9 Passive Income Ideas - How I Make $27k per Week

Finance-focused summary (passive-income concepts; mostly non-market strategies)

Disclaimers / framing

• The presenter repeatedly emphasizes this is not financial advice (e.g., “purely for entertainment purposes only” / “non-financial advisor”).
• Warns there is no true “get rich quick” and no guaranteed schemes, with particular skepticism toward scammy crypto-style offers and gambling-like pitches.
• Uses an “air quotes” definition of passive income: income that is not directly tied to ongoing time, while acknowledging some ongoing work is usually required.

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Tickers / assets / instruments mentioned

• S&P 500 (index)
• Example large-cap stocks mentioned as constituents of S&P 500 holdings:
  • Apple (AAPL)
  • Facebook (Meta)
  • Google
  • Microsoft

No other specific securities, ETFs, bonds, commodities, or crypto tickers are provided.

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Key numbers & performance/revenue metrics mentioned

Idea #1: Stocks / index funds

• Broker examples: Weeble (US), FreeTrade (UK), Vanguard (UK/elsewhere, mentioned as a broker option).
• Assumed long-run return for the S&P 500: ~10% per year (not inflation-adjusted).
• Example performance:
  • From an April 2020 perspective: S&P 500 up ~50% over the last 12 months (2020–2021).
• Back-of-envelope targets for $100/month:
  • At ~10%/yr, $100/month requires about $12,000 invested in the S&P 500 (since ~$1,200/yr ≈ $100/month).
  • Compounding examples:
    • $7,500 invested for 5 years → “roughly” $100/month
    • $5,000 invested for 10 years → “roughly” $100/month
• Stock portfolio example (personal):
  • Portfolio value: ~$350,000, majority in an S&P 500 index fund
  • Implied “roughly” passive income: ~$682/week
• Difficulty ratings (side-hustle matrix):
  • Start difficulty: 1/5
  • “Make $100/month” difficulty: 3/5
  • Maintenance: 1/5

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Idea #2: YouTube

• Monetization threshold:
  • 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours watch time
• Growth timeline example:
  • ~6 months and 52 videos to reach first 1,000 subscribers
• Revenue assumption:
  • ~$2 per 1,000 views
• To make $100/month:
  • Need ~50,000 views/month
  • If posting 1 video/week → need ~12,500 views/video
• Difficulty/effort ratings:
  • Start difficulty: 1/5
  • Make $100/month: 4/5
  • Maintenance: 2/5
• Personal/claimed channel metrics:
  • ~$12,000/month from YouTube ads (described as “passive-ish”)
  • Ongoing uploads continue, but older videos drive much of the revenue

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Idea #3: Podcast

• Hosting platforms:
  • Anchor.fm (easy starting point)
  • Riverside.fm (presenter invested as an angel; remote recording)
• Sponsorship pricing assumptions:
  • ~$18 per 30-second ad
  • ~$25 per 1,000 listens for a 60-second ad
• To make $100/month:
  • Assumes weekly podcast
  • Needs ~1,000 downloads/listens per episode
  • 4 episodes/month → 4,000 downloads/month
• Difficulty ratings:
  • Start: 1/5
  • Make $100/month: 3/5
  • Maintenance: 2/5
• Personal example:
  • ~$625/week from podcast (brand deals + membership)

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Idea #4: Affiliate marketing

• Example affiliate program:
  • Amazon Associates
• Commission/conversion assumptions:
  • Commission example: ~5% (note: Amazon is claimed to be typically ~2–3%)
  • Conversion rate example: ~1%
• To make $100/month:
  • Needs ~8,000 visits/month (based on the above commission + conversion assumptions)
• Skillshare affiliate details:
  • $7 commission for referring a user who signs up for a free trial
  • To make $100/month: ~15 signups/month
• Difficulty ratings:
  • Start: 2/5
  • Make $100/month: 3.5/5
  • Maintenance: described as easier once evergreen content/audience exists (no numeric maintenance score provided)
• Personal revenue examples:
  • ~$11,000/month from Skillshare (~$2,750/week)
  • Amazon affiliate: ~$450/month from Amazon UK plus “a little more” from US/Canada

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Ideas #5–#6: Digital products & online content assets

Idea #5: Digital products

• Examples:
  • “Traff” (iOS icon set): sold for ~$30; reportedly made ~$300,000 in a few weeks
  • “Olio” (website/Tumblr themes):
    • Reported ~$700,000 since 2014
• Difficulty ratings:
  • Start: 2/5
  • Make $100/month: 3/5
  • Maintenance: 2/5

