Is having a passive online business important?

If you want to work from home and spend time with your family, a passive online business may be the best way for you.

Before anything else, let us define an online business. An online business is a business done through the internet. It has become more popular since the late 90’s given that we are currently in the information age.

The internet has lowered the barrier to entry to create an online business. We don’t need to have a big capital to open an online business nor do we need a big space. If you have a unique product or idea, you can find a way to sell it online.

Here are some examples of online businesses and how they make money:

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Online Business

Examples

How they make money

Blogging

jamesclear.com, fitzvillafuerte.com

Affiliate marketing, Brand ambassador, Display ads, adsense

Podcast

Pat Flynn's podcast

Sponsorship

Online courses or webinars

Jon Oraña or Mike Dillard’s online courses.

Paid online courses

E-book and/or Audio version

Choose Yourself by James Altucher

Paid E-book

Online Retail

Amazon.com, Friends selling in Facebook Shop

Profit from Items Purchased

Freelancing and Consulting

Upwork.com

Paid for Service offered

Passive Online Business

Not all online businesses are created equal. Depending on what you want to do and what you value, you can do different things. For me, I value my time that’s why I want to have a business that can run mostly by itself with less effort from me.

This does not mean you will not work hard. This just means that you have to work hard now and establish the system and processes so that it could run on its own with less effort later. This is called a passive online business. Pat Flynn’s Smart Passive Income website is a good place to start to learn more about it.

Benefits of an online business especially working from home
  • No need for a big capital
  • More time with your family (this important for me)
  • Less time and money on commute, business clothes and on meals (cost effective)
  • No traffic (time saver)
  • Full control of your schedule (you are the boss)
  • Reach more people (not just in your neighborhood but the whole world)
  • Earn even while you are asleep (is this not good enough?)
  • Greater earning potential (as long as you do work of course)
Are there any risks?

In any business, there is always a risk involve. However these risks can be minimized or mitigated. Below are some possible risks and the ways to minimize it.

Risk

Risk Mitigation

If you are in retail, you will encounter fraud.

You can establish fraud controls like checking of IP Addresses, order frequency or verifying the order with customer.

Your business did not work out as planned and you quit your job already.

As Jon Orana would suggest, you need to be a cautious entrepreneur. Don’t leave your day job until your online income would be able to support you. Work on your online business during night or early morning before going to work.

Your current online business income deteriorates.

Diversifying to other income streams like affiliate marketing or getting into online courses would lessen this impact.

Your website gets hacked or infected with malware.

You need to implement security measures and update software regularly.

Your website is down.

Always keep a backup. If the server failed on you, go to another server and install the backup.

The risk of displeasing Google.

You need to use try and tested methods for doing white hat marketing.

As you can see, you can always do something to minimize your risks. However, not starting an online business especially with a passive income would be a big risk for you if you want to spend more time with your family. Keep in mind, time is the most valuable thing in this world. If you waste time, you will not be able to get it back anymore.

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