This summer, take a swim in a passive income stream

By building a passive income stream, you can generate additional cash flow (taxable), and, in some cases, you can benefit from the appreciation of the underlying asset (for example, a piece of property) over the long term. Here are 16 passive income ideas to consider:

1. Renting a room or space in the home you live in

When I bought my first house, I rented two of the three bedrooms to offset my costs. It took a few months to find the right tenants, but once I did, I banked the excess cash flow for years and used it for my next real estate purchase. Today, renting space has become easier than ever with Airbnb, Vrbo, Kijiji and Facebook Marketplace.

2. Dividend-paying stocks and DRIPs

When investing, you can strategically purchase stocks that pay a dividend — like a small reward for simply holding the stock. This money can be paid out in cash, or in many cases it can be reinvested in the purchase of additional shares in the same company. These are called Dividend Reinvestment Programs (DRIPs)

3. Selling an online course

Are you a natural teacher of a subject people want to learn about? You could develop an online program and sell it to your audience (typically social media followers, friends and family). If it sells well, you can expand sales through advertising.

4. Writing a book and collecting royalties

My first book, “Rich By Thirty,” came out in 2007, and it become a bestseller. The book has been through multiple updates, and continues to produce a nice little royalty income stream. If you’ve got a great book idea and an interested publisher (or distributor), bring that manuscript to life!

5. Buying a profitable website

Look for a website with a positive net income that’s for sale. To find these diamonds in the rough, it can be helpful to work through a business broker or put the word out that you’re browsing to buy.

6. Building a profitable website

If you’ve got something to sell that people love to buy, start selling it online. It can be a product or service, and it might take a bit of time to iron out your perfect pricing and attract your ideal clients. The other way to make money on a website is through affiliate links (that is, recommending other products and taking a commission) and selling advertising space.

7. Renting your vehicle or other possessions

Not using your car or those bikes, skis, chair covers from your wedding 10 years ago? Rent them. Just make sure you take a damage deposit, and if it’s your vehicle, do tell your insurance company.

8. Put ads on your car or other property

This is an easy one: Host advertising on your car or your lawn.

9. Rental income from real estate

This requires a pretty massive investment upfront, but can pay off in spades down the road if your cash flow is positive AND if the property appreciates in value. The money you collect in rent goes toward paying off the mortgage, and any excess can be reinvested into another passive income stream.

10. Build a profitable subscription service

Do you have a growing community of voice coaches that need coaching themselves? You could start charging a subscription fee to host and help this community. Some do this via a website, but many host using pre-existing tools like groups within Facebook.

11. Start up, or purchase, a DIY car wash or laundromat

These are businesses that require physical space and initial setup, but once you’re operating, it’s a pay-per-use model, and patrons service themselves. Of course, you’ll have to maintain the space.

12. Lend money to peers

You lend money to people you know, and charge interest. Typically these loans are for borrowers who can’t get qualified at a traditional institution, which inherently makes this investment higher risk. But you can offset some of that risk with a higher interest rate.

13. Become an angel investor

Invest in someone else’s profitable business. Ensure you carefully review all the numbers beforehand, and if you need to bring in an adviser to help you with the review, do so. Be clear on what the plan is for you to make money — dividends, a portion of the cash flow, bonus payouts, etc.

14. Sell your own ebook

If you’re without a publisher, you can still publish a book. But, save yourself the printing costs and focus on an ebook. The great thing about ebooks is that they can also be given away as “perks” if someone buys something of greater value from you, like a coaching package.

15. Sell products on Amazon

Not as passive as one might think, but if you have inventory to sell, try going through Amazon. It’s the digital store EVERYONE goes to, multiple times per week.

16. Vending machine

Buy it. Locate it well (you’ll need to get proper approvals). Fill it. Service it.

This article was originally published in The Star. Lesley-Anne Scorgie is a Toronto-based personal finance columnist and a freelance contributing columnist for the Star.