As a coach, you probably love what you do. And sometimes you might love your business and clients so much that it”s a challenge to step back, even if you’re feeling burnt out or ill.

But there may be times when you literally can’t work. So before you find yourself in that situation, it’s worth asking yourself a couple of important questions:

1. Do you have a process or business continuity plan in place in case you’re unwell and need to take time off from your coaching business?
2. What role could passive income streams play in your business?

I just had a reminder of exactly why I have a plan in place—and why you should too: over Christmas, I contracted COVID, and I wasn’t able to work. My priority had to be self-care. I needed to slow down, relax and take a complete break so I could recover quickly.

My passive income allowed me to do that.

What is Passive Income, and Why do you Need it?

Passive income is income that you don’t have to actively work to bring in.

According to Wikipedia, Passive income is: “income that requires minimal labor to earn and maintain… Examples of passive income include rental income and any business activities in which the earner does not materially participate.”

With the best will in the world, life happens. We get sick, we have life challenges or we just want to take a week off. And believe me, there’s nothing better than notifications that “you’ve received a payment” when you’re out and about doing something non-business related.

If you don’t have passive income in your business, I encourage you to change that as soon as possible.

3 Ways to Create a Passive Income Stream

Passive income can be quick and easy to create. It doesn’t need to be complicated. Remember KISS—Keep It Simple, Sweetie.

Let’s explore three simple ways to bring in income when you don’t have the energy or inclination! (Although there are many, many more.)

1. Create a mini-book or mini-worksheets

You may not have written a book (yet!). But you can still turn some content into a mini-book:

1. Think of one thing (concept, knowledge, idea) in your business that you share with your clients over and over again.
2. Use it to create a product that you can sell at a low price point.

For example, I sell an ebook, Ruby’s Coaching Gems. It helps coaches in different areas of their business. The book is currently offered at £3.75 for new subscribers and £10.00 thereafter. I wrote the book once, and now it sells over and over.

I also sell a couple of worksheets priced at £2.00 or less. One is about setting boundaries in your business, and the other is 30 days of content for Facebook posts. And I’ve got lots more in the pipeline that I’ll write this coming year.

2. Turn your online or group coaching programs into self-study programs

If you’ve already created an online coaching program, you can repurpose it into a self-study program. You’ve already done the work—now it’s time to get rewarded for it!

I’ve got four main programs that I once ran live and are now self-study. These packages sell over and over and over again. The content is still relevant and helps business owners with everything from getting clients to increasing visibility and group coaching.

The beauty of longer-term programs is that potential dreamie clients get a really good sense of what you’d be like to work with. Your self-study program can become a funnel for your one-on-one clients…

So if you haven’t created an online program yet, make time to do it.

And people can even access your content while you’re curled up on the sofa in your PJs, taking care of your self and watching Netflix!

3. Create an “evergreen” webinar or masterclass

If you like delivering training, why not host a webinar or pre-record one on Zoom, and then turn that content into what’s known as an “evergreen” webinar—a webinar that’s always for sale.

In the past, I’ve created webinars and masterclasses on niching, pricing, mindset, sales, marketing, visibility, leadership and more. All of these topics are evergreen. People can watch, listen and learn in their own time, without me there directly holding their hand.

Also consider Creating a Sales Funnel

For the best passive income results, you’ll need to create a sales funnel. This is an automated process that guides your client on the journey to buying your top products.

For example, your client might:

1. First sign up for a freebie of some kind (a meditation audio, a worksheet, etc.)
2. Then get a few emails introducing the freebie (and you!)
3. Get an email offering your passive income product.
4. Buy your passive income product.
5. Then get a few more emails inviting them to take the next step of working with you one-on-one.

Yes, the automation behind passive income takes time and effort to set up. But once it’s done, you can bring lots of lovely money (and new clients) into your business, with little direct work from you.

Take Action!

1. Write a list of things you have created in your business that could be sold on their own, such as a masterclass from one of your training programs, an ebook, or 10 top tips on something.
2. Think about how you could turn this into a passive income stream for your business. Then set it up.
3. Share in the comments below what action you are going to take. And leave a link to your website for a bit of accountability in case someone wants what you’re going to offer!

Recap

Here’s a quick recap of three top ways to generate passive income in your business:

1. Create a mini-book or mini-worksheets.
2. Turn online programs into self-study programs.
3. Create an evergreen webinar or masterclass.

And remember to create a sales funnel, so that people can (automatically) learn about your other offerings!

Here’s to earning more money while in your PJs!

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Contributing Author:

Ruby McGuire is a Business & Mindset Queen. She’s an Accredited Master Coach & Master Mentor with the IAPC&M, Trainer, Inspirational Speaker and Author of multiple books. She loves helping her clients step up and become leaders (aka Queens) of their businesses. She helps her clients develop their leadership and business skills, create a success mindset and attract dreamy clients. She is a Brit on a mission to live a simpler life without marketing on social media so that she can spend more time in her beautiful Scottish surroundings. You can find her at her pretty online home, over on her podcast show, Rock Your Fabulous Biz, and here where she shares her Mini Guide to Marketing Without Social Media. When she’s not working you’ll find her surrounded by books, making hand-made cards, and enjoying life with her hubby, little dog and chickens (usually with a Whittard Vanilla cappuccino in her hand)!

Learn more about Ruby & see all their articles here >>