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How this 35-Year-Old Makes $5k+ By Blogging and Touring Very Unusual Destinations

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How this 35-Year-Old Makes $5k+ By Blogging and Touring Very Unusual Destinations

When Joan Torres’ marketing job relocated him from Barcelona to Dubai, he couldn’t have imagined how the next few years would play out. He took advantage of his new location as a base from which to travel to lesser-visited destinations. Still, he found himself frustrated by the lack of information available on those countries.

So, he set out to remedy that by starting his own travel blog: Against the Compass.

His blog did so well that he decided to branch out and start offering organized tours to “destinations your mum wouldn’t be happy about.” Today his blog is bringing in $5k+ per month, and his tours are earning considerably more.

Keep reading to find out:

  • Where he started traveling to
  • How he prepared to quit his job
  • How he learned about travel blogging
  • How much his blog earns
  • How much his tours earn
  • Which affiliates have the best payout
  • How he approaches branding
  • How he launched his travel company
  • His thoughts about link building
  • How he manages his email list
  • How often he works on his business
  • His biggest challenge
  • His main accomplishment
  • His greatest mistake
  • The advice he would give other entrepreneurs

Meet Joan Torres

My name is Joan, I’m 35 years old. I also have a 20-month-old son. We are currently based in Barcelona City, but we travel a lot.

In 2014, the company I was working for in Barcelona sent me to their office in Dubai, where I lived and worked for the following 3 years, working in 2 different European-based international companies.

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I quit my Dubai job in 2016, and I’ve been traveling and running an online business ever since.

My professional background is purely marketing and brand management.

Why He Created Against the Compass

Essentially, Against the Compass is a travel blog that focuses on providing useful information, travel tips, and actionable advice for barely visited destinations such as Yemen, Syria, Mauritania, and Pakistan.

I launched it in October 2016 and then, 5 years later, in 2021, I created a travel company to offer tours to some of those unique destinations.

As for the “why,” I have always had a sense for adventure, so during my stay in Dubai, I used to take a lot of short trips to relatively nearby destinations such as Lebanon, Iraq, Kurdistan, and Iran.

I used to check a lot of travel blogs as well for all my travels, but I was surprised that, at that time, there wasn’t any online content on those barely visited countries.

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Meanwhile, I learned that many travel bloggers were making an actual living from it, so one day, I decided to quit my job and start a travel blog named Against the Compass, whose main aim was covering that empty niche.

As for the “how,” it’s important to highlight that when I quit my job, I had saved $40k. As a budget backpacker, that was more than enough for traveling for two full years at least, buying proper camera gear, and allocating a few thousand to create a travel website.

It’s also important to highlight that I didn’t just buy a domain and start writing articles right away. A couple of months before quitting my job, I started to build a marketing plan with the final objective of becoming the blog of reference for off-the-beaten-track destinations.

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The blog wasn’t officially launched, but I had been working on it 5 or 6 months before I quit my job.

The blog name didn’t come overnight but was the result of more than a few weeks of brainstorming, trying to find that name that inspired adventure in a clear but dynamic way.

I signed up for a travel blogging course (it doesn’t exist anymore) which was extremely helpful in showing you the right steps to take from the beginning and getting basic knowledge about WordPress, SEO, and travel writing.

I also learned that if you ever want to become successful in the blogging business, you must offer something useful to your readers, something your readers can’t live without, and something your readers will want to bookmark.

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How Much Joan is Earning from Blogging

When talking about income, it’s important to differentiate between blogging and running tours.

Today, my blogging income is less than what it used to be before, and the reason is that I switched my focus from blogging to running tours.

Running tours are a much more profitable business, not only in terms of revenue but also because this is something you can keep doing in the long run.

In January 2020, my blog was getting 240k page views a month, and I was making up to €7500 a month, depending on the month, but I’d say that €5000 was the average during the last months before the pandemic started. 

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Up to when I started running tours in November 2021, all my earnings came exclusively from blogging, including things like:

  • Affiliate marketing (40%)
  • Ads (35%)
  • Link selling (10%)
  • Freelance writing (10%)
  • Selling ebooks (5%)

During the pandemic, from March 2020 until June 2021, affiliate revenue was very little, but I still made a decent amount on ads. Plus I began to get into freelance writing, especially for Lonely Planet. 

I wrote several online articles for them and 5 chapters of one of their guidebooks, for which I earned €5400.

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Today, I stopped accepting sponsored content and selling links and ebooks, and I don’t do any freelance writing anymore. Now, I just focus on promoting my top 3 high-performing affiliates: IATI Insurance, Booking.com, and ExpressVPN.

SEO is still an important part of my daily job since many of my customers find me on Google, so I still work on increasing traffic, which also translates into more earnings from Mediavine, the ad network I use.

