Today I am pleased to present an interview with Pat Flynn of $mart Passive Income fame.
Pat Flynn has become somewhat of an internet celebrity over the last year. A casualty of the recession when laid off from his architecture job, Pat turned to creating a passive income online. Pat decided to chronicle his adventures with ehow, the process of creating iphone apps, and building a successful blog on his own blog $mart Passive Income with Pat Flynn.
Pat’s most successful project so far has been the launch of his LEED Guides, but that was not without problems. Pat had to relaunch his LEED Guides after losing his LEED domain to a trademark dispute. Even with the domain switchover, Pat has made far more then an architect’s salary from the LEED Guides sold at http://www.greenexamacademy.com/
Many readers find Pat’s monthly income updates very helpful because Pat not only shows the exact results of his passive income quest but discusses the factors behind the results and what he intends to do to improve the results in the future.
It was my pleasure to interview Pat Flynn recently. Here is a transcript of that interview:
JadeDragon: I know we are both big fans of Tim Ferriss. In fact, you recently gave away 9 copies of the new edition of the 4-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss in a contest. How has the 4-Hour Work Week changed your life?
Pat Flynn: The 4-Hour Workweek was definitely a life changer. It not only changed what I knew was possible with business and in life, but it rearranged my view on what I was doing and where I was going in my own life. Before getting laid off and picking up the 4-Hour Work Week book, I was one of those people who was trying to climb the corporate ladder and maxing out my 401k, so I could happily retire when I finally turned 65. Tim helped me realize that 65 is such a long time away, and there’s no reason for me to have to wait until then to enjoy life.
I have since put to practice many of the principles in The 4-Hour Work Week. In my business, I take myself out of the
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equation so that transactions can happen automatically without having to be present. I also take to heart his ideals about being effective vs. being efficient. I make sure that most, if not all of the tasks that I do help me get to where I want to be. It’s cool to be efficient at something, but as Tim says, “…it is useless unless applied to the right things.”
In my life, although I’m nowhere near as traveled as Tim or many other of his followers are, I at least like to know that I could be if I wanted to. My number one priority is my family, and instead of wanting to go places like France, Italy or Japan – I want to be able to make sure I am always there to pick up my son from school, go to every single one of his soccer games or piano recitals – whatever he ends up doing when he grows up.
JadeDragon: A huge congratulations on your new baby boy. How is Keoni doing?
Pat Flynn: Thank you so much!
Keoni, my 21 day old son, is doing really well. He’s keeping us up at night, he’s spitting up all over our shirts, and I’m loving every moment of it. This is what life is all about.
JadeDragon: My girl is nearly one so I know you have a really wonderful adventure ahead. She is a lot more interesting to watch then office politics. How is having a child impacting your business?
Pat Flynn: You might think that having a child would negatively impact one’s business because of the constant care that is needed and all of the distractions he may cause. However, the combination of a very understanding wife and a new baby boy has actually made a huge positive impact on my business. When I’m working, I’m a lot more focused and a lot more productive.
The primary reason for this increased productivity is because I have a totally new form of motivation – my son. I work more efficiently, so I can get things done and spend more time with him. I work on new and exciting things that will take my business to the next level, so that I can provide him with everything he needs while growing up. Having a child really puts life into perspective for me, and this has had a positive impact on my business.
Jade Dragon: Ferriss talks a lot about vagabonding. Is this a concept you are attracted to?
Pat Flynn: Vagabonding is taking time off from your normal life so you can explore the world on your own terms. Tim is definitely the epitome of vagabonding – traveling from place to place experiencing everything he can take in during his mini-retirements.
For any single person (or even couple) out there, I think a “break from normal life” is definitely something healthy and wonderful that should be experienced. It can be a nice breath of fresh air, especially when a lot of “normal life” tends to suffocate us at times. For me, however, now that I have a newborn son, I think vagabonding in that sense would be somewhat difficult for us right now.
JadeDragon: I am really finding your “ebooks the $mart Way” very helpful. What inspired you to write this ebook?
Pat Flynn: The eBook, which is about how to publish, market and automate a killer eBook, is my way of giving back for all of the fortunate things that have recently happened to me in my life. I truly believe that I’m one of the luckiest people on Earth.
