For those of us who are working towards creating passive income, we are no strangers to the phrase “trading time for dollars”. Work where we trade time for dollars is transactional. This includes salaried employees, or those who are self employed performing a service.
When I was a freelance writer full time, I traded time for dollars because I would get paid once I turned in an assignment. To get paid again, I needed more work. I am trading time for dollars now as a salaried employee at a digital marketing agency.
Her’s the thing. I loved being a writer. I love my current job. That will never change. In fact, I think everyone should start their business with a service business. Trading time for dollars is a great place to start. Here’s why:
Build Income Quickly
Creating residual income streams can take some time. Before these income streams kick in, you will need money. If you don’t want to work for someone else, becoming a freelancer, such as a freelance writer or graphic designer, is a great place to start. Although it might take a bit of time to get your first gig, with a little patience and some diligent work, you will eventually get hired. Do a great job and it could lead to more work. The truth is, even if it takes a little while to build up your freelance business, it takes a lot longer to create passive income.
It can take several months to a year to build up your passive revenue. Although it felt like a long time, I got my first writing job after a month. That felt like a lot of work at the time because I wrote almost 100 bids at the freelance marketplace site I was using at the time. However, this really isn’t a lot of time. It got easier and easier to get work after that.
Start Your Journey Offering a Service
I am building passive income simply because I want to be financially independent. However, I think that service-based work is incredibly valuable. It is possible to build a business based on freelance work. In fact, I did this for years. This type of work gives you the chance to build your skills, while also helping you earn some much needed cash.
In fact, I consider doing this kind of work a crucial starting point that will eventually lead to financial independence. Why? Because most of your passive income streams require revenue to set up. You might need to outsource content for a project. If you don’t have the talent for web design, you’ll need to hire someone. And those are just a few examples. It takes money to make money, plus you need money to live!
Right now, I don’t need to take on anything else outside of my day job. However, if I were fully self employed, I would become a full time freelance writer again while I build up my passive revenue. Or, I would do something completely different, like start my voice acting career. This is a story for another day, but I always wanted to do this (this is a story for another day!)