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In March 2023, I made around €4000 only from ads, IATI Insurance, and booking.com.

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How Much Joan is Earning from Tours

This is too private. I’d rather not say, but obviously, much more than with blogging, and the way it works is that usually, you add an additional % to the cost per person, but you also need to take into account your personal expenses and taxes.

In 2022, I ran 18 group tours (averaging 12 people in each), plus dozens of private tours.

In 2023, as of April, I have already run 12 tours only in the first 4 months of the year.

While it depends on the specific tour when I organize them, it usually includes:

  • Accommodation
  • Local guides
  • Transportation
  • Main meal
  • Visa support, LOIs, etc.
  • Airport transfers

They can last from 6 to 14 days. 

It’s very time-consuming the first time you organize one, but then it’s easy. You also need the help of a local person to make all the bookings. 

His Top Marketing Strategies

In a word: branding.

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Working on building and shaping the Against the Compass brand has been my #1 marketing strategy, and that’s something not many people do.

Brands are like people; they have personalities and emotions and create relationships with other people. People have opinions on brands and like or dislike them based on their personal preferences.

I am confident that today, Against the Compass is a well-established brand followed by adventurous and responsible travelers willing to get out of their comfort zones to travel to the most off-the-beaten-track destinations.

There are many people who feel identified with ATC.

The brand name suggests traveling to unknown places, and readers trust the information found on the website because we’ve also worked really, really hard on EAT by providing extremely detailed and updated honest advice about a lot of unique destinations, covering a travel niche that had always been pretty empty.

This is the reason why Against the Compass Expeditions has been pretty successful since we launched it in 2021.

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We launched a travel company attached to a brand that was already established, a brand with significant authority within that specific travel niche. The reason why all our tours sold out is because people already knew and trusted that brand.

It’s also important to highlight that despite being a travel blog, I’ve never been the main protagonist but rather the destinations and the brand, and this has been extremely helpful for running tours.

Many of our customers joined my tours because of Against the Compass, not because of Joan Torres, and that’s invaluable and absolutely priceless because of 2 things:

  • I can delegate this job (leading tours) to other brand representatives, which is what I currently do
  • In the future, it will be much easier to sell the company, something which is already in my plans, but not within the next few years

Keyword Research and Link Building

To be honest, I don’t think I am doing anything really unique here other than spending hours looking for keywords through a tool named KeySearch.

Link building has always been an essential part of my SEO.

In the initial stages of blogging, I used to be pretty active in travel blogging FB groups. These groups were particularly useful for link exchanging and participating in collaboration posts.

I used to do a lot of guest posting for high-authority travel blogs, too. This was useful not only for getting some link juice but also for networking.

However, I also believe that if you only get links from within the travel blogosphere, you’ll never get very far, so today I changed my focus to getting more links from websites outside the travel niche, which is what I am doing as I answer this interview.

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This 2023, I got very valuable links from media outlets like The Guardian and France24, links pointing to my Syria content, my best-selling tour.

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They just reached out or linked naturally, but when I get approached by a journalist, I make it #1 priority. I believe there aren’t many websites/blogs/travel companies working on those destinations, meaning that if you offer something different, links will come naturally

My short-term goal for 2023 is to hire a link-building expert to do some proper media outreach to get more links.

Joan’s Content Creation Process

This is simple: I travel to a new place and write travel guides about it, based on what people search for on the internet.

This could be anything from travel tips to a certain destination to “best hotels in X.”

I don’t travel to a place based on what people search. I travel where I want to, and then I write based on what people search for or whatever content is useful. 

I don’t have a goal of publishing a certain amount of content; my only strategy is to have all content fully updated. 

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His Email List

I have an email list of almost 8500 subscribers. While this might not seem like a lot for certain online entrepreneurs, I do have an engaged email list with an average open rate of 63% and a click-through rate of 8.41%

More often than not, some of my tours sell out with one single email, which means that a few emails can make me thousands of euros.

I used to have a much larger email list, but I have been trimming it over time, removing unengaged subscribers, and the results have been satisfactory.

Now I get around 500 subscribers a month, and this 2023, I want to increase it to 1000 a month. I’m working on that as we speak.

To manage my list, I use ConvertKit and forms across the website with lead magnets, such as downloadable itineraries not found on my website. 

How Much He Works on His Business

It’s very random.

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When I’m traveling, which is around 6 months a year, I work 1 hour per day, just to answer emails and follow up with tours, but I don’t do any blogging or strategy.

However, when I’m traveling with my family, we’ll stop in a certain location every X days for 2 or 3 days, so I can get some more work done, but I don’t follow any pattern.

