If you’re a solopreneur, freelancer, coach, or mompreneur, you’ve probably wondered how you can increase revenue. You may love what you do, but you probably want to start working smarter, rather than harder.
Passive income for freelancers can change everything, giving solopreneurs and small businesses an income stream that keeps coming even when you’re not working. 36% of Americans had a side hustle in 2024, showing just how common it is to set up a passive income stream in this country.
With AI tools emerging more and more, it’s now easier than ever to learn how to make passive income with no audience at all – it’s more important to have a great system in place than a big audience or fancy tech skills.
This help guide will explore what passive income is and why it’s important for solopreneurs, common challenges you may face, top passive income ideas, and how Nas.io can help you start building a passive income business straight away.
What is Passive Income and Why It Matters for Solopreneurs
Passive income is money earned from revenue streams that are set up and working without you needing to put in significant effort. Once built, these income streams will continue working even when you’re not actively delivering services – they need to be monitored, of course, but do not require active management.
Active income, on the other hand, is traditional working, where you trade your time for money – this could include coaching, freelance work, hourly consulting, or client projects.
The big benefit of passive income is that it allows you to earn money even when you’re offline, giving you financial security, flexibility, and time to focus on other areas of your business or family/home life.
It’s also useful for surviving slower seasons, making your business feel lighter, and generally more scalable.
Common Challenges Solopreneurs Face When Starting Passive Income
Passive income is an exciting prospect, but it’s important to remember that there are some challenges you’ll likely face and overcome.
Difficulty Finding Customers Without an Audience
Many people think you need thousands of followers before you can generate a passive income.
While it can help, it’s important to remember that many solopreneurs next start because they’re worried about this challenge.
The best thing you can do is just get started and explore tools like Nas.io’s Magic Reach to start building an online community.
Overwhelmed with Tech Tools and Marketing
WordPress, marketing funnels, email platforms, landing pages, payment apps… the list goes on.
It’s easy to get overwhelmed juggling lots of different tools, especially if you’re a solopreneur managing everything alone.
Try to use tools that can be easily integrated with others, or choose a tool like Nas.io, which encompasses lead generation, marketing, communities, email, and payment processing in one dashboard.
Fear of “Not Being Good Enough” or Techy Enough
Lots of solopreneurs feel like their not enough of an expert to earn a passive income. Imposter syndrome stops many small business owners in their tracks, preventing them from building a passive income more than their skills ever would.
Believe in yourself and focus on what you’re good at so that you don’t get in your own way.
How AI Can Help Overcome These Challenges
AI can simplify each of the above challenges by helping you find the right customers, write sales pages, and create content.
Platforms like Nas.io bundle these features together, making it easy to launch a passive income business without needing a big audience or technical expertise.
How to Start Passive Income Streams Without a Big Audience
The best way to start a passive income stream without a big audience is to start with a clear idea and a powerful system to help you deliver value and work super efficiently.
The first step to take is to validate your ideas. You want to test your idea, ensuring that minimal cost/skill goes into it, so that you can effectively test the waters and ensure you don’t waste lots of time on an idea that might not be the one.
Next, explore how AI platforms such as Nas.io can automate email campaigns, lead nurturing, and even suggest pricing strategies, taking the guesswork out of promoting your passive income offers. AI allows you to identify customers already looking for what you do, without needing to rely on a large audience of followers.
They can also help you personalize outreach messages through programs like Nas.io’s Magic Leads and build your customer base regardless of whether you have a large social media following or not.
Here are some examples of no-follower-needed approaches to give you some inspiration:
- A $9 checklist to solve a small problem for a niche community
- Short digital workshop based on a skill you already have and use
- Simple templates, planners, or AI prompts people can use straight away
- A small membership/resource library with recurring revenue
Top 10 Passive Income Ideas for Solopreneurs
Here are our best passive income streams for solopreneurs, each with details on how it works, benefits, and AI tips:
Suggested Image
An infographic illustrating the 10 passive income ideas, or a friendly solopreneur working on a laptop with AI elements around
Digital Courses and Tutorials
Digital courses and tutorials are a great way to get started with passive income, especially if you can create a resource teaching something you already know.
This method is great for coaches and freelancers with repeatable processes, and can be made once and sold again and again.
AI tools like Nas.io can be super helpful here, allowing you to find buyers, write scripts, and automate delivery so that you can earn passively without needing to continually create new content.
Ebooks and Guides
Turning your expertise into published ebooks and PDF guides can be a great way of repeatedly selling content you already know.
These resources are easy to create and can help solve a problem your community may be facing. AI is super helpful here, allowing you to outline, edit, and format content more quickly, plus you can automate sales with email sequences and instant downloads.
