Semi-passive income has never been easier with the amount of business that takes place online these days. This is great news if you are good with technology and computers. But you don’t have to join the masses to make passive income.
Here, we’ll look at some of today’s common semi-passive income gigs and compare them to an underrated semi-passive income business we think you should explore this year. With the cost of living constantly increasing, isn’t it time you made some extra money on the side?
What is Semi-Passive Income?
Active income is the most traditional income people make. It involves trading time for money. For example, you perform your full-time job 40 hours a week in exchange for a paycheck. That paycheck typically represents the amount of time you put into your job. If you work more hours, you make more money.
Passive income, on the other hand, is money that is automatically generated by assets you own, a product you’ve created, or a system you’ve developed. This means that you don’t have to constantly be working to make money because the asset, product, or system works for you and makes money for you.
Semi-passive income, then, is a combination of both. To oversimplify, you could be making full-time income while only working part-time hours. Wouldn’t that be nice!
Ways to Make Semi-Passive Income
Most semi-passive income gigs require some sort of specialized knowledge or skill. For example, you can invest in stocks that pay regular dividends allowing you to earn a share of another company’s profits. But which ones? And what happens if you choose wrong?
Then there is real estate crowdfunding where you invest in real estate projects and earn rental income or a share of the property’s profits. Like stock investment, it requires you to do a lot of research, diversify your portfolio, and have a clear understanding of your risk tolerance. If you want to make money now, this isn’t the way to go.
You could create something and sell that. But do you have the skills and expertise to write a book or create an online course? Do you have the time it takes to develop these? How do you market these? Who would your audience be? It only makes money if someone buys it. How can you be confident that they will? How will you keep up with competitors?
You could develop a useful mobile app and earn money through ads, in-app purchases, or subscriptions. But are you an app developer? Do you know one?
Are you an artist, creator, or entertainer? If so, you could monetize a blog or YouTube channel through ads, sponsorships, and affiliate marketing. But you have to spend time creating enough quality content to get viewers. You can sell photos to stock photography websites or license your work for use in advertisements, merchandise, or publications.
So what do you do if you don’t have any of these skills or knowledge or even the time? That’s where an ATM business comes in.
Skills You Need (or Don’t) for an ATM Business
Anyone can start an ATM business. All you need is a machine and a place to put it! A processing company will connect you with the credit card networks, and any handyman can install the machine with a drill and some bolts. Provide an internet connection, load the machine with cash, and you’re in business!
Of course, there’s a little more to it than that, but not much more. Basically, we just want to emphasize that you don’t need any specific background, knowledge, certification, or skills to operate an ATM machine.
You might need some people skills. You will need to approach business owners to strike a deal where you operate your ATM machine from their location. And you might need some negotiation skills for this, too, but ATM machines place themselves because of the many benefits they offer store owners and their customers.
If you can load napkins into a spring-loaded napkin holder, you can load cash into an ATM machine. And if you’ve ever used an ATM machine before, then you already know the basic functions.
Even if you aren’t a people-person or don’t feel comfortable with mechanics, it’s very easy to find someone who is. So there’s no shortage of resources for you if you get stuck. You can even turn it into a family business where each member’s strengths are strategically applied. Then, sit back and watch the money come in!
How an ATM Business Makes Semi-Passive Income
An ATM business makes money from the surcharge fee imposed on transactions made on the machine. This means that you install the machine, get it working, and then when it’s in use it’s making money—with or without you.
Now, we’ll call this semi-passive income because you will need to monitor the activity and load the cash. You can’t just walk away and forget about it. But you can monitor your machine remotely from an app on your phone while you’re at your day job, traveling, shopping, playing golf, watching football…. And it only takes a few hours a week to travel from the bank to the ATM to reload it.
When you get started with one machine, you might decide that you want to make more income. All you have to do is place more machines! More machines will require more time, but you could be making full-time income from part-time hours—all while being your own boss!
Underrated Semi-Passive Income You Should Start in 2024
We consider an ATM business to be an “underrated” semi-passive income idea because many people don’t know it’s an option. Most people think that all ATM machines are owned by banks or other financial institutions rather than by individual deployers. And then there is the rumor that cash is a dying currency (it’s not). An ATM business is still a profitable business in 2024, and it will likely be for the rest of our lifetime.
You don’t have to create anything, you don’t have to sell anything, and you can make money while you sleep. You don’t need any specialized skills or knowledge, either. And there are courses like ATMDepot Academy to guide you every step of the way. You don’t even have to finish the course to be able to start! It’s more like a personal manual with tips and tricks to help make your job even easier. The benefits of starting an ATM business far outweigh those of other semi-passive income streams, making it the most underrated semi-passive income option in 2024. Request your free ATM startup kit and get started today!