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When I’m in Barcelona, there are certain weeks when I work no more than 20 hours and weeks when I work more than 60. It just depends on my motivation and specific plans for that particular week.

Joan’s Favorite Resources and Tools

I don’t use any special resources nowadays, but when I was very much into blogging, Digital Nomad Wannabe was an excellent source of information for me.

As for tools, I use ConvertKit for email marketing, KeySearch for finding keywords, and Google Analytics for site traffic and demographics.

His Biggest Challenge

My biggest challenge was taking the big step of being a blogger who spent his time posting travel tips on the internet to organizing actual trips where some of those readers could join.

It was one of the scariest things ever, that kind of fear you have, like when you need to present or give a talk in front of hundreds of strangers, but way worse.

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Fortunately, everything went well, and 6 out of 8 people from that first tour joined me on other expeditions.

Joan’s Main Accomplishment

My greatest accomplishment is being able to have freedom.

I have been told by many people that running a business on the one thing you love the most must be extremely rewarding.

It’s true that traveling is my number 1 hobby, and believe me, I love what I do, but at the end of the day, blogging, writing articles, answering emails, and running tours is just work. Like everyone else, I’d rather be traveling around the world without a laptop.

However, I don’t work a lot of hours, I work whenever I feel like it, I take several months a year of vacations, and I am location independent, and those are the most valuable things for me.

What He Wishes He Knew When He Started

Well, I have had an email list from the beginning, but it’s only recently, around 2021, that I began applying a proper strategy.

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I wish I had done this from the very beginning! My list of subscribers would be huge by now!

His Biggest Mistake

The biggest mistake I have ever made was not giving enough importance to social media.

While I strongly believe that depending solely on social media is the biggest mistake one can make as an online entrepreneur, we can’t ignore the power of social media as a tool for communicating your brand and, most importantly, as a tool to reach a completely new audience and get additional exposure.

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My tours sell out thanks to a proper SEO strategy and an engaged email list. Still, I barely make any sales from Instagram or Facebook, not only because I don’t have a huge list of followers but also because I am not consistent with it, and this is a big mistake.

His Advice for Other Entrepreneurs

Do have a proper marketing strategy and, if you have a good selling idea but have zero marketing knowledge, do invest in hiring a good marketing consultant to help you define your brand, target, and strategy.

Unless you find a very unique, relatively empty niche, most markets are oversaturated and, unless you create an appealing voice that certain consumers may identify with, building a business can be tough.

Of course, a good marketing strategy won’t be very useful unless you offer a good product or service, work hard, and are consistent.



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How Creators Make Money Is Changing

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In 2021, we reported on a survey that measured creators’ top sources of revenue. At that time, sponsorships with advertisers took the top spot by …

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The Ultimate Guide to Succeeding Alone in Business in 2024

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The Ultimate Guide to Succeeding Alone in Business in 2024

What is a solopreneur? And how do you become one?

Well, in this post, we’re diving into the world of solopreneurship to help you get started.

You’ll learn:

  • The difference between a solopreneur and an entrepreneur
  • Pros and cons of solopreneurship
  • A step-by-step guide to becoming a solopreneur
  • Plus, solopreneur business ideas you can start today.

Let’s get started.

What is a Solopreneur?

A solopreneur is a person who starts a business by themself, without a partner, and the need for hiring employees.

What is a Solopreneur?

Merriam-Webster defines it as:

One who organizes, manages, and assumes the risks of a business or enterprise without the help of a partner : a solo entrepreneur.

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They typically bootstrap their business using their own money and manage all aspects of the business needs to make a profit.

This might involve sales, marketing, product development, managing finances, and customer satisfaction.

Solopreneur vs Entrepreneur

Now, you might be asking, “What’s the difference between a solopreneur and an entrepreneur?”

Solopreneur vs EntrepreneurSolopreneur vs Entrepreneur

Here are the key distinctions between the two. Knowing these can also help you choose which one to pursue.

Purpose

A solopreneur and an entrepreneur have slightly different intentions when launching a business. The solopreneur starts a business so they can work for themselves, make extra money, and work on something they’re passionate about.

Solopreneurs often start a side hustle while working a regular job, hoping their business will take over their salary.

The entrepreneur generally starts a business for growth, scalability, and profit. They may also be driven by having an impact on a market.

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Entrepreneurs might start as solopreneurs in the beginning but with an aim to expand. They may also have an exit strategy in mind from the very beginning, whereas solopreneurs rarely start to sell the business.

Management

Solopreneurs don’t hire employees as they aim to manage all aspects of the business themselves. But, they might hire a freelancer, independent contractor, or virtual assistant for specific daily tasks.

The solopreneur doesn’t usually seek investments either, as their startups are self-funded.