After getting laid off in October of 2008, I’ve since been able to create my own online business that not only has helped me earn more money than I’ve ever seen in my entire life, but actually spend less time working and more time with my family and friends – thanks to some of the things I learned in The 4-Hour Workweek. It all started with an eBook, so I’m hoping that I can help someone achieve similar results with my guide.
JadeDragon: I’m planning to be one of those readers. Please share how can our readers get a copy?
eBooks the $mart Way
Pat Flynn: You can find eBooks The $mart Way on my blog at http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/ebooks-the-smart-way/
JadeDragon: Can you talk about your philosophy on helping people rather then selling to people?
Pat Flynn: It’s very simple. If you do everything in your power to help people, whether it’s by offering excellent free content for them to consume, or by going that extra mile to research an answer for their question, they will remember you. Not only will they begin to trust you, but they’ll recommend you to their friends and anyone else who is looking for the same kind of information you have to provide. And that is the most powerful form of marketing right there – word of mouth marketing. A recommendation from a friend is better than any sales page or any banner ad you could design.
If your primary intention is to help others, then whatever it is you end up selling will usually sell itself.
JadeDragon: Thank-you so much for taking the time to answer my questions for the readers of Innovative Passive Income. I encourage everyone to check out Pat Flynn’s Smart Passive Income Blog (always linked on the blog roll to the right).
Pat Flynn: Thank-you for the opportunity to chat as well.
You can see a good video interview with Pat on the Ren Men Show
The Ren Men Show – Episode 8 from The Ren Men Show on Vimeo.
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Hey there! I just wanted to take a moment to thank you, JadeDragon, for the opportunity to share some of my thoughts about passive income with your readers. Cheers!
It is a real pleasure to collaborate with one of the people that inspired me to work my butt off on a passive income path rather then building a new real estate development business. Thanks so much Pat. I buy through your recommendations when ever I get a chance as thanks for all your hard work. JadeDragon
Hi JadeDragon,
Great interview with Pat. It’s refreshing to read success stories, just when some of us need a boost :)
Dear Pat,
I love your blog. There is a lot of good useful advice and instructions for free in it. However, I am a critical thinker and can’t help but be skeptical about a few things:
- First, you seem to contradict yourself. In your 101 intro, you tell everyone that making passive income online is not easy, and that it requires a lot of hard work and time to build up, which is true. But then in your story, you say you made $8000 off one ebook during your first month attempt at this, and that in your first year, you made over $200,000, and now you make $30,000 a month. Isn’t that a direct contradiction? By your claims, you got rich quick easily, but you tell everyone that it takes a lot of time and hard work and is not easy.
- I’ve been making money online for 3 years now, and I know many others who are doing it too. $8,000 in your first month is an extraordinary claim, not a realistic one, even if you are a super genius. It took me 3 years to build up enough traffic and reputation to make around $1000 a month. Your sites do look great, and do have top rankings I see, but there are many sites out there that look great with web 2.0 graphics and nifty wordpress themes too, and they ain’t making shit. I still think your claims are extraordinary. But your fans seem to believe everything you say, like a Gospel preacher in a church, with no skepticism. Why is that?
- What evidence is there to back your income claims? Why haven’t you posted screen shots of your Adsense report earnings, or of your monthly PayPal transactions? But even those are easy to fake. Anyone can download or save a webpage offline, and then manipulate the HTML in it to produce any numbers they want. On the internet, anyone can claim anything. Even in Amway and other MLM’s, lots of people making nothing are claiming to be doing well and pulling in thousands of dollars per month. It doesn’t mean it’s all true.
- In my experience, people who really are pulling in a lot of income do not like to draw public attention to it, unless they are celebrities. There are negative consequences to doing that. Especially if you are making a lot of money online, it is not in one’s best interest to publicize it, for it will draw bad people, and incite others to follow your business model and create copycat versions of your site, which could potentially jeopardize your income. No rational person would want to do that.
- In addition, there is an old adage that says: “You cannot make a lot of money by telling people the truth”. I wonder if that applies here. Another witty quote says:
“The men the American public admire most extravagantly are the most daring liars; the men they detest most violently are those who try to tell them the truth.” – H. L. Mencken
So it makes sense to be skeptical here, doesn’t it?