing, is another great way to earn a decent passive income. If your blog gets certain decent traffic, using ads and getting paid for every click or each view that the ads get is a great option. 

Therefore, the more you grow, the more people visit your blog and the more you earn. Affiliate marketing basically refers to the promotion of products and getting a certain percentage of sales. Just provide a link to the product/service and earn. 

5. Drop Shipping 

As ecommerce is prospering so much these days, drop shipping is a great way to make some extra income as well. What you’ll have to do is set up an online store that will have products from certain manufactures. 

Anyone who wants to buy these products will then get them directly from the manufacturers. In this way, you won’t have to do any inventory but will receive commission since it was bought off your website. 

6. App creation

Coming up with an idea or collaborating with someone else and building an app is another great addition to the list of passive income ideas. You might just have to invest some money initially if you hire someone to do the tech work for you and other miscellaneous expenses. 

If the app takes off and does well, you can make money once it goes public and then generate an income. You will keep earning as more people download it and can even include in-app ads that will bring in more money. But that depends on you. 

7. Running a YouTube Channel

All of us have a different set of interests. It could be cooking, traveling, photography, gaming, or something else. You can actively turn this passion, for any particular activity or subject, and turn it into a YouTube channel. 

All you need is your phone, some good internet, and determination to start. As you create more and gradually increase your follower and viewer count, you will then get sponsors and even run ads to generate some good side income. 

Final Thoughts 

Life is so much more than just your desk job or that safe 9 to 5 job. By this, we don’t mean that you should leave your jobs or anything but be aware of the different opportunities available to us that can help make some extra income.

This is just our list but if you do look, you’ll be sure to come across several other passive income ideas just waiting to be explored.