Entrepreneurs will build a team of employees and seek investments so they can expand the business quickly.

Most entrepreneurs don’t want to be working in the business but rather focus on their vision and creative direction.

Focus

The focus of a solopreneur is primarily to create a lifestyle business. They might also want to achieve financial independence and work on things they love.

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Many solopreneurs are simply driven by their interests. For example, an artist might want to spend more time painting, so they research ways to monetize their work.

When their art business makes more money than their job, they can leave and focus on painting full-time. They’ve turned their hobby into a business.

Whereas the entrepreneur might have a passion for growth, innovation, impact, or for business itself. The businesses they start can be varied, and they don’t necessarily have to be passionate about their niche.

Pros and Cons of Solopreneurship

Like any venture, business model, or career choice, there are advantages and disadvantages.

Here’s what you need to know when becoming a solopreneur.

Solopreneurship Pros

  1. The introverts dream. Solopreneurship can be very appealing to introverts or those who like working alone.
  2. Total autonomy. You have complete control over business decisions, projects you work on, and the people you serve.
  3. Flexibility. It provides total freedom regarding the hours you work and your location.
  4. Low startup costs. Many solopreneurs can start with a social media account and free marketing tools like Substack.
  5. Passive income. There’s a lot of potential to earn passive income as a solopreneur. Here are some passive income ideas to look into.

Solopreneurship Cons

  1. Workload. Many roles are required to be a successful solopreneur. These include marketing, sales, accounting, and client satisfaction.
  2. Inconsistent income. Revenue can be slow and inconsistent in the beginning.
  3. Isolation. Running a business alone can get pretty lonely sometimes, even for introverts.
  4. Work-life imbalance. It can be hard to switch between work and play, especially when working from home.
  5. Financial responsibility. Financial management can be quite daunting for some people and may lead to failed startups when not managed well.

How to Become a Solopreneur

Here are 9 steps you can take to make the solopreneur journey a breeze.

1. Evaluate Your Skills

Solopreneurship is all about monetizing a skill or what you know. So, the first step is to know what you’re good at.

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This is harder than it seems because what we’re good at often comes naturally to us. Therefore, we don’t recognize our own talents.

It could be fixing your diet, graphic design, writing a novel, or dealing with stress.

Start by documenting your life and answering these questions:

  • What are you passionate about that you’ll never get bored with?
  • Have you achieved anything significant that came easy to you?
  • What do you spend the most money on?
  • What do your friends come to you for advice about?

Spend some time journalling or brainstorming things that come to you. Just try to keep it simple.

You don’t have to be an expert to be your own boss. Only a desire to help others who are a few steps behind you.

If you’re really stuck, you can choose one of the easiest online businesses to start to get you going.

2. Set Financial Goals

Next up is knowing how much income you want to make.

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Solopreneur financial goalsSolopreneur financial goals

Do you want to make a little extra on the side? Or do you want to replace your salary?

There’s no limit to how much you can make when starting an online business as a solopreneur.

But it’s still important to set business goals. Doing so will help you make better decisions and even choose a business model or product to sell.

You’ll want to establish short-term and long-term financial goals. That way, you’ll stay motivated and maintain focus.

3. Choose a Business Model

Your business model is how you deliver your products or services. Establishing one will give you clarity on the direction you can take.

It will also reveal how you’ll generate income, establish risk, and how you might scale if you want to.

We’ll take a deeper dive at specific business ideas later, but these are the main business models to choose from.

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  1. Service-based. Things like freelance writing or web design services.
  2. Content creator. Teaching through YouTube, blogs, or online courses.
  3. Coaching. Helping people achieve personal or professional goals.
  4. eCommerce. Selling physical or digital products.
  5. Developer. Launching web or mobile apps.

4. Identify Your Ideal Market

So you have an idea of what you’ll be offering and the business model to deliver it.

But now you need to find an audience who needs it. Skip this step, and you could sell something no one needs.

Market research validates what you have to sell and will help you clarify your offer.

It involves understanding the pain points of your target audience and crafting a compelling solution.

Here are some popular ways to perform market research today:

  1. Forums and communities: Join and engage in niche forums or communities like Facebook groups. Use Google to find these forums or the search feature on Facebook.
  2. Social media: Monitor conversations on social media sites like Twitter and Reddit. Search for niche-related tags to find the right people.
  3. Competitor analysis: Research your competitors to see what pain points they focus on. Analyze the copy on their website and social media channels to gather insights into your audience.
  4. Keyword research: Use tools like Google Keyword Planner or SEMRush to find out what your niche is searching for. This will help you understand what their needs and goals are.
  5. Start a community: Launch a free Facebook Group or community platform like Skool to get to know your audience on a deeper level.

