Sorry for the brief step away from blog writing – I have been creating like crazy! I promise I will improve my consistency.

Here are my latest activities for my September “30 in 30″, where I have committed to launching a new revenue stream every day for 30 days. I am finding the experience enjoyable and challenging. And, I hope it will give you a bird’s eye view into ways you can increase your revenue streams also.

You’ll notice, as you follow the “30 in 30″ project, that I am using several different ways to make money online with blogs, websites, and products. They all center around the concepts of passive, leveraged and residual income strategies. Here’s a brief explanation of each of those revenue sources:

Passive Income

Like it sounds, passive income is income you do not personally have to be involved with to make, or at least involved very little. You take a passive rather than active role. Example of this would be property rents, intellectual royalties, stock dividends, network marketing revenues, and ads on your websites. In my case, I own a rental home and have Adsense ads on some websites. That’s passive income.

Leveraged Income

Leverage income activities magnify your actions, usually through the involvement of others, so that a small investment in time equals a larger result. Creating products or writing a book is a good example of this. You only create a product once and then you can sell it over and over again, without having to invest any more time into creating that product again. Contrast this, for example, with a restaurant. You always have to remake the item to sell it. No leverage. Taking out a mortgage or buying stocks on margin is another example, where you secure a large asset with a relatively small investment. In my case, I delegated off the creation of my latest blog, RetirementForMen.com to Garry Conn. I was off doing other things while he was programming my site, essentially allowing me to be in two places at once, to leverage myself. Who doesn’t like that?

Residual Income

Residual income most commonly occurs with insurance agents. Once insurance agents sell you a policy, they get an initial commission, but then ongoing, even if they never speak with you again, they get a small fee paid to them, a residual fee.  It can also occur when you sell the rights to a product you own for an ongoing fee. It also occurs when an actor does a commercial or TV show and every time it plays, they get paid. Another example is oil, gas, and mineral rights on your property. Usually, this type of  income revolves around a small, ongoing payment in exchange for a right or access to an asset.

Often these three types of income seem very similar, and there are crossovers and various combinations. The idea behind them all, though, and what I really want you to catch and begin to incorporate into your business, is that there are many ways to make money without you having to put 1 to 1 time into it. The more often you can get 10 to 1 or 1000 to 1 returns (or more!) on your time vs. your profit, you are ahead. This type of income often survives your demise, as well, whereas your personal work hours do not. Look at all the books and movies that are still providing revenue for the family of the original creator decades past their death. That alone should be reason enough for you to start doing it – the legacy you will leave behind.

More on Tuesday!

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman