It’s Labor Day! And I want to reflect on what it means, especially for us in Internet Marketing or Online Marketing.

Originally, Labor Day was meant to celebrate organized labor – that’s unions who have helped workers to earn decent wages and work under humane working conditions. And because of all the Labor Day parades, people got the day off.

The day off is what’s the primary focus these days, along with BBQ with family and/or friends. So yes, I hope you’re enjoying some great BBQ today. I enjoyed mine last night.

Let’s not stop with BBQ though… Let’s reflect on what it means to us Internet Marketers, i.e., those of us who have liberated ourselves from our jobs and make a living online. And those of us who would like to do just that.

Labor Day should remind us of our WHY! Why is it that we chose to go against society’s rules that everybody has to have a J-O-B?

Maybe you hated your job. Maybe you were sick and tired of not getting paid enough for all the hard work you did. And maybe you lost it.

Either way, consider the alternatives…

Labor Day For Entrepreneurs

If you own your own business now, whether it’s a big one or a teeny tiny one, you’re an entrepreneur. You make your own living. You’re your own boss.

What are the advantages?

You get to make your own hours.
You get to keep the money you make (well, except the part that goes to the IRS and the part that you need to reinvest in your business to keep it humming along).
You’re in charge.

And hey, you may even be able to sell your business one of these days.

One of my friends and mentors was able to do just that – for a

cool 5 million dollars. And I have a mentor who routinely creates small businesses that he sells off. I really need to check into his business model…

What are the disadvantages?

Well, there ARE disadvantages… You’re IT. The buck stops with you. That can be an advantage OR a disadvantage.

If you’re still in the early stages of your business, life can be tough.

What’s Your WHY?

When things get tough, it helps us to remember WHY we’re doing what we do. Yes, we want to make money, but ultimately, money is just a means to an end. What is it you REALLY want?

Take some time to think about it…

You want financial security
You want to provide for your family (and yourself)
You want to travel
You want the freedom to spend time with your loved ones
You want the freedom to take time off when you need it
You want…

Keep going… write down YOUR list of what you REALLY want.

And then put it somewhere where you can see it every day, so you’ll get motivated all over again.

And then…

Focus on making your business run more effectively. Here are some ideas…

How to make more money with less work

So what can you do to make life easier?

Two words: Passive Income

One thing you should definitely do is allocate a chunk of your time and energy to creating passive income…

And as part of that, focus on creating multiple sources of passive income. Have several eggs in your basket (but not so many that you have a hard time keeping track of them).

So what IS passive income, how can you get some, and why am I talking about it on Labor Day?

Labor Day And Passive Income

The cool thing about passive income is that it can bring you money while you literally sleep. Or enjoy a vacation. Or enjoy a barbecue with your friends.

So what IS passive income and how can you get it?

For online marketers, there are three main ways to create passive income:

1) Create your own products

The first and primary way to generate passive income is to create your own product. Then set them up for sale, and presto: People buy them and send you money.

Well, okay, so it’s not quite so simple. You have to make sure it’s a product that meets a need, and you have to let the world know about it.

But still, that’s the general idea, and in upcoming blog posts, I’ll talk more about this.

2) Create a membership site

Well, okay, so that’s ultimately another product you create. You also need to fill that site with information so that people will stick around.

And then they’ll pay you month after month after month. How cool is that?

3) Set up recurring income streams

The third way to create a passive income is to set up a recurring income stream, or several.

One of them is through affiliate marketing. If at all possible, you should pick products or services to promote that will pay you over and over again. For example hosting services. Or shopping carts. Or autoresponders.

Or membership sites (yours or other people’s).

In the meantime, enjoy your day off, and think about how you can increase the freedom in your life 🙂

Happy Labor Day!

P.S.: I’ve decided to create a Labor Day Online Marketing Quick Start Special to give you a jumpstart on your path to independence:

CLICK HERE for your Special Deal

And be sure to use coupon code “LABORDAY” (no quotes), which is good through September 5th!