Niching down will always help you find a more passionate audience, so try not to go too broad. You can also read our posts on the best niche markets to get some ideas.

5. Create a Business Plan

According to a study published in Small Business Economics, people who create a business plan are 152% more likely to launch their business .

Develop a business planDevelop a business plan

Another study revealed that companies that plan grow 30% faster than those that don’t plan.

The downfall when planning is that many solopreneurs can get caught up in all the details. However, it doesn’t have to take weeks or months or need to be perfect.

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What’s important is getting the fundamentals down on paper.

This notion template is a great place to start, or this Udemy course for a more comprehensive and guided approach.

6. Launch Your Brand

Now, you’ll want to define the identity of your brand. This includes the name, logo, and messaging to attract the right people to your business.

The easiest route is to use your name and start your business as a personal brand.

But if you intend on scaling your business or selling it as an entrepreneur, you might want to start a professional brand instead.

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Either way, start by brainstorming ideas and checking for domain availability and social media handles.

You might want to register your business legally at this point, too.

If you have design skills, a simple logo might be sufficient enough. You can also hire a designer on Upwork to design your logo and brand identity professionally.

Lastly, you’ll need to tailor your brand messaging to resonate with your audience. A great book on this subject is Building a StoryBrand by Donald Miller.

7. Establish an Online Presence

The next step to solopreneur success is forming a coherent online presence. These will be the places where you market yourself, publish content, and deliver your offerings.

Here are a few things you’ll need to set up:

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  1. A website: You can build a simple site using WordPress or Shopify if you sell products.
  2. Social media channels: Sign up and claim your social media handles on the main sites. These include Facebook, X, Instagram, Pinterest, Medium, and YouTube.
  3. Email list: Use ConvertKit or a newsletter service like Substack to start building an email list. The earlier you start this, the better.
  4. Blog: If you like writing, you can also start to publish articles that attract organic visitors through search engines.

You don’t have to be active on all these channels at once. Just set them up so no one else takes your username, then choose a channel your audience uses most.

As a solopreneur, it’s possible to grow your business by sticking to one channel.

8. Develop a Digital Marketing Strategy

Marketing is how you’ll raise awareness of the problems your niche experiences and how you can help solve them.

Solopreneur marketing strategySolopreneur marketing strategy

To do this effectively, you need a strategy.

You’ll want to decide which platform to spend most of your time on. As a solopreneur, there’s only you, so trying to juggle multiple channels will spread you thin.

The strategy is to publish content at each level of the funnel.

Using the AIDA formula is a good place to start:

A: Grab the audience’s Attention with well-crafted headlines
I: Create Interest by communicating pain points. This will help grow followers or subscribers.
D: Create Desire by emphasizing the desired state for potential customers.
A: Provide a call to Action to drive conversions and sales.

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You can check out the 1-Page Marketing Plan for this. It will help you define a comprehensive marketing strategy on a single page.

9. Never Stop Learning

Lastly, you’ll make your journey so much easier when you become a continuous learner and adopt a success mindset.

You can read the best audiobooks for business, take Udemy courses, or even join an online community.

Some great books for solopreneurs include The Lean Startup, Company of One, and Alex Hormozi’s books.

Solopreneur Business Ideas

There are tons of different types of businesses you can start as a solopreneur.

Choosing one will depend on your skills, passions, available resources, and market needs.

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Here’s a quick look at some one-person business ideas to give you some inspiration:

  • App developer: Creating mobile or web apps like habit trackers or even games.
  • Blogger: Publishing content on Medium, Quora, Twitter, or a WordPress blog.
  • Paid newsletter subscription: Sharing your insights and knowledge through a platform like Substack or Beehiiv.
  • Copywriter: Offering copywriting as a freelancer on Upwork on your website.
  • Digital products: Sell your knowledge in the form of digital products on Gumroad or Systeme.
  • eCommerce: Sell physical products through Amazon FBA, Etsy, or a Shopify store.
  • YouTuber: Share your knowledge and monetize with YouTube affiliate marketing and ads.
  • Start a community: Create a Skool community and charge a monthly subscription.

Solopreneur in Conclusion

Becoming a solopreneur has many advantages when starting a business. Unlike entrepreneurship, you get to work alone, choose your hours, and only work on things you love.

Don’t expect things to go perfectly, though. Achieving success in any business venture takes time and dedication.

If you want to connect with others on their solopreneur journey, consider joining the Niche Pursuits Community. You’ll get access to weekly calls from successful bloggers, YouTubers, and 7- and 8-figure digital business owners.



