It’s everybody’s dream to be able to maintain or increase their income and to work less, but it’s something that few people achieve. If you’ve grown up with the idea that the only way to get more money is to work more, it takes a significant shift in thinking to believe that the opposite can be true. To earn more and work less you need to change your mindset and think outside the square.
If you own a business, you may be able to create passive income with little effort. There are two types of passive income – residual income and leveraged income. Residual income is recurring income that results from work that you have done at an earlier point in time, for example:
- A consultant who develops a consulting template or workbook and sells it to many different clients
- A photographer who gets paid a royalty for the use of her photos in a photo library
- A website owner who sells advertising space on a website
Leveraged income results from using other people’s resources to produce income, for example:
- Selling your products for a commission through a distribution channel
- Franchising or licensing your business
- Hiring subcontractors and taking a profit margin on the work they do
If you are an employee the concept of earning more with little or no extra effort still applies. Start by researching the job market. Are you being paid what you are worth? If not, ask for an increase or find another job. Putting a little effort into additional training can open up new and lasting opportunities to earn more. Perhaps you have a hobby that can be turned into a part time business run from home. Earning more with little effort is all about working smarter, not harder.
