21 Ways Practicing Professionals can create a Passive Online Income from their Profession with Zero Investment

The growth of internet and digital media has radically changed the way of doing business. More and more products and services are getting digitalized. People are earning in millions through digital products. This is, in fact, a digital revolution, a digital movement and digitalization drive, which is changing the landscape of the commercial and social activities. 

Practicing professionals like Chartered Accountants, CPA, Advocates, Cost Accountants / CMA, Company Secretaries, etc. can create the source of income from digital media and that too through their own profession. Professionals, either in practice or employment, can either create an additional source of passive income along with their practice / employment or the young practicing professionals or professionals in employment or even the retired professionals can adopt digital media for earning full time income.

When, digital media is referred for earning, people generally think of digital marketing, Facebook ads, social media marketing, network marketing / MLM etc. But here, I am going to show you XX ways of creating online passive income and that too with virtually ZERO INVESTMENT!

The reason, I am saying zero investment is because there will be no incremental investment in most of the ways for starting with. As a professional, you will be having the basic tools and equipment such as laptop / PC, smartphone, and internet connection, so investment in that is not considered, but over and above that basic requirements, you don’t have to invest much, except your time or even spare time. Further, I am referring as a passive, because the efforts shall be mostly one time or lower than your active job. But there is nothing in the world such as completely passive. For passive income sources also, one need to create a product once by working and giving time over it.  

The 21 ways for passive online income are as below:

1. Books / E-book

Professionals can publish the hard copy books or e-books through self-publishing and sell through the online storefront or even through Amazon, Flipkart, Meripustak.com and many other online e-book selling platforms. These books should be on the professional topics and should be targeted to the audience such as SME, CFOs, professionals, corporate executives, compliance officers, legal heads, foreign companies etc. The topics can be such as tax, corporate law, financing etc. Books should not be just theoretical, but should thoroughly discuss the prevailing practices, pain points and solutions.

It is even possible through getting the books published through the established publishers, but the shortlisting process of established publishers are stringent and hence everybody may not get the chance. But in the case of self-publishing, anybody can do it. Even for the hardcopy books, nowadays, with Print-on-Demand solutions, it is possible to get the book published with nominal investment. For publishing e-books, there is virtually zero investment initially. Of course, if you go for professional proof reading, professional cover design, professional book launch event etc., there will be costs, but the professionals can avoid such costs at initial stage. For proof reading, cover design, landing page design etc., free as well as premium online tools are available. The initial marketing can be done through social media, digital funnels etc.

Books / e-books are not merely additional source of income, but it establishes your authority in the domain and therefore you can get various indirect benefits in growing your practice or even in employment.

Publishing is however sometimes difficult considering the technicalities such as topic selection, market assessment, proof reading, book layout, cover design, launching, marketing & selling etc. If you feel it difficult or hindrance, you can also approach co-publishers, who can hold your hand in all the technical aspects.

2. Guides / E-guides

Guides or e-guides are like books / e-books only, but the difference is that guides are restricted to providing the solution for a specific problem. For example, “A guide to save taxes through investments in India” or “A guide to incorporate company in the USA” or “A guide to bank loans for SMEs” or “A guide to start-up funding”.

Guides can also be self-published and sold through the storefront. Nowadays, the culture of guides is increasing as people are moving towards DIY (Do it Yourself). The investment is virtually zero, however, if you want to go with high professional quality, there will be some investment, but that will not be a substantial.

3. Reports / E-reports

Reports are based on the research of a specific topic. Research can be conducted by professional on certain industries, business sectors, business opportunities, business functions, financials etc. and the findings can be encapsulated in the report. Publishing the research reports has many benefits other than earning by just selling it. The benefits can be in the form of getting the insights & knowledge, enhancing the brand value of the firm, contributing to the business community & society at large etc. Findings of the research can also be disseminated through the database services instead of selling as a report. Although, there will be some nominal investment in conducting the research such as subscription to the database services, buying the books, software etc. Usually, the professional firms subscribe to the databases such as Prowess, Capitaline, IBFD, Thomson Reuters etc. as a part of their practice and hence there might not be any incremental investment. Even, the software used for research purpose are usually spreadsheet, forms, word-processors, which are used by the professionals as a part of their practice and hence no additional investment is warranted.