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27 Passive Income Ideas to Make Money & Build Wealth in 2024

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27 Passive Income Ideas to Make Money & Build Wealth in 2024

In this article, we discuss the 27 passive income ideas to make money and build wealth. To skip our detailed analysis of passive income and its benefits in today’s world go directly to the 7 Passive Income Ideas to Make Money & Build Wealth in 2024.

Passive income can be defined as a side income that comes from a minimal amount of work as compared to your active income. In the current economic conditions, many people are finding it hard to keep up with inflation with a single paycheck. While the US Federal Reserve’s policies have managed to tone down inflation and the bank is expected to cut interest rates, some Wall Street analysts still paint a bleak picture of the US economy in the near future. 

According to a survey by Self, 45% of working Americans have a side gig. Out of the people surveyed, nearly 35% said that they need their side hustle source to pay their bills and other expenses, while over 32% of people use it as disposable income. Around 30% of the respondents put their side gig money toward savings and investments. The survey suggests that these side gigs generate an approximate average of $688 per month. We previously reported that  73% of Americans with side hustles are thinking of leaving their primary jobs. 

Passive Income Ideas with Stocks

Some of our passive income ideas to make wealth revolve around investing in the financial markets. The US stock market is one of the places that have made many people rich. For example, value investors such as Warren Buffett and Seth Klarman have made billions from buying stocks and keeping them for the long term. Their style of investing is known as value investing. It is important to note that these two investors have spent a lot of time and money on their investments, but at the moment we are looking for passive income ideas to make wealth. In that case, you can follow their strategy on a smaller scale by buying quality stocks and letting them grow over a few years.

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Nevertheless, a value investing strategy works best if you have a lot of capital. For example, Warren Buffett has owned 151.61 million shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) since the third quarter of 2013, when its stock price averaged at $75.23. By the end of the fourth quarter of 2023, the company shares were trading at an average price of $160.97. It means that American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) stock made around $17 billion for Buffett’s firm during this time, and that is without counting the dividend income. As of March 7, the company’s stock was trading at $221. Some other value stocks from Berkshire Hathaway’s portfolio include The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) and Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC).

Use of AI to Generate Passive Income

A survey by GOBankingRates reveals that 45% of the respondents are in favor of using AI to generate passive income, and 8% are already using it to do so. Open AI’s ChatGPT has been responsible for the surge in 2023’s AI revolution. The platform also offers a passive income source with its Bug Bounty Program. The program invites people to find bugs or security flaws and get paid. The rewards start from $200 and go up to $20,000.

 Passive Income Ideas to Make Money & Build Wealth in 2024

Passive Income Ideas to Make Money & Build Wealth in 2024

Photo by nathan dumlao on Unsplash

Our Methodology

For this article, we carefully reviewed several sources, including Time Magazine, CNN, CNBC, and Reddit. Next, we chose the most common recommendations to make passive income across these sources and listed them according to the number of mentions each idea received. The more times a passive income idea was mentioned, the higher it was placed on our list.

By the way, Insider Monkey is an investing website that uses a consensus approach to identify the best stock picks of more than 900 hedge funds investing in US stocks. The website tracks the movement of corporate insiders and hedge funds. Our top 10 consensus stock picks of hedge funds outperformed the S&P 500 stock index by more than 140 percentage points over the last 10 years (see the details here). So, if you are looking for the best stock picks to buy, you can benefit from the wisdom of hedge funds and corporate insiders.

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Passive Income Ideas to Make Money & Build Wealth in 2024

27. Domain Parking

Domain parking is a practice where any person or company registers domain names but does not use them for hosting a website or email service immediately. Instead, they place them “parked” with a domain parking service or a domain registrar.

Revenue is primarily generated through advertising. When visitors click on the ads displayed on the parked domain’s page, you, as the owner of the domain, will earn a small amount of money. To get the most out of domain parking, hone your monetization strategy to direct traffic to the domain. You can optimize the domains via a third party like Newsy, Bodis, and ParkingCrew.

Due to the risks like potential legal issues and low revenue potential, we gave it the lowest priority on our list of passive income ideas to make money and build wealth in 2024.

26. Crypto Staking

Crypto staking is a process used in blockchain networks to validate and secure transactions, similar to how mining works in some cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. However, instead of using computational power to solve complex mathematical problems as used in mining, staking involves validators locking up a certain amount of cryptocurrency as collateral to support the network’s operations. Crypto staking is a good way to earn passive income. However, it also carries risks, such as the potential loss of staked funds in the event of validator misbehavior.

Coinbase Global, Inc. (NASDAQ:COIN) is one of the companies that allows you to stake your tokens. The interest rate return on crypto staking varies between tokens. The estimated reward on Ethereum is 2.94% at the time of writing on March 7.

25. Annuity Set Up

An annuity is a financial product that provides a series of payments to an individual over a specified period. An annuity can be set up in various ways, depending on the terms of the annuity contract and the preferences of the individual purchasing it. 

