The Best Passive Income Streams for Consultants and Coaches
The Best Passive Income Streams for Consultants and Coaches
How to Build Sustainable Revenue with the Best Passive Income Streams for Your Business
FREE Download: How to Start a Business Checklist
This guide includes:
How to plan your business
How to set up your marketing
How to build your website
And more!
All in a simple goal-oriented format.
* Disclaimer * Some of the posted links are affiliate programs. By clicking these links, I may receive monetary compensation. This will not alter the price or change the buyer's experience.
You didn’t start your business to work 24/7.
But when you’re a coach or consultant, it’s easy to feel like you’re always “on.” Coaching sessions, calls, emails, it adds up fast.
That’s why passive income matters.
Passive income gives you breathing room. It lets you earn money without trading more time for it. And for coaches and consultants, there are smart, simple ways to make that happen.
In this post, I’ll walk you through the best passive income streams that actually work in our industry. And if you want help organizing your ideas and turning them into action, I’ve got a free Business Planning Checklist to help you get started.
Let’s build income that doesn’t burn you out.
What Is Passive Income (Really?)
Let’s clear something up.
Passive income doesn’t mean “no work.” It means work once, earn again and again.
You put in effort up front, like creating a course, a PDF, or a system. Then, instead of repeating that work every time you make a sale, the product does the work for you.
It’s not magic. But it is smart.
For coaches and consultants, passive income means you can serve more people without adding more hours. That’s how you grow without burning out.
Digital Products (Top Choice for Coaches)
If you’re a coach or consultant, digital products are your best starting point.
Why? Because you already have the knowledge. You’ve already solved problems for clients. Now it’s time to package that wisdom.
Here are a few easy ideas:
A PDF guide or workbook
A set of templates (emails, scripts, planners)
A short, focused mini-course
A toolkit or checklist
The key is to solve one specific problem. Don’t try to teach everything. Pick one thing your audience struggles with, and help them fix it.
Once it’s made, you can sell it over and over again. No extra work. No extra time.
Online Courses or Masterclasses
Courses are a classic passive income stream, and for good reason. You teach something once, record it, and then sell it again and again.
This works great for coaches and consultants. You already teach in 1:1 or group settings. Now you can turn that into something scalable.
Here’s how:
Record a video training or slide presentation
Break it into bite-sized lessons
Upload it to a platform like Teachable, Podia, or Thinkific
Want to keep it simple? Start with a one-hour masterclass. Solve one clear problem and make it easy to follow.
Once it’s live, you can automate everything, from the sales page to the email delivery.
That’s how your knowledge keeps working, even when you’re not.
Affiliate Marketing
If you’re already recommending tools or resources to clients, this one’s a no-brainer.
Affiliate marketing means you earn a commission when someone buys through your link. No extra work. No product to build.
Start with the tools you actually use. Things you know and trust.
For example:
Your favourite scheduling software
The platform you use to host your course
Books, business tools, or planners that help your clients
You can add affiliate links to your blog posts, newsletters, or resource pages. Just be honest and clear about what you're recommending.
Quick tip: Only promote what fits your brand. If it feels off, your audience will feel it too.
This is one of the simplest ways to earn passive income while staying helpful and authentic.
Memberships or Subscriptions
If you have content your audience wants more of, a membership might be the perfect fit. This can be super simple. You don’t need a huge vault of content or a massive community. Just give consistent value in small doses.
Here are some ideas:
Monthly Q&A sessions
Exclusive templates or planning tools
Private podcast episodes or newsletters
Access to a member-only chat or group
Keep it easy for both you and them. Use tools like Patreon, Kajabi, or even a private email list.
Set the schedule, automate the content, and let it run. That’s recurring income with minimal extra work.
Licensing Your Content or Frameworks
If you’ve built a system that gets results, you don’t have to keep it all to yourself.
Licensing lets other coaches or businesses use your content for a fee. You stay the creator. They get permission to use your work with their own clients.
This is perfect if you’ve created:
A signature coaching framework
A course curriculum
A workbook or toolset
Slide decks or workshop materials
You can license it as-is or customize it for different audiences.
This is next-level passive income. It positions you as a leader while scaling your impact, without adding more to your schedule.
Passive income isn’t about doing nothing. It’s about building smart systems that keep working for you.
As a coach or consultant, you already have the skills. You’ve already done the hard part, helping people get results. Now it’s time to turn that into income that doesn’t rely on your calendar.
Start small. Pick one income stream. Build it once. Then let it grow.
Need help planning it all out?
Download my free Business Planning Checklist and map out your next steps with clarity and confidence. Let your business work for you. Even when you’re offline.
I want to be transparent so that there are no misunderstandings. As an affiliate, I may earn a small commission from any products linked in this post. This is not a sponsored post, and I was not asked to recommend these products. These are products that I genuinely love and wanted to share with my audience.