4. E-zines (E-magazines)

E-zines can be started for dissemination of the updates, views, critics, analysis on various professional topics. For e-magazines, it is necessary to have email responder or campaigning software such as MailChimp, SendFox, Aweber, Sendinblue, etc. as well as a blog for hosting the articles and landing page for marketing of the E-zine. All the above platforms are available freely for the basic versions, however, if you want to do it professionally, you need nominal investment from ?10,000 to ?30,000. There are various revenue streams of E-zines such as subscription charges (which in fact nowadays people seldom pay!), authority marketing, affiliate marketing, sponsored / paid content etc. Also E-zine can enhance your brand, which is necessary in practice development.     

5. Creating Communities

Professionals can create the communities on the free resources such as WhatsApp group, Telegram group, Facebook group, LinkedIn group etc. The communities can be on any professional topics such as GST, bank finance etc. or for help / assistance. For an example, Lawyer or Company Secretary can create the community for consumer complaints or legal remedies. The revenue model for the communities can be either direct in form of joining / membership fees and / or indirect such as providing promotional content. Communities also help in finding good clients. Basis your solutions, provided on the community space, the members thereof can approach you for further consultation. Remember that many successful start-ups were found through initially Facebook groups.

6. Membership Portals

Membership is not much popular in India as of now, but the concept is gradually creeping in and in couple of years, it will be very much popular owing to its benefits. Membership portals or sites are the websites / apps, on which the creator can put his / her content, which others can access by paying the charges as set by creator. The content can be in form of video, audio, PDF, Excel sheets, presentations etc. Even, the comment features can be added to make the space interactive and participative. Professionals can put content on various professional and business topics.

There are digital platforms such as Gumroad, Tagmango on which you can start your memberships sites initially for free. There are premium plans also which can be opted once your membership is growing. In the developed countries, there are content creators, who are engaged in full time content creation career.

7. Online Consultation:

Although gradually becoming popular in India, online consultation is much economic for the clients to see the professional advice. Online consultation can be provided to the foreign parties also. This is not completely passive income source, but the level of activity will be comparatively less as it involves much of the advisory function.

Online consultation can be provided through simple tools such as emails, web-conferencing, video-mails etc. and hence there is no incremental cost to provide the online consultation. The only challenge is how to find the prospective clients and it can be done through digital marketing. Again, the professionals have general perception that digital marketing is banned for the professionals, which is not true. Per the code of ethics of the professional bodies such as ICAI, ICMAI, ICSI, BCI / SBA etc. there are restrictions on advertising and solicitation. Marketing is very much broad term and can never be banned anywhere. So, professionals can take care in marketing and adopt the digital marketing strategies suitable for professionals. You can also check-out our book “The Million Dollars Digital Practice for Accountants & Advisors”, which contains the strategies, tactics, techniques etc. for digital branding, digital marketing, digital funneling, growth hacking strategies, digital services offerings, digital revenue models for practice etc. for the professionals.

8. Online Retainership

This is very much new concept and professionals need to sensitize their clients as well as prospects about the benefits of online retainership. Whereas online retainership resembles the physical or offline retainership, the main difference is that online retainer can work from his/her place and provide the retainership service. Young professionals can always search for the online retainership, which can create a source of income for them.

This is of course not fully passive income source, but when a retainer is working from his / her place, he/she can delegate the work to the team or even outsource some work. To commence the online retainership, there will be no incremental cost or investment.

9. Online Mentoring

Online mentoring is also a new concept and the professionals need to sensitize the companies about this concept. In online mentoring, the companies can appoint the senior professionals as mentors, who can do the mentoring, coaching, guiding, and grooming of the company’s employees. Company can get the benefits of the experience of the mentor, especially where the company’s employees have comparatively lessor experience.

For online mentoring, no special digital tools are required except email, web-conferencing (Zoom, Teams, Meet, Skype etc.) and Office applications (Word, Excel, Power Point etc.), and hence there will be no additional cost. Online mentoring can be a good opportunity for the senior professionals and retired professionals, who are experience rich. Again, this is not a fully passive income, but the level of activity is not much.

