If you’re thinking, “How in the world can you make passive income with your iPhone?” then you’d better pull your head out of the dirt and start realizing how the world around you is passing you by. For those of you that don’t have your head buried (and hidden from technology), you probably think I’m talking about creating an App. While I have heard that this is a great source of passive income, I have not developed one yet, and therefore won’t write about it here.
Reading Other Blog Posts
Being a blogger doesn’t mean that I open my computer once in a while and write about random topics. No, for me, blogging takes research and constant involvement in one’s topic of interest. Since I write about creating a passive income, I’m always on the lookout for new ways to earn income passively that nearly anyone can do. Sometimes my research is in the library; other times I take my research to the online bookstores; and sometimes I spend my day reading 10-20 blog posts.
About one year ago, I stumbled on a post that I just can’t get out of my mind. The article was posted on The Extra Money Blog and it was about a 19 year old kid that started a new kind of business, and he was quickly taking the world by storm.
The iPhone Repair Business
As most kids do nowadays, Daniel owned a brand new, sleek, perfectly designed iPhone. He absolutely loved it and took it with him everywhere (well, of course he did….it’s a cell phone….). While the iPhone is a pretty well-designed piece of technology, it does have one flaw. It’s mostly made of glass. And, based on how many times people use their phones, they are bound to find the concrete pavement once in a while.
This is exactly what happened to Daniel, he dropped his precious iPhone and the interior glass screen broke. While there were businesses that could repair the phone, it would cost him more money than he was willing to pay (I would guess that it would cost $100 or more). So, as many of us do, he took his issue to YouTube. After a couple of hours of viewing “how to” videos, he was confident that he could do the repair himself, so he ordered the part and gave it a shot. His attempt at the repair wasn’t perfect, but he did replace the glass screen and it only cost him $10!
Throughout the following months, Daniel had friends that caught wind of his new-found talent, and he soon found himself repairing their broken screens as well! Finally, the idea of starting a business clicked. He could start an iPhone repair business and charge much less than the competition, but still make a $40 profit on a repair that would only take 15 minutes! Figuring that he could repair 16 phones per week (which would only take a total of 4 hours), he quickly discovered that he could be making $640 in profits every week! That’s not too shabby for a college student.
iPhone Repair Turned Passive
While it is pretty impressive to earn $160 an hour, Daniel knew that his spare time would permit him to make only a certain amount of money with this venture. For example, let’s say that with his other projects (he is in school and owns some other businesses), he really only has 4 extra hours each week. His potential profits per month are maxed out at about $2,600. Yes, this is a great side income, but he knew that it could be so much more!
It was time to turn this business into a passive cash cow and turn it into a franchise. Daniel figured that since he was able to learn how to repair his phone from YouTube, he could certainly teach others how to start their own iPhone repair business and give them the opportunity to make $1,000 a week!
To this date, Daniel is selling his franchise idea as a win-win situation. He earns an upfront fee from those that wish to earn some extra cash repairing iPhones, and also makes a few bucks on each replacement part (I assume). And, his new franchisees are repairing 4-5 phones per day (which takes about an hour) and they are making about $1,000 per week in addition to their full-time jobs.
This was an impressive move for the 19 year old entrepreneur. Rather than becoming complacent with the spare side income, he developed a method of receiving and shipping replacement parts, has set up a marketing system for the franchisees, and now earns an income that is almost 100% passive! Plus, he earns much more with this franchise than he would have as a one-man operation. Sounds like we have the next Ray Kroc in the making!
What do you think about this idea? Brainstorm your skills – maybe you have some passive income opportunities on your hands too!