Stop Trading Hours for Dollars

(Create Passive Income)

Once again, I'm actually writing this article from my bath. You have to try this! It's so much fun to get work done while soaking in the tub.

This is a perfect example of what you can do if you learn how to leverage your time and create passive sources of income for yourself (I explain all this in the article below).

How Designers Can Make More Money in Less Time

How did I turn my struggling 7-day workweek into a thriving, successful design business (where I work only 4 days a week, make lots more money, and enjoy my life more than ever)?

Well, of course it wasn't from applying one single technique. But I want to share one of the best things I did to create more income AND more free time.

I created a source of passive income.

What is passive income? Basically it is something that brings in money even after you are done doing the work. The traditional business model for interior designers is working with clients one-on-one. Well, even if you had a completely full practice, you still have a ceiling on how much you can make. You can't work more hours than there are in a day (although many designers often try!).

But what if you finished doing work for a client, and then other people kept paying you for the job you did? Sound like a fantasy? Well, when I created my first e-book and saw sales come in while I was sleeping (literally!), it did feel like a fantasy.

Yes, an e-book is a source of passive income (and designers and decorators are finally joining in on this incredible source of profit). Here are some other ideas for generating income when you are not actively working:

• Customer Care Membership Programs
  Be creative and offer a service that your clients pay for monthly or annually
• Recorded Seminars
  These can be delivered digitally or on CDs
• Live Seminars or Teleseminars
  Not exactly "passive," but a great way to leverage your time, by presenting to many people at once
• Rentals
  If you have an office or showroom, you can rent a part of your space to a complementary (but not competitive) business
• Advertising
  Yes, YOU can make money on other people advertising - on your website, your newsletter, etc.

I'm not saying that it doesn't take work to create these passive income sources. Good products take a lot of care, energy, and commitment (and sometimes quite a bit of time) to create. But once the work is done, it's done. Yet the money keeps coming in!

Instead of the traditional model of:
Work for a client, get paid.... Work for a client, get paid.... Work for a client, get paid

You can transform your business into:
Work... get paid, get paid, get paid, get paid, get paid, get paid, get paid, get paid...

So come join me (there's room in my bathtub for everyone)!