Idea #6: Online courses

• Platform sponsorship:
  • Skillshare
• Skillshare monetization estimate:
  • To make $100/month on Skillshare:
    • ~1,700 minutes of watch time (~28 hours)
    • Example: a 1-hour class → needs ~28 students/month (with premium membership assumptions)
• Alternative model:
  • Charge $100/course
  • Needs 1 sale/month to reach $100/month
• Personal/claimed platform earnings:
  • Skillshare “passive” earnings: ~$60,000–$65,000/month (implied ~$15,000/week)
• Difficulty ratings:
  • Start: 2/5
  • Make $100/month: framed as 2/5 (discusses two approaches)
  • Maintenance: 2/5

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Idea #7: Membership / community model

• Example platforms/creators:
  • Patreon
  • Example “Hannah Witton”:
    • ~600,000 YouTube subscribers
    • ~626 patrons
    • Reported ~£2,000–£5,000/month (≈ $3,000–$7,000/month)
• Paid membership economics:
  • Example “Nest Labs” membership:
    • $5/month
    • Started summer 2019
    • Mentioned crossing ~$100,000/year ARR by “last month” (timeline suggests ~<2 years)
• Difficulty ratings:
  • Start: 1/5
  • Make $100/month: 4/5
  • Maintenance: described as not purely passive (easier once working); no single numeric score provided for maintenance
• Presenter’s membership example:
  • Part-time YouTuber “inner circle”:
    • ~$2,800/week
    • Described as not very passive; 3–4 events/week plus frequent Zoom co-working

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Idea #8: Automated business / service model

• Example described:
  • “One million dollar Shopify store” (vegan leather desk accessories/bags etc.)
    • Team of 3 other people
    • Still ~10 hours/week maintenance
• Ads marketing agency example:
  • Clients pay “a few hundred dollars/month”
  • Uses automation tool Zapier
• Difficulty ratings:
  • Start: 4/5
  • Make $100/month: 4/5
  • Maintenance: 3/5

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Idea #9: App/software subscription (SaaS)

• SaaS framing; reference to indiehackers.com
• Personal software example:
  • “bmat ninja” / “uk cat ninja”:
    • Built in summer 2015
    • Year one revenue: ~$10,000
    • Year five revenue: ~$25,000
• Difficulty ratings:
  • Start: 5/5
  • Make $100/month: 4/5
  • Maintenance: 3/5

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Shared “frameworks” / step-by-step thinking (explicit or implied)

Index-fund approach (Idea #1)

• Choose index exposure (e.g., S&P 500).
• Invest via a country-specific broker platform (examples given).
• Use long-run average return assumptions (~10%/yr) to estimate required capital:
  • Rough target: ~$12,000 to generate ~$100/month.
• Emphasizes money shouldn’t be needed for ~5–10 years (risk/timing caution).

YouTube monetization path (Idea #2)

• Reach eligibility:
  • 1,000 subscribers
  • 4,000 hours watch time
• Then estimate revenue:
  • assume ~$2 per 1,000 views
  • calculate required monthly views to hit $100/month

Podcast monetization math (Idea #3)

• Use sponsorship pricing assumptions (30s/60s ad rates).
• Estimate required listens per episode:
  • ~1,000 listens/episode
  • ~4 episodes/month for the $100/month goal

Affiliate marketing math (Idea #4)

• Use commission % + conversion rate + traffic assumptions to derive required visits.
• Example required traffic:
  • ~8,000 visits/month to generate $100/month under assumed economics

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Key cautions / risk notes

• Market risk is acknowledged for stocks:
  • returns depend on market performance; historical examples are not guarantees.
• Liquidity/timing:
  • for stock investing, the money should be untouched for at least 5–10 years.
• Repeated “no get rich quick” warning:
  • crypto/gambling “schemes” and scam-commentary promotions “don’t exist” as a legitimate shortcut.

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Presenters / sources mentioned

• Presenter / channel owner (name not provided in subtitles)
• Skillshare (sponsor)
• Anchor.fm (podcast platform mentioned)
• Riverside.fm (presenter “invested as an angel investor”)
• Zapier (automation mentioned)
• Examples/cited individuals:
  • “Traff” (Twitter example)
  • “Olio” (website/theme example)
  • “Sheen” (housemate; podcast example)
  • “Hannah Witton” (Patreon example)
  • “Lore” (Nest Labs example)
  • “Matt” (Patreon example, referenced as “Matt developers”)
  • “Tim Ferriss” (mentioned regarding automated businesses/4-hour work week)
• Websites:
  • indiehackers.com
  • YouTube.com
  • Skillshare