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Annuities are usually bought through insurance companies. However, they are also provided by financial services businesses like brokerage firms and banks. Fixed Index Annuity is a type of annuity that is tied to broader market indexes such as the S&P 500. It pays you a fixed interest rate along with a variable income, depending on the performance of the market.

There are several other ways to set up annuities, and it is better to consult a financial expert or insurance provider to make more informed decisions before moving forward.

24. Renting Out Things in Your Home That You Don’t Use

Renting out household items has become increasingly popular with the rise of online platforms that facilitate peer-to-peer rentals. While renting out your household items can carry risks, it is a great passive income idea to make money and build wealth in 2024. You can be on your way to building wealth with this idea if you rent out high-value items that people need for only a short duration and/or infrequently. 

Other than keeping your items in good condition to retain and invite new customers, it is important to come up with competitive rental rates and provide clear rental terms and conditions. A few noteworthy sites/apps for peer-to-peer rentals are Rannsak, Fat Lllama, and Yoodlize. Some marketplaces provide insurance to cover damages, loss, or theft. For example, Rannsak offers The Rannsak Reimbursement Program in the U.S., and the insurance is up to $1,000.

23. Royalties From Intellectual Properties

Royalties from intellectual property refer to payments made to the creator of intellectual property in exchange for the use of the said asset. According to a report by the World Intellectual Property Organization, there were 3.5 million patents filed in 2022. 67% of the total patent filings were made by Asian countries.

If you plan on earning royalties from intellectual properties, you must protect them legally, and that can be done through copyrighting, trademarking, licensing, patenting, and more.

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A way to create passive income from royalties would be entering into a licensing agreement with a third party to allow them the use of your intellectual property and receive financial benefits in return. The amount of money you make from these royalties depends on the terms of the licensing agreement. For example, agreeing to a percentage of revenue generated by the sales of the product. Laws regarding patenting in the United States can be found on the United States Patent and Trademark Office website.

22. Peer-to-peer Lending

Peer-to-peer lending is a method of debt financing through which individuals borrow and lend money directly, and there is no involvement from traditional financial institutions. It is one of the best passive income ideas to make money as it serves as a source of funding for individuals and businesses while offering competitive interest rates and flexible terms with a streamlined loan process. The above-mentioned factors are not available to most individuals and businesses when it comes to taking loans from traditional banking institutions.

If it is your first time getting into peer-to-peer lending, you can sign up on established websites like Prosper Marketplace’s Prosper.com through which you can invest in consumer loans, and the website will connect you with borrowers.

21. Set Up an ATM or Vending Machine

An individual can set up an ATM or a vending machine to make a profit from them. However, these two things will generate income based on the number of people that use your machines, so it is essential to set them up somewhere with a lot of foot traffic. If you decide to go the vending machine route, there are a few costs that you should keep in mind, including the cost of the machine (secondhand machines cost between $1,500 – $5,000), location fee, replenishment cost, and maintenance. A few Reddit users recommend delegating tasks like re-stocking and maintenance to cut down on work hours.

For ATMs, setting them near cash businesses like casinos or barber shops where people prefer to tip in cash is ideal. To get started, you will need to open a limited liability company, purchase an ATM, find a location for it and draw up a contract with the owner of the location, and install the machine. 

20. App Development

Creating an app can be your way of building wealth because if successful, it will generate revenue for you over a long time. There are many ways you can monetize your app, including paid downloads, in-app purchases, subscriptions, and more. App development is one of the best passive income ideas to make money.

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Mobile apps have the most promise, as 56.1% of all global website traffic was attributed to mobile usage as of December 2023, according to Oberlo. While your income will vary depending on a multitude of factors, including but not limited to which app store you choose, the niche your app belongs to, and the monetization pathway you opt for, mobile apps have more potential to generate passive income.

19. Sell Stock Photos

Selling pictures online that you have captured is a great passive income idea. You will need to start by capturing high-quality pictures. You can then search for different reputable stock photography websites or agencies, like Shutterstock, Inc. (NYSE:SSTK), which hires photographers. According to data collected by Matic Broz for Photutorial, on average, a stock photographer can earn around $0.02 per image per month on average. Moreover, Stocksy United pays the highest, i.e., $200 per standard royalty-free sale and $8,100 per extended license.

18. Video Content Creation

Video content creation can not only generate passive income for you but also be highly engaging. You can create video content for different purposes, like stock footage, subscription platforms, and more. Creating videos for sponsored content is a great way to make a little money on the side. For that, you will need to find brands that will sponsor you to advertise their product or services.

