Founder Story: Why Passive Income is a Misnomer – Lessons from Frankie Calkins' 4-Year Journey

For many solopreneurs, the idea of passive income is enticing—a dream of earning money while you sleep with little to no effort. But Frankie Calkins, an entrepreneur who spent four years chasing passive income, believes otherwise. After building multiple passive income streams, Frankie discovered that the “set it and forget it” mentality often touted in success stories is far from reality.

In January 2019, Frankie uploaded his first YouTube video to promote his self-published personal finance book, which focused on how to make money—a topic he’d learned extensively about over the previous year. While his initial intention was to share knowledge, he found himself hooked by the concept of passive income after making his first online dollar just a month later. In that first month, Frankie earned $315 in book sales, which fueled his pursuit of additional income streams.

Over time, Frankie built seven sources of passive income, including YouTube, Medium, Amazon Affiliates, and dividend revenue from investing. But despite the multiple streams, his income plateaued, and he hit a wall. “My updates weren’t exciting,” Frankie admits. His passive income streams weren’t growing as expected, and some months, they even declined.

So, what went wrong? Frankie learned some hard lessons about passive income, the most important being that passive income isn’t truly passive. Every income stream required time, effort, and maintenance. For example, it took him 20 months and 75 long-form videos to monetize his YouTube channel, and his books on KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) have barely turned a profit after factoring in production and advertising costs.

Frankie also discovered that passive income can be highly volatile. Just like investing, some months were fantastic, but others saw sharp declines, making income unpredictable. Diversification, a common strategy with investments, didn’t scale the same way with passive income. In fact, he found that pursuing too many passive income streams at once spread his focus thin, resulting in burnout and lower-quality output.

Another critical takeaway was that passive income only works when you leverage your talents. Frankie realized that trying to replicate other people’s passive income strategies didn’t always work for him. While he admired musicians who earned from Spotify or landlords who profited from real estate, those were skills he didn’t possess. Instead, Frankie found success by doubling down on what he knew—writing, creating digital content, and financial education.

He also emphasized the importance of solving a real problem. No matter how much passion you have or how much content you create, if your product or service doesn’t address a specific need, you won’t make money. Frankie urges entrepreneurs to focus on delivering solutions to a niche audience rather than casting a wide net.

One of the most important lessons Frankie learned was that marketing is critical. You can have the best product or content in the world, but if you don’t know how to market it, you’ll never see results. For Frankie, building an audience was just as essential as creating a solution. He learned that passive income doesn’t mean “build it, and they will come.” Instead, it requires active promotion to get your solution in front of the right people.

Frankie also discovered that passive income streams can dry up. The platforms and methods that are lucrative today may not exist tomorrow. For example, while YouTube is a fantastic revenue generator now, it could one day be replaced by another platform. Frankie advises having a contingency plan by diversifying into additional streams when you're ready, but warns against spreading yourself too thin.

Finally, Frankie learned that you can’t “set it and forget it.” With most passive income streams—except for dividend investing—you need to keep producing content or maintaining your assets. Whether you’re a YouTuber, writer, or course creator, passive income requires ongoing effort to stay profitable. The notion of setting something up once and reaping the rewards indefinitely is a myth.

Ultimately, Frankie’s journey is a cautionary tale for solopreneurs seeking to build passive income streams. While it’s possible to earn money this way, it’s rarely as passive as advertised. Frankie’s advice is to focus on your strengths, solve real problems, and manage your expectations. Success is possible, but it requires effort, strategy, and constant adaptation.

Key Lessons from Frankie’s Passive Income Journey:

1. Passive income isn’t truly passive – Every income stream requires ongoing effort.

2. Volatility is part of the process – Expect fluctuations in revenue, just like with investments.

3. Focus on a few streams at a time – Spreading yourself too thin reduces quality and results.

4. Leverage your unique talents – Focus on what you’re good at to maximize your success.

5. Solve real problems – Find a niche market with a pressing need, and cater to that.

6. Marketing is essential – Without promotion, even the best products or content will fail.

7. Be prepared for change – Today’s popular platform may not exist tomorrow.

8. It’s not “set it and forget it” – Ongoing effort is necessary to keep streams profitable.