10. Online Courses

Creating online courses on various professional topics is a good source of passive income. Now, post pandemic, people are more inclined towards learning online for new skills. Professionals can create the courses on the topics such as personal tax planning, GST, law, finance, accounting etc. The courses can be created on the Learning Management System (LMS) platforms such as Udemy, Thinkific.com, Teachable.com etc. These platforms are freemium platforms, so that one can start for free and as the course subscriptions grow, premium plans can be opted.

11. Online Tutoring

Online tutoring is for students of CA, CPA, ACCA, CMA, CS, LLB, MBA, M.Com, B.Com etc. It can be done through either LMS platforms or online tutoring apps such as Classplus or even through tools such as Zoom, Webinarjam, etc. This is a good opportunity for the young professionals who have just commenced their practice or even for the freshers. Apart from that professionals can also make a full-time career in online tutoring. The cost of commencing the online tutoring is nominal in terms of purchasing the white board, some reference books and subscription to the web-conferencing services such as Zoom / Google Meet. However, those professionals inclined towards academic field, can make a career in online tutoring.

12. Blogging

Earlier the blogging, either full time or part time, is seldom considered as a career by the professionals, as professionals were more inclined towards their core practice. But now the times has been changed and young professionals from various fields such as Chartered Accountants, Lawyers, Engineers, Doctors, Architects etc. adopt blogging as a full time or part time career. There are many ways to earn from the blogs such as Google AdSense, affiliate marketing, influencing, authority marketing, sponsorship etc. Professionals can write on the professional subjects, which are of course very much in demand. The cost of creating and managing a blog at initial stage is zero, but if you want to do it professionally, you can start within the investment range of ?5,000 to ?25,000, in which you can have a decent professional looking blog, which can be monetized. Blogging is passion-based activity and hence if you have passion for writing, then only you should foray into blogging. It can be a high paying career, but then there is a gestation period of about 1-2 years and during that time you must consistently provide high quality content to your blog and make it content rich. 

Apart from direct revenue, blogging can also establish you as an authority in the domain and hence it can be a catalyst in your practice or employment.

13. YouTube Channel

Till now the professional content on YouTube was not much, but in last couple of years, various professionals are starting their own channels and creating & contributing the video content on the YouTube. Earlier, YouTube was considered more apt for the entertainment, hobbies, passion, etc. fields, but now it is being effectively deployed for education, training, news, updates, critics, analysis, etc.

There is no additional cost in starting-up the YouTube channel, but if you want to do it professional with the video strategy, you need to invest from ?5,000 to ?25,000 for tools and equipment such as tripod, dynamic / condenser microphone, LED lights, video editing software, screen recording software etc. The channels can be on professional topics, business updates, how to do topics etc. The earning from the channel is in form of YouTube Ads, affiliate marketing, authority marketing, influencer marketing, sponsored content, speaking opportunities etc. Even, like blog, YouTube channel can establish your authority as a domain expert, which can help you in your practice and career growth.

14. Private Web Channels

Unlike YouTube, which is a public video platform, the professionals can also create their private web channels, with secured access, in Vimeo, Loom, Vidyard, Wistia, Berrycast, Prezi etc. platforms. Private web channels can be strategically positioned and deployed for a class of audience. For example, private web channel can be created for CFOs for high end finance topics and updates. The revenue models for these channels can be direct such as subscription based or indirect such as authority marketing, high end affiliate marketing, sponsored content etc. Such private channels can also be used for existing clients and thereby developing the practice.

Videos can even be used as a strategic tool in the professional practice, not just in marketing, but also in operations, HR, clients relations management etc. Please read my article on video as a strategic tool of practicing professionals.

15. Excel / Google Sheets for Ready to Use Automation

Finance professionals like CA/CPA/CMA/CFA can create the Ready to Use Automation using Google Workspace (Google Sheets, Forms, Docs, Slides, etc.) or Microsoft 365 (Excel, Word, Power Point, Forms, etc.) and selling through the storefronts. These Ready to Use automations / solutions can be for the financial consolidation, financial reporting, MIS, CRM, data analytics, tax computations etc. For automating the Google or Microsoft tools, one need to use some programming. So, either the professionals can hire programmers or outsource or even get it done through the freelancers / interns from the sites such as Freelancer.com, Upwork.com, Internshala.com etc.

