15 Semi-passive income ideas for beginners. Side hustles with medium time commitment
Semi-passive income can be the best balance between doing some work while having freedom.
Let’s face it. We all have to do something for a living. I personally do not believe that humans are made to work 40 hours a week doing the same thing over and over again. It’s just exhausting; there is no time left to pursue your real interests.
So here is a list that can help you find a semi-passive source of income. They require a minimum amount of time.
These side hustles can bring passive income with only a few work hours. So if you have a full-time job, check these out.
Why semi-passive and not completely passive income?
Passive income that requires no work is too boring. Plus, the more passive a source of income, the more money you have to put upfront.
Semi-passive income is the future of earning money because it allows you to decide what to work on without killing yourself in the process. It can also be a great source of additional income.
Semi-passive work keeps you doing something you’re interested in. As opposed to passive income, where you actually do little to nothing.
Also, doing some amount of work makes you feel useful. Something about producing something for someone allows you to connect and find your purpose in life.
1. Rent one of your cars on Turo
Best for: People with an extra car.
An extra car in the house can be converted into a source of income. You can do this by renting your car on Turo.
Turo is an app that allows you to rent your car. It can be any car. You only have to upload pictures and set a price.
The person renting your vehicle must bring it back in the same condition and with the same fuel amount.
If you are already paying insurance and maintenance on a car sitting on the driveway, you can start making money with this app.
But what if you don’t have an extra car or any significant income yet. You can check out how to make money starting with no money.
2. Buy Rental Properties
Best for: People with some upfront investment money.
Purchasing a rental property can be another source of income that requires little time to manage every month.
The beauty about purchasing a rental property is that you can make money in the form of rent every month, but also in property appreciation.
If you don’t feel like dealing with tenants, this can be outsourced as well. Property management companies usually charge around 8% of the total rent, and they can take care of finding new tenants and fixing stuff that breaks.
Related: How to Make Money With Your Physical Skills.
3. Write an eBook
Best for: People with good writing skills
All those essays you had to write in high school may finally come in handy. Writing your ebook and selling it on Amazon can be a great source of passive income.
Amazon allows you to self-publish your own material, and the best part is that they already have millions of customers browsing on their online platform.
You can write about anything you’re passionate. Bonus points if it’s a big problem that many people have.
Writing a mini-book can take about one to two months. If you like writing, you are already doing something you enjoy. Why not get paid for it?
4. Affiliate Marketing
Best for: People that have an online presence.
Affiliate marketing is one of the most popular ways to make money online. It’s also extremely simple and flexible, so you can work whenever you want.
You can do affiliate marketing with any product or service offered on the internet. You still have to promote it on your social media profiles, where people will purchase it when you have built an online presence.
Affiliate marketing is great when you want to get paid daily, especially if you have a big enough audience. Learning the ropes of affiliate marketing takes a bit of time, but once you’ve mastered them, you’ll have a new income stream.
5. MLM Marketing
Best for: People with good sales skills
We all know that person that is constantly posting on social media about some new program that can help you reach financial freedom by promoting a few new products.
Although not the most popular, MLM marketers can make some big bucks.
The job requires you to promote products in the cosmetic or health industries. Some need you to purchase the product yourself at a discount.
This gig is great for people with leadership and sales skills. You have to reach out to people to engage with your product. Also, the more people that join your team, the more you can get paid.
6. Launch a Podcast
After Joe Rogan sold his podcast for $100 million, a lot of people became aware that this little side gig could be a great source of semi-passive income.
Launching a podcast, however, takes a lot of time. You can launch a podcast on just about anything that interests you, and there will be other people that share the same interest.
Most people that do podcasts have other experts come over and share their knowledge. This can take a bit of time. However, if you are talking about a subject you already know, it can become a semi-passive investment since you should know the subject pretty well.
So if you are a talker, this can be an excellent opportunity for you.
7. Rent your spare bedroom
Best for: People with unused space in their house.
You can rent your space bedroom for semi-passive income.
Airbnb is the most well-known platform to rent your unused space. The average person renting on Airbnb makes about $924 a month.
Imagine what you can do with that extra money.
This great option is semi-passive because you are in charge of the cleanings after people leave, although this can be outsourced as well to turn into a more passive business.
8. Learn eCommerce
People have been making money since the internet started, and you can do it too by learning how to sell stuff online.
You can sell almost anything on platforms like eBay and craigslist. The best part is the money goes straight to your bank account. You do have to pay taxes on whatever you sell, so be mindful of that.
