Passive Income…we all want on that train, right? Creating passive money streams within my business is what helped me triple my annual income and generate over $100,000 in ONE WEEK.

Before you roll your eyes at me, I get it. Talking about money can sound sleazy. Trust me, it feels uncomfortable… but what I'm about to tell you could greatly impact your life. I'm assuming if you're reading this, there is some part of you that wants more, right? Don't we all? It's not about having more money, but about freedom. Think about the impact an extra $100/month could even have on your life?

Would you be able to say “no” more? Spend more time with family? Travel more?

Well, I believe there is more for you… so, why hold back on sharing what's impacted my business and life? Before I get into what and how I made that much, let's take a few steps back, shall we?

For the first 5ish years of my business, I HUSTLED. HARD. I really hate that word, but it's the only one that captures it. I mean I was working 60+ (sometimes 80) hours a week, saying “no” to hanging out with friends and my health was declining because of it. Yes, I was excited about this thing I was building, but it came at a price. I mean, who wants to quit their 9-5 to work on their business all day, every day?!

While there's nothing wrong with working extra time to get things rolling or working more than the average joe, no shame and guilt there, this was too much. It was costing my health and straining my relationships with friends all because of ONE WORD: Time.

Time is the one resource that you can't get back and you can't make more of. 

Money is replenishable. You can book that extra client, or take a second job, or work on something on the side and make more money…but time? It's here and now and then it's gone, and who knows how much of it we actually have, you know?

As I said, I was huuustling. It felt like I would just barely get caught up then the next wave of clients would rush through and it would hit me again. Does anyone feel me?

Here's the thing…

You can't scale your business and make more money if you're chained to your desk. More time is more money, so I knew I had to do something quickly before I completely burnt out!

In walks passive-income!

You hear lots of people talking about the passive money train, right? You know it's crucial for scaling your business, but how?

I know as an artist, it can be confusing knowing the best approach for…

• building an email list
• choosing between scheduling an in-person workshop or having a free Saturday
• uploading work to Creative Market, or licensing
• and more…

How do all of these passive income streams work for a creative business?

Want to know the biggest and best way to make passive income as a creative?

Online courses.

If you're wanting to scale your creative business, make more money while you rest and grow your expertise in the field, online courses are where it's at! If you're just ONE step ahead of another person, you qualify. It doesn't need to be complicated or feel overwhelming either.

I've taught TONS of online classes. Probably over 15…but it wasn't until last year that I was able to leverage the knowledge I had to really generate good income off my teaching.

What made the difference?

I started listening better.

• Listening to my audience, what questions they had, etc.
• Researching like a madwoman on strategies for launching courses
• Growing my email list and nurturing my audience with weekly emails
• Provide VALUABLE free content via my email list and blog

Each of these steps helped qualify me as the expert on the particular subject and warm up my audience to the idea of my course. It wasn't just “BAM! Here's my next course,” I spent over THREE MONTHS teasing the topic, showing behind the scenes, and gearing up for the launch.

Because I knew the course answered some of the most asked questions within my industry, I KNEW people would want it. I just had to warm them up to the idea of it first.

Once the course was launched, the cart was open for a total of five days, and I made over $100,000. Insane. 

And if you're saying, “Easy for you, you have an audience!”…think again! I made $35,000 within the FIRST DAY, and had only hit send on one email to my list. No Instagram, no ads, etc. Just to my email list at the time, which was right around 2K people. 

The power of nurturing and leaving breadcrumbs along the way is HUGE. Imagine having to sell to someone right after you shake their hand…sounds…sleazy, right?!

But what if that person and you become friends?

You get to know their favorite movie, their questions about life and business…

How more genuine is the sale?! And not only that, how much better will you be at knowing exactly what they need in a product, course, service, etc.?!

Whether you're a designer launching new prints in your shop, a photographer offering discounts on your services, or an artist teaching an in-person workshop, focus on nurturing your audience and preparing your launch runway.

Leave breadcrumbs, listen to the questions your audience has, and provide them with value each and every week to keep them coming back for more!