Membership Communities or Subscription Content
Offering monthly access to communities, curated resources, or subscription content is another excellent way of creating content once, updating lightly, and earning recurring revenue.
AI platforms like Nas.io can be useful through automated onboarding for new members, payment processing, and community management.
Affiliate Marketing
If there are tools, products, or books that you genuinely love, you can recommend them to your audience with an affiliate link, giving you a commission each time someone purchases through your link.
Affiliate links require no product creation, and AI can help you to write comparisons, reviews, and outreach messages to grow passive clicks and sales.
Selling Templates, Planners, or Printables
Templates, planners, and printable resources are perfect for solopreneurs who love organization and can create these resources once and sell them repeatedly.
You can use AI tools to draft layouts, create content, or flesh out niche ideas. AI is also helpful in providing automated storefronts that handle delivery and payment processing.
Licensing Your Content or Photos
If you have graphics, worksheets, or photos that you’re proud of, you can sell usage rights to start earning some passive income.
Each download will earn passive royalties, and AI can help by enhancing images, creating different variations, or helping to find buyers or marketplaces.
Automated Coaching or Group Programs
The best passive income business ideas for coaches involve exploring automated coaching programs, packaging pre-recorded lessons into automated check-ins, group sessions, and even worksheets.
This can help you earn a passive income alongside your 1:1 sessions, and you can use AI to create lesson scripts, reminders, and personal follow-ups.
Dropshipping or Print-on-Demand Stores
Dropshipping has become increasingly popular in recent years and involves selling products without holding the inventory yourself.
Designs are printed and shipped automatically, and can provide a great source of passive income with very little ongoing management.
AI can help generate product ideas, write descriptions, and identify trending niches so that you can launch your products at the right time.
Investing in Dividend Stocks or REITs
Solopreneurs can earn a passive income from shares or real estate funds, without needing to manage a property directly.
By keeping it simple, you can earn small, regular investments that soon add up, and AI tools for passive income can help summarize trends, while sticking to reputable platforms for execution.
Creating Apps or Tools
Our last recommended method is creating apps or tools, and don’t worry, you won’t need to be tech-savvy to give this one a go.
You can use no-code builders to create simple tools, calculators, or apps that people can pay to access, with AI helping to generate ideas and write content. Once built, these tools provide regular revenue without requiring lots of ongoing maintenance.
Explore a full walkthrough of AI-driven side hustle ideas via Nas.io here, giving you extra inspiration for your passive income business.
How Nas.io Can Help with Digital Products and Memberships
Nas.io is particularly useful when it comes to creating digital products and memberships.
Its Magic Leads program allows you to automatically find the right buyers, at the right time, while Magic Reach can send personalized outreach and follow-ups.
Nas.io also allows you to build automated sales funnels and handles payment processing, delivery, and onboarding all from one dashboard, negating the need to juggle multiple tools.
How AI Makes Passive Income Easier for Non-Tech Solopreneurs
AI makes passive income streams considerably more accessible for non-tech solopreneurs by removing the hardest parts of the process – finding customers, creating content, and generating consistent sales.
AI tools can also research your niche, tell you which products to prioritize, write emails, and repurpose content. Platforms like Nas.io take this one step further by automating lead generation, follow-ups, pricing suggestions, and onboarding, giving you the scope to launch more digital products or templates without feeling overwhelmed.
One beginner solopreneur using Nas.io made $1,000 in one day by launching a paid community event for just $3. Nas.io’s AI and outreach tools allowed him to reach over 270 people in one week, significantly contributing to his overall results.
Conclusion & Next Steps
Passive income doesn’t have to be a pie-in-the-sky idea if you have reliable AI systems to help.
Start with one idea, validate it, and use AI to help lighten the load. Tools like Nas.io can help find you new customers, package your expertise, and automate the sales process so that you can relax knowing your passive income business is working as it should.
Build your business smarter and more practically with AI. Nas.io helps solopreneurs find customers and sell online — without needing followers or code, and all while preventing tech overwhelm.
FAQ
Can I create passive income without followers?
Yes, you can create a passive income without followers by using niche search, targeted outreach, and AI-powered lead generation for solopreneurs– no large audience required.
How much time does it take to set up passive income streams?
Most solopreneurs can set up passive income streams in 1 – 3 weeks.
Automation can then reduce ongoing efforts, ensuring your new income remains as ‘passive’ as possible.
What’s the easiest passive income idea for beginners?
The easiest passive income idea for beginners is arguably putting together ebooks, templates, and digital guides that are based on knowledge/resources that you already have.
How can AI tools help grow passive income faster?
AI tools can help grow passive income faster by handling research, content creation, and automated outreach/follow-ups, helping to attract customers and scale your business with less manual work.
