Dear friend,

I wanna tell you a sad truth: passive income is a myth for the majority of people.

To start, I read the four hour workweek by Tim Ferriss, and I got the idea that the concept of financial freedom was from passive income.

No. Financial freedom is (in America) is going to mostly be done through active income.

I. Active income is king

Active income is hustling. It is doing consulting work, teaching workshops, shooting weddings, shooting commercial work, doing commercials, etc.

To me, active income is a lot more profitable.

For example, if I charge $10,000 for a week long workshop, and get 5 people to sign up, that is $50,000 dollars. That is a lot of money.

Compare that to trying to sell 50,000 ebooks for $1. That is impossible for 99.9999%+ of the population.

Even now, my bread and butter is teaching workshops; it makes 80% of my income. That is how I can earn $200,000+ a year combined income with Cindy and HAPTIC.

In ancient times, commerce was active. Imagine a market place, with people haggling for fun. You would sail on the seas, in search for profit, through active commerce. People who made money through “passive income” by charging ridiculously high interest rates (modern day loan sharks) were seen as sinners, and morally corrupt. That is why Jesus said, “Forgive those who owe you money.” Debt was slavery.

II. Passive income is only possible if you’re #1 on Google.

I’ve written 2,700 blog posts to become number one on Google for street photography. It took me from 2011-2017, writing 1-2 blog posts a day, 7 days a week, 12-14 hours a day of work.

Passive income is only possible if you are number one on Google. And unfortunately, there is only one number one spot on Google.

So friend I’m sorry, I will forever be #1 or #2 on Google for street photography. You probably will not replace this blog for street photography. That means, you will have a lesser chance of earning passive income through selling products related to street photography, like STREET NOTES or the Henri Strap in the HAPTIC STORE.

Cindy makes anywhere between $20-$1500 a day in passive income. That is a lot. But to be frank, most people will never achieve this dream. Because once again, it will take you 6 years of constant work, and dominating Google.

I got lucky. I made this blog when there was no information online on Google for how to shoot street photography. Now I can charge $3,500+ for a street photography workshops because I am the #1 website on Google for street photography.

But friend, I want you to make a lot of money from photography. Why? You deserve it. You can use that money to uplift your family out of poverty. To purchase your own freedom. To be honest, your first goal is just to earn $2,000 USD a month as a photography entrepreneur. Which is totally doable.

Active income as a photographer means, shooting one wedding for $2,000 USD once a month to make a living. Then when you get to Neil Ta Photography level, you can start to charge more.

III. How to make money from photography

Step one: bluehost.com, make a website through WordPress.com, get a genesis theme, and put up your portfolio. Three portfolio sets, each with ten images. Put a “about” page, on why you do what you do, and why you will be a good investment. Put up an “investment” page, sharing three price options: $1995, $4995, and $10,000. Nobody will book the $10,000 option, but perhaps your two cheaper options.

Two, market yourself. Write 1-2 blog posts a day, seven days a week, for five years. Do guest blog posts for popular sites. Write useful information and content. Make a free YouTube channel, don’t put on advertisements, and give out useful free information. Build your name.

Three, take life by the horns. That means, don’t wait for people to book you. Rather, go to where the action is. Go to conventions, hustle, print out business cards. Give out 1,000 business cards. You might get one person to email you back, and book your services.

To be honest, if you hustled 12-14 hours a day, seven days a week, for six years straight, how can you not earn at least $2,000 a month to support yourself?

Conclusion

I love Tim Ferriss, but if you listen to his podcast or read his books, stop. His dream of passive income is not possible for the majority of people.

Rather, figure out how you can earn your first $1,000 by hustling. Figure out how you can earn your first $100.

Figure out if you can teach a workshop, if you can shoot a wedding, a bar mitzva (sp?), or something more innovative– photograph a funeral (I don’t think anybody does this. Why do we have so many wedding photographers but very few funeral photographers?) hmm, this is actually a good idea, I might do this. Eric Kim: funeral photographer.

Read these free entrepreneurship articles, and never give up on your dream.

Be strong,
Eric