Leadership and management expertise positions you [+]

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The year 2024 presents an exceptional time for middle managers in particular, because research shows us that not only does the future hold financial overwhelm and instability, but managers face challenges within their work environments that can prohibit them from experiencing ultimate wellbeing and job satisfaction.

An estimated 53% of managers are exhausted, according to Microsoft’s 2022 Work Trend Index. A UKG survey of 3,700 professionals across 10 countries notes that “managers are more often stressed out than their team members and senior leadership (42% vs. 40% and 35%, respectively).”

Additionally, Vox interestingly noted in 2022, “Lower-paid workers always make up the majority of the workforce and a majority of the quits. As fallout from the pandemic as well as existing trends like an aging workforce continue, however, the composition of the resignations has shifted to include more tenured, higher-paid workers, and, increasingly, those in management roles.”

Add the costs of living to the conflicting demands of navigating future challenges for businesses and their teams, and factor in building high-performing, collaborative teams while answering senior leadership demands, and it is easy to see how managers are stressed out and even ready to quit to find less demanding, alternative sources of income.

Management Expertise Gives You Leverage

If you work in leadership or management, that is evidence that you have built and sustained credibility for your employer to entrust you with managing and overseeing operations, because you have demonstrated exceptional performance, industry expertise, and potential. You know how to drive results; you understand the ins and outs of the company and the market that you operate in.

But how exactly does one turn this expertise and industry knowledge into passive income? How can you take your experience and leverage it to generate passive income, even if you’ve walked out (or are considering walking out) of your role due to wellbeing and mental health reasons?

It certainly can feel like an overwhelming process. Starting a side hustle or passive income stream can be daunting for most people, even if you have good intentions and the most convincing New Year’s resolutions at the start of the year. But the below steps will simplify the process and make it easier to get started:

 

 

 

 

1. Define Your Worth

Before you can think about generating passive income or starting any kind of side hustle for that matter, you need to understand what you’re worth. You need to get clear on what expertise specifically you bring to the table, what makes your angle unique, what are the skills and aspects of your industry that you excel in, and what strengths you demonstrated in your current or previous role. What is your niche and sub-niche going to be?

2. Identify Your Skills/Knowledge Gap

You don’t need to be perfect at everything; as a manager or leader, you already know and understand the wisdom in delegating. It’s the same when starting your own small business or side hustle, with the goal of generating passive income. For it to be successful, you need to be honest with yourself, not only with the areas that you excel in, but the areas where you will need professional advice or could use some upskilling.

Begin by identifying your specialism and how [+]
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3. Devise A Plan

Passive income might be termed passive, but it requires much upfront effort for it to work. So you’ll need to put a plan in place using the SMART goal-setting method, so that you’re on track and your idea has a higher chance of being successful. This will ensure your expertise benefits a wider audience, which in turn boosts your income.

 

Plan to diversify your income streams so you’re able to earn what you’re worth, even in your sleep. For example, you might decide to consider affiliate marketing, creating a website where prospective customers can pay for your consulting or other services with a few simple clicks, or even writing a book or industry guide based on your advanced knowledge.

4. Develop Superior Quality Content And Thought Leadership

Use your expertise to establish leadership in the form of long-form and short-form content, partnerships with other social media creators, pitching yourself to make appearances on podcasts and radio shows, participating on LinkedIn’s gold badge top voice program, and even writing books and e-books.

 

Ensure you consistently provide unique value and always add a new perspective to the industry conversation. Don’t be afraid to challenge the status quo; that’s what makes you interesting and attracts sincere, deep thinkers to follow you and your content.

This will require a significant level of dedication, commitment and confidence from you. But if you stick at it, you can achieve recognition and trust within your industry, and earn passive income through sources such as the sale of your books, people signing up for your events, or course enrolments sold.

5. Automate As Much As Possible

Remember how the goal was to work smarter and not harder in your corporate job? Remember how your focus was on streamlining processes and eliminating bottlenecks in you and your team’s workflow? Apply the same principles to your personal branding and side hustle, to turn it into passive income. Sometimes just a few small tweaks can go a long way.

For example, you can automate your processes so that interested customers no longer need to send you an email or message on social media to enquire about your services; they can simply visit your website or landing page and enquire or purchase there. You can also automate other business processes such as email marketing, social media post scheduling, and sales funnels. This allows you to generate passive income without the constant manual effort.

 

Automate your processes for peace of mind so you [+]
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Do you believe that you have a story to tell? Are you passionate about your work and do you feel that you bring significant value to your industry? Is your expertise as a manager or leader (or ex-manager) worth it? If the answer to all these questions is yes, then simply go for it. Begin at step one, and make note of what unique skills and knowledge you can bring to the world. Revolutionize your industry, make an impact, and make passive income, all at the same time.