Choosing the right platform for your video content is the most important step, and you can look at Google’s YouTube, TikTok, and Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)’s Instagram. According to Influencer Marketing Hub, on average, a channel on YouTube gets $0.018 per view or $18 per 1,000 views.

17. Advertising on Your Car

Advertising on your car to earn money is a legitimate way to make some extra cash. This practice, often referred to as car wrapping, involves having advertisements or promotional graphics on your car in exchange for payment. To earn passively through car advertising, you would need to sign up with specialized agencies that hire people for this purpose. 

According to some Reddit users, they have been paid between $100 to $700 a month for getting their cars wrapped. However, some of them have cautioned people to beware of scams. It is essential to remember to do thorough research on the agency you plan on conducting your business with.

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16. Design Custom Products

Earning through custom-designed products can be a lucrative venture, especially with the rise of e-commerce platforms like Shopify Inc. (NYSE:SHOP) and print-on-demand services. You would start by identifying the material you wish to work with and your niche and create your designs. From there, you can choose a platform and hire a print-on-demand service. Once you set up your store, you will need to do effective marketing to solidify your customer base. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)’s Merch on Demand allows people to share their designs for their products. Some Reddit users even claim to make $2k to $3k a month from that platform.

15. Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is one of the best passive income ideas to make money and build wealth in 2024. According to AuthorityHacker, before consumers make a purchase, 74% of internet consumers in the U.S. go to multiple affiliate websites. Moreover, affiliate marketing contributes to 16% of all internet orders in the U.S.

With affiliate marketing, you can promote products or services through various marketing channels, such as websites, blogs, social media, email newsletters, or online advertisements, and earn a commission for each successful referral or conversion from a business or advertiser. 

The Amazon Affiliate program, or Amazon Associate program by Amazon, is an easy way to get into affiliate marketing.

14. Rent Storage Places

Buying and renting out self-storage space can indeed be a viable way to earn money. Other than that, you will need to be careful to set profitable and reasonable rental terms and conditions and screen the potential renters. According to one source, storage units can generate an annual income between $365,000 to $800,000, depending on size and location.

13. Rent Out Parking Space

If you have a parking space that you are not utilizing, you can rent it out, as it is a lucrative way to make extra money. It can become profitable for you if the parking space is near a venue that sees a lot of traffic, e.g., a shopping mall. Moreover, you can rent it out during specific times, like when a concert is being held somewhere nearby. The money generated from these parking lots mostly depends on your location. Make sure to check your local laws before investing in such ventures.

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Moreover, you can also list your private parking space on platforms like Neighbor, which can generate between $50-$300 per month.

12. Real Estate Investing 

Real estate investing by renting out a spare room is one of the best ideas to earn passive income and build wealth. It involves renting out the room to tenants in exchange for regular rental payments. The amount of rental income you can earn depends on various factors such as location, property type, market demand, and rental rates.

Airbnb, Inc. (NASDAQ:ABNB) is one of the best online marketplaces for short and long-term homestays.

11. Create an Ebook

Writing an ebook can be lucrative for you as it falls under a digital product. You can get passive income through sales revenue by selling your ebook to an online ebook publishing platform, including but not limited to Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing, Apple Books, and Google Play Books.

10. Buy a Successful Blog

Buying a successful blog means getting a website that already has lots of people visiting it and making money from it. When you buy it, you get possession of all the work that’s already been done, like writing articles and getting ads on the site. Buying a successful blog is a good passive income idea to make money and build wealth, especially if you know how to grow and improve it. Many Reddit users recommend buying blogs off of Flippa or Empire Flipper. According to them, it is important to remember that the initial investment will be considerable, and they recommend researching blog websites thoroughly.

9. Create an Online Course

Our eighth passive income idea to create wealth is creating an online course. Online courses have become a popular way for people to share their knowledge and expertise with others while also monetizing their skills. You can generate revenue through many strategies, including course sales, offering continuing education credits, etc. You would benefit from looking up e-learning platforms like Udemy, Inc. (NASDAQ:UDMY), as such platforms will provide you with tools for course creation, marketing, and sales.

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8. High-Yield Savings Account

A high-yield savings account is a type of savings account offered by banks or financial institutions, and it typically offers a higher interest rate compared to traditional savings accounts. To take full advantage of high-yield savings accounts, you should leverage compound interest. It can help you grow your savings steadily over time and help you reach your financial goals more quickly.

In 2024, several high-yield savings accounts offer returns of 4% or more in some cases as compared to the 0.46% national average return on traditional savings accounts.

 

Click to continue reading and see the 7 Passive Income Ideas to Make Money & Build Wealth in 2024.

 

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Disclosure. None. 27 Passive Income Ideas to Make Money & Build Wealth in 2024 is originally published on Insider Monkey.

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