How to Build $1,000‑a‑Day Passive Income with 5 Simple Streams

This article details how the author built five streams of passive income in her 20s, generating over $1,000 a day. She emphasizes that true passive income is earned "while you sleep" and provides actionable tips for readers to build similar income streams.

1. Online Merch Business (Print-on-Demand)

The author's first income stream began in her teenage years, selling video games online. She started by buying second-hand US video games and reselling them in New Zealand for double the price due to the country's isolated market and higher pricing from companies like Nintendo. While profitable, this initial venture required manual packaging and shipping, which was not passive.

To make her e-commerce business more passive, she transitioned to print-on-demand (POD).

How Print-on-Demand Works (using Printify as an example):

1. Choose a blank product: Select items like t-shirts, hoodies, mugs, or backpacks from a catalog.
2. Upload a design: Add a trendy slogan or artwork to the chosen product.
3. List for sale: The POD app (e.g., Printify) stores a digital copy and allows you to list the item in your online store.
4. Automated fulfillment: When a customer buys an item, the app automatically processes the sale. The factory prints the design, packages the product, and ships it directly to the customer, providing tracking information without any manual intervention from the seller.

The author notes that Printify charges about $12 per item, but with a selling price of $29.95 for unisex tees, it remains profitable.

Beginner-Friendly Print-on-Demand with Spreadshirt:

For those who find setting up their own store daunting, the author recommends Spreadshirt.

• Free to use: It's free to register and sell, with no upfront fees.
• Integrated marketplace and factory: Spreadshirt acts as both a POD factory and a digital marketplace.
• Simple process: Upload a design (slogan or image), choose a product and color, and Spreadshirt reviews it, creates a digital copy, and lists it for sale.
• Commission-based: Spreadshirt handles production and shipping, deducting their costs from the customer's payment and paying the seller a commission.
• No design skills needed: Simple, clever text-based designs can be highly successful. An example given is a simple text design that became a top seller on Spreadshirt because people found it funny.
• Proof of concept: Spreadshirt generated over $130 million last year, demonstrating the viability of this model.

The author offers a free e-book, "The 6 Steps that 6 Figure Online Stores Follow to Make Over $10,000 a month," for those interested in learning more about this income stream.

2. Free Cash Rewards from Credit Cards

This income stream leverages business expenses to earn rewards.

• The Strategy: The author uses business credit cards, like the Amex Platinum, to pay for recurring expenses (e.g., Printify charges).
• How it works: For every dollar spent, she earns reward points (e.g., two Amex reward points per dollar). Amex also offers bonus point deals.
• Example: In five days, she earned over 47,000 points from automatic business expenses.
• Redeeming points:
  • Gift cards: 8,000 points can be exchanged for a $50 gift card. 47,000 points could yield $250 in iTunes gift cards.
  • Travel rewards: Points can be transferred to airline partners (e.g., Emirates) for discounted flights, including business and first-class travel. The author has used points to fly first class on Emirates A380, which includes a shower.
  • Cash credit: Points can be converted into cash credit on the card, providing direct financial benefit.
• Applicability for non-business owners: Even without a business, individuals can use reward credit cards for everyday expenses like groceries. The author highlights a US credit card with no annual fee that offers cashback on groceries. She encourages searching for similar cards available in different countries (Canada, UK, Australia).

3. Shopify Affiliate Commissions

This income stream was built by leveraging the author's first business (e-commerce) to create a new one (her YouTube channel).

• The Idea: Recognizing a lack of e-commerce tutorials on YouTube five years ago, she decided to share her knowledge.
• Monetization: She creates tutorial videos, such as for Shopify, and includes affiliate links in the video descriptions.
• How it works: When viewers click her affiliate link and subscribe to Shopify, she earns a commission.
• Passive nature: Her last Shopify tutorial video was uploaded over a year ago, but YouTube's algorithm continues to send traffic to it, generating passive commissions. Her last paycheck from Shopify was over $3,000 for a 15-day period, averaging $200 USD per day.
• Example of extreme passivity: The author cites another YouTuber, Tobia, who uploaded only two videos over two years ago, yet still receives tens of thousands to over 100,000 views per month. This is because his Shopify tutorial remains relevant and "evergreen." Tobia is estimated to be making well over $10,000 a month passively.
• Tools for creating tutorials:
  • Screen recording: Camtasia (paid) or OBS Studio (free).
  • Video editing: DaVinci Resolve (free).
  • Audio: Cellphone microphone for voiceovers.

4. Placeit Affiliate Commissions

Building on the success of Shopify affiliate commissions, the author decided to scale by promoting other apps she uses in her e-commerce business.

• The Strategy: She created a tutorial for Placeit, an app she uses, and included her affiliate link.
• What Placeit does: It's a database of blank product photos (mockups) that allows users to upload their designs onto them, eliminating the need for expensive photoshoots. For example, users can upload a t-shirt design onto a blank t-shirt photo to create a professional-looking product image for their store.
• Results: By including her affiliate link in the tutorial, she earned over 5,900 New Zealand dollars (over $3,800 USD) in the past 30 days from Placeit commissions.

5. YouTube AdSense

The fifth income stream is generated from advertisements displayed on her YouTube videos.

• How it works: YouTube places ads on videos, and creators earn a share of the ad revenue.
• Passive nature: While new videos contribute to ad revenue, a significant portion comes from older, "evergreen" content. For example, a video released seven months ago about tips for new t-shirt store owners continues to generate income because the industry is growing, ensuring its continued relevance and viewership.
• Earnings: In the past 28 days, she made over $17,000 USD from YouTube AdSense.
• Key takeaway: To ensure future income, build or invest in "evergreen" content or businesses that remain relevant over time.