It's not how much money you make, but how much money you keep, how hard it works for you, and how many generations you keep it for.

— Robert Kiyosaki

When it comes to financial freedom, at its rawest core is the need to switch from active to passive income in as many areas of your business as possible. Trading time for money is where we all must start. Building up freelancing businesses that turn into side hustle empires starts with active income. I was steeped in nothing but active income for the first five years of my journey, and I wouldn't change it for the world.

But at some point, you're going to have a thought: What if I could make this money in my sleep? What if you could work half of the hours you currently are, and make the same money, if not more? This is the thought that pops into every single millionaire’s and billionaire's brain in the world. They talk to each other about passive income in passing, like it's a normal, logical element of their businesses that's needed to scale it to the billions. They already know the financial freedom secret, while the rest of us complete our schooling and receive training at corporations that don't ever dare touch the concept of passive income.

But these billionaires, too, came from a place of not knowing at some point. They made the decision to reject what society was telling them and uncover the secret we are talking about right now. Can you fault them for it? They were—and are—playing the same game we all are. We should focus our energy on breaking out of the matrix just the way that they did, starting with passive income systems that work in their place. In Chapter 25, we will go over the magic seven streams of income rule, and why these billionaires all have multiple streams of income. For right now, we are going to look at the benefits of passive income: the most basic way to make that dream of financial freedom a powerful reality for yourselves in the months to come.

Believing You Can Make the Switch to Passive Income

I will start by saying that not everything can be switched to a passive income model. But just about everything can be automated with virtual assistants and software, so that you only need to check in on the business a few times every month. In a lot of ways, that's making a business passive, and it can be done with the most active of business models, like managing a freelancing business.

To monitor a successful passive income pivot requires you to first believe it's possible. We must shed the idea that successful businesses can only be run by CEOs with executive assistants and slews of employees. We are living in a very fast‐paced and technologically chaotic time, which—although it does have bad side effects—brings with it the ability to automate and make passive many businesses that previously required active management. So many new software, artificial intelligence (AI), and automation tools are popping up every single day that they could never be up to date in any book you read. The pace at which they are being thrust into the open digital marketplace is hard for even the smartest person to wrap their brain around. The good news is: you don't have to keep up with the pace of innovative releases; you just need to be positively open to the changes and receptive to new tools that land in your email inbox.

For years, I fought this innovation. I traded time for money. I traded so much time that I was working 60‐plus‐hour weeks, fighting the feeling in my gut that it was time to expand and let go of the control. I switched over to passive income with my freelancing business by hiring a person to be me, essentially, with a team below her that she manages on the day‐to‐day. I am only contacted for problems the team cannot solve without my input. In Chapters 12–14, we looked at the power of virtual assistants, paired with freelancers, and how just about any business can switch over to this freelancing agency model (covered in Chapter 4).

I am now applying this model to other facets of my business, like my influencing and sponsorship packages. I have hired an influencing management company that handles emails, invoicing, follow‐ups, negotiations, and contracts with brands. All I have to do is show up, read the script, and film the content. They take 20%, yet I have about 95% of my time back. This tradeoff is common with turning any business into passive income, since the software tools will cost something. In the grand scheme of life, these tools will cost 1–2% of the money they are able to bring in for you, without the human error. They pay for themselves, and then some, especially in the form of peace of mind.

The Point of Passive No Return

There will come a time when your systems are in place and you are ready to step back and see how they do. It's going to be an exhilarating, stressful, and necessary time on your quest for financial freedom. You will have to step back and trust that your team, which is mainly comprised of technology, can do the job for you.

But it doesn't have to be a “do or die” moment. You can step back and allow the systems to run while monitoring them every single day if you want. You can watch what your team is saying in Slack, you can log in to the different software tools and check the analytics, and you can read over client feedback. You can be just as involved as you were previously—or you can enjoy your newfound time back. Over time, you will come to trust these systems and be able to unplug. Once you go on that first trip halfway around the world and make a couple of thousand dollars while never checking your phone, you will never have that passive income anxiety ever again.

We all need that push at some point. We need to jump off the cliff to learn we can fly. You've already done this so many times before, with different side hustles and freelancing. This is just the final jump between you and making passive income, and therefore financial freedom, a tangible commodity.

The Money‐Retention Balancing Act

The quote in the beginning of this chapter is from Robert Kiyosaki, who wrote one of my favorite business books, Rich Dad, Poor Dad. This book is all about retaining the money you already have and investing it in a way that lowers your taxable income. As opposed to worrying about where the money is coming from, Robert urges readers to consider the active management of the money coming in and how they can trim the fat to prevent the money going out.

You're going to need to try out different software tools and programs until you find ones that work for you and are set at the right price point. Some of them may rack up $500/month and only bring in $1,000. Others may cost you only $100 yet bring in just $50. You are going to need to play around with the tools available to you. The good news is that there are so many software tools out there right now, that I can promise you, there are ones perfectly suited for your current business. But Rome wasn't built in a day, which is why you are going to need that same patience I challenged you to use earlier in this book, to create these final financial freedom systems.

Robert would argue that it's a good idea at this point to sit down with a CPA who has tax planning advice and go over these systems with them. They will be able to provide you with feedback and suggestions on different avenues you can take to lower your tax burden. Financial freedom isn't possible without a tax planning strategy that ensures you can finally live without concerning yourself over the source of your money.

It's truly an extraordinary time to be alive and do business in the world right now. I can't stress that enough. The fact that you can set up systems, online, that you own 100%, and that you can automate to make you money in your sleep is incredible. I don't want anyone to take it for granted—I sure don't. Being appreciative of these tools will help you attract even more abundance into your online business. Remember: you are what you think.

Next, let's look at the diversification of income streams, and why the average millionaire has seven sources of money. They know better than anyone that in order to live financially free, there need to be multiple monetary options. You never know when one is going to collapse or become mundane, especially in a world with a volatile economy.

Chapter 24 Key Points

• Setting up passive income systems is the quickest way to financial freedom.
• Most businesses can be made passive, but not all.
• You will hit a point at which you have to step back and allow tools/people to run your businesses for you.
• Always do a cost‐benefit analysis with the tools you are onboarding to ensure you are retaining as much money as possible.