There are money-making opportunities all around us if we just take a second to look.

For small business owners, temporarily shifting focus from your daily operation and seeking out income streams can bring additional growth and funding to the business you care so much about. 

Not sure if a side gig is really worth your time? 73% of Americans make at least an extra $500 a month with their side gig — with 12% of Americans making up to $1000 extra each month. That can be significant for almost any business. 

How can you make passive income to fund your business?

Imagine earning revenue over and over for the work you do once. Sound too good to be true? It’s not. In fact, earning passive income can be one of the most satisfying ways to bring extra cash in to help fund and safeguard your business. Check out these strategies for success: 

Find investment opportunities that grow over time

  • Peer-to-peer lending. This is where you help fund loans for others in need. Each time the recipient pays back their loan, you make money. Some platforms you can use for peer-to-peer lending are:
  • Dividend stocks. With this strategy, you earn passive income each time a company you own stock in makes money and pays out dividends. In most cases, you’ll want to work with a broker to get these stocks.  
  • Index funds. For each index fund you buy, you’re getting a portion of every company included in that fund. So, each time one of these companies makes money you earn passive income. You can also work with brokers to find index funds that are right for you.

Invest in real estate that you can rent out

If you have money on hand but want to grow it even further to help fund your other business endeavors, consider investing in real estate like:

  • Single-family homes
  • Multi-family homes
  • Condos or apartment spaces
  • Storage units if you buy the space or already have it

You can also rent out personal property you already have on sites like Airbnb. So if you have a vacation home you rarely use, consider renting it out in the off-season. Keep in mind that while this income is passive most of the time, you will have to maintain your properties. This can take some work and money depending on what the properties need, but it is possible to hire maintenance companies to keep up your properties for you. Either way, renting properties is a solid way to earn residual income. 

Sell your photographs to stock photo sites

If you already love taking pictures, selling them on stock photo websites is a great way to gain extra cash. All you need is a camera or even just an iPhone to get quality photos. These photos can then be made available to other businesses or individuals to publish on their website, blog, or other marketing materials. Some websites to consider selling on include:

Some tips for taking good stock photos are:

  • Make sure your focus point stands out. You don’t want too many other objects or people taking away from what you’re capturing. You can also look to capture contrasting colors to make your main subject stand out more. 
  • Don’t include other brand names in your pictures. Advertising professionals often use stock photography. This means they’ll want to add their own brand name to the picture. 
  • Enlarge your pictures to see every detail. This is important to make sure you don’t have any problems trying to sell them later. You never know when you’ll accidentally capture something in the background you didn’t mean to. In many cases, all it takes is a quick adjustment to clear it up.

Sell ad space on your car 

Branded car wrap for passive income
Several companies will pay you to drive around with a branded car wrap (Source: Carvertise).

For this strategy, it’s important to work with only reputable and legitimate companies. There are countless scams for car wrapping and advertising. Some companies to consider working with are Carvertise and Pay Me for Driving. A company may not be legitimate if they:

  • Ask you for money upfront
  • Don’t ask you about your driving history
  • Don’t require you to have car insurance

This strategy is best for those that drive a lot in busy areas. Otherwise, it may not be worth it. 

Rent out business equipment you already own

Do you have expensive equipment lying around that you never use? If you do, you may want to rent it out for some extra cash. 

In fact, many startups rent out office supplies like photocopiers and paper shredders.

You can also rent any business space you have. Startups and other businesses frequently look for conference rooms or office space rentals. If you’re ready to rent any of these items, some tips to consider are:

  • Research your target market. You want to know which types of businesses want your equipment. You may be a tech firm, but some of your rental equipment may be useful for a design agency. Think more about the equipment you own than the industry you operate in.
  • Look at what others are charging. If you want to have success with this, you don’t want to advertise a price that’s too high. People tend to shop around for rentals so they’ll likely notice your high price and move on to the next person’s equipment. 
  • Create the right contract. You want to spell out things like:
    • The full cost 
    • The time frame of the rental
    • Who is authorized to operate the equipment
    • Your late fee/policy
    • If you’re providing insurance for damages or theft
    • Billing policies

From there, you can advertise your equipment or space on Craigslist or any other advertising platform. 

Start a passive income stream

You don’t have to look far to make extra income to fund your business these days. In fact, opportunities for it are everywhere. Just look at the spare room you never use anymore or the office equipment collecting dust in the corner. The best strategy for making extra cash for your business is to use the resources you already have. Just remember — as you invest your extra cash into your business, you’ll also want to expand your business insurance coverage to protect it as it grows.

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