Ecommerce is an excellent source of semi-passive income because it takes little time to take pictures of your items and then list them online.
There are many forms of ecommerce; some of the most popular are:
- Dropshipping.
- Selling on eBay or Craigslist.
- FBA ( fulfilled by amazon).
- Etsy. A place to sell handmade stuff.
Not only is ecommerce an excellent option for people looking to earn semi-passive income, but it can be done from anywhere in the world.
9. Angel Investing
Best for: People who have significant disposable income.
The best part about investing in other people’s companies, is that you don’t have to do the day-to-day grind. If I were to invest $1,000 into a company, and it earns me $10,000 later on, then that’s like making $9,000. That’s a huge return!
You can also invest in other people’s ideas as well! The only thing that stops this from being a passive income stream is the time it takes to find suitable investments and get them off the ground (it can take months).
If you are looking for something easy where you don’t have to do much work, then angel investing could be perfect for you.
There are many websites out there that allow investors to search through companies with specific criteria they want their investment to meet. You do need some capital, though, if you want your investment to become semi-passive income.
If you want to find out more about how angel investing works. Nerdwallet has a great article on it.
10. Upload your own course online
Best for: People with a lot of knowledge to share.
If you’re a subject matter expert, many sites allow you to create your own online course and sell it, earning you semi-passive income in the process.
The best part about selling online is people can buy your course anytime, without you ever having to sell to people face to face. Once they purchase your course, then they will be able to access all of your content whenever they wish as well.
This can be great if you have something complicated or expensive to learn (like coding). It does require some upfront time as you have to create the course, but it is worth the passive income earning in the future.
You can also use this option if you have valuable experience in an industry, so others would benefit from taking your course.
Some of the best places to upload your courses are:
11. Sell handmade items (semi-passive)
Best for: People that can make stuff, either physical or digital.
Etsy is a great place to sell handmade stuff, and it’s also a great place to find vintage items. Many other people are selling on Etsy, so you can always find something unique and interesting that nobody else has listed yet.
Something interesting I saw on Etsy was this Excel spreadsheet you can use to keep track of expenses.
If you can create a downloadable digital product, you are looking at some nice extra income without investing too much time. That’s what semi-passive income is all about.
It doesn’t have to be anything complicated, either. There are people selling jewelry and other handmade items. All you need is an internet connection and to have an idea of the product you can make.
12. Real Estate agent
Best for: People with some sales skills
Becoming a real estate agent can introduce you to the world of semi-passive income. This is because it requires you to study and pass an initial exam that will qualify you as a real estate agent.
A realtor can work from home while making sales calls and show houses whenever their schedule permits. Many realtors have other gigs to supplement their income.
It is a great way to get paid on commissions
Related: Get Paid To Text and Chat. Realtors can make up to 6% of the selling price, although you still have to factor in broker fees.
Related: 10 Best Jobs For Extroverts That Don’t Require A College Degree
13. Vending Machine
Owning a vending machine can be a source of somewhat active income since you have to visit the machines weekly to replenish items.
Although the vending machine has a one-time upfront investment, other costs are associated with it, like maintenance and sometimes rent, depending on the location.
Vending machines are located in high-traffic areas, where people can make a quick purchases. Some high-tech machines sell electronics such as pads, earphones and other electronics.
14. SEO specialist
An SEO specialist helps local businesses get more views online.
Local business owners do not have time to improve their websites (if they even have one). Worse yet, they have no idea how to enhance their visibility on Google. This is where the SEO professional comes in.
Search Engine Optimization specialists know how to fix websites and get businesses more leads.
You can learn this by taking courses online or doing an apprenticeship at a marketing agency.
Related: Best Money-Making Jobs For Students
15. Purchase stock that pays you dividends
There are two ways to earn money when you purchase stock—first, the stock’s appreciation over time. For example, if you are buying a stock at $100 and then, later on, sell it at $200 because the company did well, you just made $100 with almost no work involved, and that’s pretty semi-passive.
Second, you make passive income when your stock pays quarterly dividends. Most well-established companies will pay a portion of their earnings for each stock you hold in their company.
This is another source of entirely passive income since you have nothing to do other than wait.
Related: Guide To Modern Money Management.
Bottom line
Semi-passive income allows you to work in jobs that do not take up all your time. In exchange, you can make some generous amounts of money.
Working full-time can be draining, especially after doing it for many years. These ideas to generate passive income can be your wake-up call to do something new.
Some of them require some money, others require time involvement, and others a combination of both. The best time to start was yesterday; the next best day is today.
