Personal Finance

From College Dropout to $18K a Month: How She Built Passive Income Success—And Her Top Tips for You

Kristin Hitchcock

Published: November 27, 2024 2:48 pm

24/7 Wall St. Key Takeaways:

• Building passive income isn’t usually an overnight success. It takes quite a bit of time to build your content and products.
• The key to achieving passive income is to select products that don’t require tons of ongoing work. 
• Also: Take this quiz to see if you’re on track to retire ^(Sponsored)

Building a life of financial freedom is often seen as a dream. For Amy Landino, it’s a reality she crafted from the ground up, earning $18,000 a month in passive income while working just four hours a day.

Landino had no college degree and over $50,000 in student debt. However, she was able to turn her love of creating videos into a thriving business. Her advice is great for anyone trying to achieve sustainable passive income. 

1. Focus on One Revenue Stream at a Time

Amy learned early on that diversifying income streams too soon can dilute your efforts. Instead, she doubled-down on social media marketing and slowly transitioned into passive income with her online courses. 

Her systematic approach allowed her to build expertise and build a foundation for her future ventures. 

2. Listen to Your Audience

Amy’s best-selling book, Vlog Like a Boss, and her digital planner stemmed from audience demand. She used their feedback as a guide to create products that resonated deeply.

Your audience knows what they want, and you should pay attention to their needs. If your products naturally align with their market demand, you’ll find more success.

3. Build Automated Revenue Systems

Amy’s success hinges on creating content that drives long-term sales. For example, a single YouTube video continues to generate ad revenue and promotes her digital planner. Each piece of content doesn’t produce income once. It continues producing income long after the work is done. 

4. Commit to Lifelong Learning

Despite dropping out of college, Amy invested in her education through mentorship and self-teaching. She tackled new skills like video editing and product development, which helped grow her business. 

Continuous learning and mentorship can accelerate progress, so seek out advice and develop the skills you need to thrive. 

How You Can Start Your Passive Income Journey

Amy’s path teaches us a lot about the importance of leveraging your unique strengths and skills when building a business. While her focus was content creation, your starting point might be different. Here are actionable steps:

• Start small: Whether it’s launching an eBook, a course, or a simple blog, start with what you’re good at and expand over time.
• Build community: Interact with your audience so that you can learn about their wants and needs. Social media and email newsletters are a great option for this. 
• Focus on scalability: Choose products and services that don’t require tons of ongoing work, like digital downloads and automated courses.