Earning a passive income, such as ad revenue on video channels, means you’ll have to put in a lot of work upfront before you can start making money. Photo: Getty
Earning a passive income, such as ad revenue on video channels, means you’ll have to put in a lot of work upfront before you can start making money. Photo: Getty
Earning a passive income, such as ad revenue on video channels, means you’ll have to put in a lot of work upfront before you can start making money. Photo: Getty
Earning a passive income, such as ad revenue on video channels, means you’ll have to put in a lot of work upfront before you can start making money. Photo: Getty

Why investing in 'sweat equity' is essential to earning a passive income


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The opportunity to make money while we sleep is one few of us would turn down. And passive income, at face value, suggests we can do just that.

Social media is full of influencers telling us how to make passive income. And while many of those content creators do actually earn money even when they’re not on the clock, fewer of them are forthcoming about the work required to get there.

“A lot of people are surprised by how much work it takes because I think a lot of people who are earning a passive income are talking about how great it is having earned that,” says Pat Flynn, a California-based entrepreneur and creator of the Smart Passive Income podcast. “But they don’t necessarily tell you the whole truth. You’re seeing the tip of the iceberg.”

“Passive” income, in most cases, won’t be created passively. Whatever the pursuit — investing in stocks to receive dividends, buying rental properties, earning ad revenue on video channels — you’ll have to put in work upfront before you can start making money while doing little, or no, work. And in many cases, you’ll have to keep doing work to maintain that income, too.

Passive income has no set definition

When does a job or side hustle turn into passive income? That depends on how you define it.

There is no clear-cut point where income turns passive. For some, it could be when no work or upkeep is required, or for others, it could be when a minimal amount of work each week is required. And “minimal work” is also subjective.

“Passive income, for me, is really something that you have to work to set up, but after that, it takes very minimal work to maintain and to keep that income stream coming,” says Joseph Hogue, a chartered financial analyst and creator of the YouTube channel Let’s Talk Money.

Other sources of passive income include investing in bonds or peer-to-peer lending, generating advertisement revenue from a blog, or putting your money in a high-yield savings account. Even the money an artist makes through plays of their songs on a streaming platform can qualify as passive income.

If you want passive income, be ready to work

Contrary to what the phrase passive income suggests, you need to put in work to attain it.

Investing money you inherited or won in a lottery may be the only path to truly passive income, start to finish. But for most of us, creating this new revenue stream will involve investing money made from more traditional means like a job, or investing our time building a source of income from the ground up.

Without a large initial financial investment, people often underestimate the “sweat equity” or time and energy required at the beginning, says Jannese Torres-Rodriguez, a Florida-based entrepreneur and creator of the Yo Quiero Dinero podcast.

“That initial workload, that time it’s going to take to get to a place where it’s passive, is what freaks a lot of people out and makes them think that, ‘Oh, well, this is obviously a scam because I just want to make money quickly’,” says Ms Torres-Rodriguez.

For both Ms Torres-Rodriguez and Mr Flynn, it took at least a year before they saw earnings from some of their current sources of passive income. Both said that it took consistent work during that period before they started seeing money come from their blogs, including from affiliate marketing, advertisement revenue and selling courses, among other sources.

That initial workload, that time it’s going to take to get to a place where it’s passive, is what freaks a lot of people out and makes them think that, ‘Oh, well, this is obviously a scam because I just want to make money quickly
Jannese Torres-Rodriguez,
entrepreneur and creator of the Yo Quiero Dinero podcast

The amount of work upfront can depend on the income stream and what you want to get out of it. For instance, if you’re making income from rental properties, you can hire a person or a company to take care of all the property management. That’ll take away from your earnings, but putting in your own time will make the income more active than passive.

If you’re looking to make passive income, keep in mind it’s not guaranteed down the road — even if you do put in the work. There’s no promise your investment, whether that’s time or money, will pay off. Inevitably, there is risk involved.

Seeing other peoples’ successes, or hearing about them, can trigger that fear of missing out on a good thing. But before you try to emulate them, consider the journey. It’s not unattainable, but it won’t happen overnight.

Key findings of Jenkins report
  • Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
  • Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
  • Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
  • Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
What went into the film

25 visual effects (VFX) studios

2,150 VFX shots in a film with 2,500 shots

1,000 VFX artists

3,000 technicians

10 Concept artists, 25 3D designers

New sound technology, named 4D SRL

 

Specs

Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request

Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026

1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years

If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.

2. E-invoicing in the UAE

Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption. 

3. More tax audits

Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks. 

4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime

Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.

5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit

There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.

6. Further transfer pricing enforcement

Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes. 

7. Limited time periods for audits

Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion. 

8. Pillar 2 implementation 

Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.

9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services

Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations. 

10. Substance and CbC reporting focus

Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity. 

Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer

Classification of skills

A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation. 

A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.

The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000. 

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
Based: Tunisia 
 
Sector: Water technology 
 
Number of staff: 22 
 
Investment raised: $4 million 

Founders: Ines Mena, Claudia Ribas, Simona Agolini, Nourhan Hassan and Therese Hundt

Date started: January 2017, app launched November 2017

Based: Dubai, UAE

Sector: Private/Retail/Leisure

Number of Employees: 18 employees, including full-time and flexible workers

Funding stage and size: Seed round completed Q4 2019 - $1m raised

Funders: Oman Technology Fund, 500 Startups, Vision Ventures, Seedstars, Mindshift Capital, Delta Partners Ventures, with support from the OQAL Angel Investor Network and UAE Business Angels

The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo hybrid

Transmission: eight-speed automatic

Power: 390bhp

Torque: 400Nm

Price: Dh340,000 ($92,579

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Director: Monika Mitchell

Starring: Alyssa Milano, Sam Page, Colleen Wheeler

Rating: 3/5

Florence and the Machine – High as Hope
Three stars

How to wear a kandura

Dos

  • Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion 
  • Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
  • Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work 
  • Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester

Don’ts 

  • Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal 
  • Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
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The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000

Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000

Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent

Black Panther
Dir: Ryan Coogler
Starring: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o
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Director: Hasan Hadi

Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem 

Rating: 4/5

First Person
Richard Flanagan
Chatto & Windus 

Updated: February 01, 2022, 4:00 AM