Everyone wants to build passive income. But are you willing to invest in being consistent, doing research, fine-tuning your services, and developing your skills so you can reap the rewards of your expertise? Are you willing to lay the groundwork today so you can build your tomorrow?
If you’re serious about building passive income, you need to understand that it isn’t going to be a quick fix. Of course, passive income means that there will be minimal ongoing effort. However, this means that you’ll need to be more deliberate and intentional about ensuring that the product you create from the beginning, and the research you put in, as well as your marketing efforts, are robust and will ensure solid returns.
3 Passive Income Ideas For 2025
Below are compiled three passive income ideas for professionals like you from different industry backgrounds. As you read about each one, ask yourself which resonates with you and your career goals the most, and write down one step you will take today to begin establishing that idea as a passive income stream.
1. Selling Designs
Let’s imagine you have a background in design or perhaps you randomly find yourself crafting online creations as a way to unwind and relax. You can turn your design skills into passive income by creating digital templates, icons, and digital art and design elements, and selling them on various creative marketplaces.
For example, Canva, the platform that is synonymous with marketing and design, has a section of its website that allows independent creators to sell their media online and start earning every time someone uses one of their media as part of a design. However, it’s worth noting that at this time, Canva has paused signups for this program due to its overwhelming popularity, so it would be wise to keep an eye on the page for when/if it does reopen and they begin accepting independent create contributions again.
Besides Canva, there are other excellent places to sell detail templates and your creations, including websites such as Teachers Pay Teachers and Creative Fabrica. All you need to do is create and set up your account on these sites and start designing. Of course, you can do other things such as blogging and con creation to promote your work and get your designs out there. You can also sell templates on Notion.
2. Monetize Consulting
If you work in consulting, for example as a leadership or management consultant, financial consultant/advisor, or tech consultant, one of the best ways to monetize this into passive income is by developing online courses related to your expertise. Because you work one-to-one with clients, you understand their pain points and the common questions they ask. Use this information to help you develop e-books, online courses, and training they can purchase for their teams.
If you work with business clients, having an element of your expertise readily available online for purchase enables you to diversify your income stream so you’re not dependent on working one-to-one all the time and trading time for money. It’s also a more affordable option for them.
3. Leverage Tech And Software Development
Finally, let’s say you work in tech as a senior software developer or engineer. Some fantastic ideas for earning passive income in this sector include:
- Creating open-source projects and getting paid through platforms such as GitHub Sponsors
- Developing an app that solves a pain point and getting paid every time someone downloads or create an account on it
- Building a course or multiple courses and tutorials that teach core concepts and terminology from your role, for beginners
Whether you work in a creative or design-focused role or work within consulting or tech, you have limitless opportunities to turn your expertise and industry knowledge into a secondary source of income. This protects and futureproofs you against potential layoffs or emergencies that threaten to disrupt your paycheck. The passive income ideas explored in this article enable you to essentially work a second job without needing to put in as many hours.