Passive Income is a Hoax*

By Stella Orange | 1 Comment

Raise your hand if you have been working on our passive income streams.

Okay, good.

For those of you getting the hang of the lingo, “passive income” is where you create something once and sell it again and again, with little additional work. A home study course is an example of passive income. You’ve recorded the class content, and now you just send customers the recordings and handouts. Easy-peasy.

That’s why so many of our colleagues are chasing the “passive income” dream.

And while it’s a lovely fantasy, I want to make sure you have your head on straight about it.

Because if you need to make money (read: no one else is supporting you/your business is not a hobby/you are not working “just for fun”/you are sick of working for peanuts)…

* 9 times out of 10 passive income is a waste of your time—here’s why:

1. You need a house mailing list. For service professionals, the best place to promote your products are to your own list. Those people already know, like and trust you, and they know your stuff is good.

2. You need to regularly send content to that list. Building relationships with your clients online is a lot like doing it offline—you can’t just walk up to someone at a networking event and say “Buy my ‘Reduce Your Stress in 30 Days’ kit now and save $50”. It’s like asking someone to marry you on the first date! That’s why it’s so important to send a newsletter with great content—I teach my clients to do it once a week.

3. You have limited focus and energy. If you are strapped for cash, or are looking to uplevel your business (or the kinds of clients you work with), your fastest path to cash is NOT products. It’s getting clients! I have yet to meet a client who loves me when I tell them that they need to set up more initial sessions with potential clients to reach their financial goals. But that’s fine—I don’t need them to love me. I just need them to quit smoking rope and realize that you cannot fill a business by writing and messing around on your computer all day. Because at the end of the day, a business is about generating revenue. And the most direct route to that is to go out and get people in your target market into initial sessions with you.  You don’t need a website to do this, but…

4. You may be using the “passive income” dream to avoid bigger issues in your business.  I never thought I would ever write this in a million years, but I feel like Dr. Phil here—I’m about to call some of you out. Some of you are using your “passive income” project to avoid bigger issues in your business. These bigger issues include:

    • Not charging enough
    • Charging by the hour
    • Offering a program that no one wants
    • Not being clear on your programs
    • Having a business that people don’t understand
    • Being totally freaked that you actually have to go out and shake your tail feathers to get clients

 5. What you really need now is ACTIVE income! You actually can’t afford to use your time for the delayed gratification of passive income “in the      future”… because you don’t have a consistent monthly income of regular paying clients. It’s too soon in your business to be working on products.

I invite you to take a moment right now and check in with yourself. There’s no judgment here. Are you pouring yourself into a “passive income” project… when you really need to be getting clear so you can get out there in the world in a clearer, bolder, more profitable way?

And if you could get clear on your business name, your offer, your packages, and your pricing… would you feel more confident about reaching out to one-on-one clients (instead of hiding out behind your computer, not getting paid for your time + energy as you create a passive income stream)?

Just checkin’.

Keep up the good work,

Stella

For those of you who are ready to “make a break for it” in your business, I invite you to learn more about my Message Lab Intensives  I work with clients who want to cross 6-figures, and need help creating a profitable brand, tantalizing programs, and a basic marketing plan so they can do it. We wordsmith what you need to get out there (your homepage, newsletter, emails—it’s fully customized to your situation) and then set you loose.  Plus, there is a $800 savings when you book your session by the end of August. 

Mighty thanks to 401(K)2012 flickr photostream for the money.

Stella Orange is a copywriter who helps people put their work into words. For eight years, she wrote email campaigns that resulted in more than a million dollars in sales for her clients. In that time, Stella also taught popular marketing writing workshops to business owners on both sides of the Atlantic -- and a few in Australia and New Zealand. In 2017, Stella cofounded a creative and consulting shop offering a complete and slightly unorthodox line of business advising and marketing services. She continues to write copy and advise clients on customer delight, how to resonate with more sophisticated, discerning clientele in your marketing, and just who, exactly, your ideal clients are. Stella is the founder of Show Up And Write, a weekly writing group and writes a letter every two weeks or so (here’s the sign-up). She lives with the Philosopher and their two kiddos in Buffalo, New York, a fifteen-minute bike ride to the Canadian border.

One Comment

  1. Elinor

    Ooh this is juicy Ms S. Thanks for the warning – I was finding myself getting sucked into the the ‘I can turn my programmes into products yellow-brick road to cash’ thinking. Consider me enlightened – off to shake my tail feathers some more;)

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