I can just tell you what I did and how I did. But for the ones who are a little lost, and need motivation I want to take you on the exact mental journey that helped me explore paths of passive income.
The Fight
Let me first take you 6 months back. I was in my final yer of college finishing my Engineering degree. This was one of the most stressful time in my life. If you are in your final year or have graduated, you’ll know the pressure of getting a *good* job. Not decent, not enough, not just a job but a good job. You feel a sense of pressure to repay the student loan. You don’t want to let your loved ones down. You don’t even want to let yourself down.
But for me, my biggest nightmares were coming true. Even though I gave this tech background my all, I was just not feeling a sense of relief. Building softwares seemed cool 2 years ago but now I realised — everything that seems interesting does not have to be something I master. In the race to bag a 5 figure job in a high functional MNC, MAANG and what not — I lost passion for coding. The moment I monetised this interest it lost its charm.
The realisation
Now I know that is not how the world works. One needs money. (Thank you capitalism). I just had to find the thing that bring me money and joy. During my time at college I was involved with the entrepreneurship branches and even had a stealth startup. That was when I felt alive — the joy of building something on your own, sharing it with the world, solving a real life problem and scaling it! The adrenaline rush was amazing but so was the risk. I have a loan to repay and my family was not in the best financial position.
So I stuffed this idea of having venture of my own to the back of the shelf. In the mean time I was applying for job and even got one in the on-campus placement process. Was it what I wanted? Yes. Was I happy? No. If you’ve read my previous blog on How I turned my life around in 8 months, you’ll know exactly what I am talking about. Even though taking the job, sitting my 9–5 and giving the little I am able to make give back to my family was what I should have done, but I chose differently.
The risk
I declined the offer. I declined the only one offer I had based on the confidence I have on myself. You can only do what you allow yourself to do. It was just on the basis on self confidence that I prepared for a better company and a better job. I refused to take the conventional path. So in the 2 more months of utter anxiety, regretting my decision at times and crying myself to sleep — I never missed a single test and mailed 100s of people for interview.
I was able to get one. I cracked it. A job in Tech+Product. Doing something I love. Taking 5 figures home. Patience and faith. That is all it took.
The passive income
This is where the journey should I taken a pause. But somewhere down the road, the notion of having my name associated to a venture still gave me goosebumps. I had to give this one more try. I knew it would require time. I knew the puddle I was stepping in would be deep.
Being a tech enthusiast, I was closely noticing the rise in no-code tool. I also witnessed how people were unaware about so many tool. I saw I gap. I decided to do something. I have been using Notion was over a year for university. There are so many people who have not explored the real power of Notion. They want readymade templates for themselves. Even small scale startups who can’t afford expensive softwares for project management, look for Notion creators to help them with it.
The start
So you are right — I made passive income as a Notion creator. I woke up earlier than I used to, I did research while travelling to office, I took out time from basic activities to do a thorough research before I set up a marketplace. I could see that there are a lot of Notion creators in the market. Being a newbie I was intimidated.
I wanted to create a name for myself but I didn’t know how. I started with the usual Finance trackers, University Templates and Personal Home Dashboard but the growth I saw was slow. My earning in my first month were only 12$ out of which 5$ were from a friend of mine who wanted to support me. Once again I was filled with doubt.
The Questionnaire
One thing I can be sure of — you are the only one who can solve your problems. The articles you read and the books you refer can guide you but they can grab your hand and help you cross the bridge. You’ll have to do that yourself. I questioned myself —
“Why should anyone buy these?”
“Would you pay money to buy these templates?”
“What are you doing that others aren’t?”
Then it clicked me, I was providing what was already there. I decided to combine my tech skills with notion skills and fill the void. I not only created templates but also coded widgets that were never used before in Notion.
Through this I not only gained trust of the people in my community but I was also able to set a brand expectation. I gained a good following on twitter and even Instagram. I worked my way forward to get in affiliated marketing and helping other creators make money as well.
By differentiating myself from existing creators, I grew 3x on Instagram and on Twitter. My total earning from selling Notion products reached 500$ and sold 3,333 products — and I am just starting.
If you too want to sell Notion products:
- Research on the path you want to follow because there is a lot you can do with notion — from selling widgets to being a Notion consultant.
- See what you can add to the community and start building an audience.
- Learn from the people that are already in this business and seek for mentors.
- Setup an account on Gumroad or any marketplace where you can sell your products.
If you want to seek other passive income options you can start with:
- Creating an online course or ebook: If you have expertise in a particular subject, you can create an online course or ebook and sell it to generate passive income.
- Affiliate marketing: By promoting other people’s products through affiliate marketing, you can earn a commission on sales as passive income.
- Participating in online surveys: Many market research companies pay individuals for their opinions, providing an easy way for you to earn passive income.
- Creating and selling digital products on platforms like Etsy or Creative Market: You can create and sell digital products such as design templates, stock photos, and digital art to generate passive income.
- Setting up and monetising a YouTube channel: By creating and uploading videos regularly to a YouTube channel, you can earn money through ads and sponsored content to generate passive income.