This can be started with zero investment if the professional has programming skills or do revenue sharing arrangements with the programmers (of course subject to code of ethics!) or it require some nominal investment if the programming part is outsourced. In my opinion, for Microsoft automation, the programming language VBA can be learnt by the professionals easily through books, online courses etc. This sort of digital products can be a good source of the passive income.

16. Selling Templates

Professionals can also create high quality templates such as agreements, legal documents, business plans, financial models, project reports, investors pitch etc. and sell through the storefront. Here the investment will be zero as all the resources are virtually available with the professionals.

17. Software as a Service (SaaS) or Cloud Based Digital Platforms

Nowadays all the software solutions are going cloud based using the edge computing technology. Even the accounting software like QuickBooks, Zoho, Sage, Tally etc. have transformed their software packages into cloud-based services. The software which is hosted on the cloud and can be deployed remotely are called SaaS or PaaS (Platform as a Service). Professionals can create such SaaS for accounting, auditing, financial control, financial planning, business analysis, ERM, CRM, GAAP conversion etc.

As far as investment is concerned, this is of course not a zero-investment venture. Software development requires capital outlay. However, the young professionals can conceptualize the idea and create a Minimum Viable Product (MVP). For developing MVP, professionals can tie-up with the IT professionals. Thereafter they can seek the funds from angel investors or venture capitalists. In this way, own investments will be nominal. Another way is to do joint venture with some IT company, who can develop the product, whereas the professional like CA/CPA/CMA can be a functional partner and hence it can be started with minimal investment.

Once the product is developed and commercially launched, it can be a sort of passive income, that is, you earn the fees for usage of product regularly.

18. Online Database Service

Like SaaS, professionals can also create the online database platforms through which the various data can be disseminated. This database can be like financial database, accounting database, tax database, legal database, etc. Here also the cost factor is for development of the digital platform for database and which is not much. Today people spend Rs. 10 to 20 lacs in studying higher education courses such as engineering, MBA or may be 20 to 50 lacs in medical or foreign MBA. Comparing to that the amount of Rs. 3-5 lacs spent in developing the online database is much cheaper. However, if the professionals have ready database, they can have a partnership with the IT companies / IT professionals to develop the software for retrieval of the data and in that case, the investment will be quite nominal or may be zero! 

19. Ghost Writing

Many senior professionals want to publish the books in their name, but they might not have such time or even content! Young professionals can catch that opportunity can write a book or content for them for price. Even the books can be written and subsequently its copyright can be sold as a Private Labelling Right to others like senior professionals, bloggers, websites on professional topics, publishers etc. at the negotiated price.

Ghost-writing is recommended only for those who do not have entrepreneurial flare as well as marketing capabilities and don’t want to sell the book / content in their own name. As it is outsourcing job, the remuneration is much low. Further, this is not a passive income. But you can always use your spare time in ghost-writing as a part time activity.

20. Content Development

You can be a content developer and sell your content in multiple online as well as offline mode and earn passive income from that. Such content can be related to your professional topics. You an even sell the content to the national as well as international publications and database services.

21. Creating Professional & Business Networks

You can create the networking groups (not just WhatsApp groups) for the professionals or businesses. Such networks can be in the form of legal entities such as societies or section 8 company or even a normal company. The investment is virtually zero and the networking company can earn from the membership fees (joining & annual), event charges, sponsorship fees etc.    

Prima facie or at a first glance, you may not be convinced by the above ways for online income, mostly passive or semi-passive. But remember that world in going digital way. If you will ignore digital, you will find difficult to sustain in the competition. The above ways are such that you can do along with your practice or job or even you can take up as a full-time career. DigitalCAfirm.com has published an e-book “The Million Dollars Digital Practice for Accountants & Advisors”, in which there are various services which you can provide online or digitally and, in fact, create a long-term passive income source.