Income is important, but passive income is incredible. While it can be tricky to develop revenue streams that pay you passively (even just to a degree) in every industry, it is possible, and if don’t correctly, can free you up to work on what you love.
There are very few quotes that I think about weekly. In fact, I’d say there are only really two. The first is a song lyric by Frank Turner in which he says “no one gets remembered for the things they didn’t do.” It’s not an infallible philosophy, but it’s one I use as a motivator to push myself and take risks. The second, which is far more pertinent, is Warren Buffet’s famed words, “If you don’t find a way to make money while you sleep, you will work until you die.” It is alarmingly accurate and particularly as somebody self-employed, it is crucial.
When I first started working for myself, I only put a toe into passive income waters, and as a result, I received little back. I was lucky in places with image sales for commercial purposes that lead to royalty cheques, but in terms of seeking out passive income, I didn’t go much further than selling stock photographs on Getty. Since then, I have developed other streams, like affiliates (albeit never pushed here on Fstoppers) and investments that have improved the health of my income streams.
If you haven’t started looking into passive income, you really must. Photography and videography is a tough profession to make a strong wage in, and while it’s most certainly possible, I would recommend that you do not restrict your income to paid jobs where you are swapping time for money. They may be the lifeblood of your business, but as the last 18 months have shown us, anything can happen and prohibit you from earning directly through photoshoots.
Credit: FStoppers