Gary Vee says passive income is a myth. This YouTuber makes $10,000/month proving him wrong—here’s how. Affiliate
The dream is strong: making good money while relaxing on a beach in Mexico, away from the 9-to-5 hustle. This is the well-known idea of “passive income.” It has intrigued many aspiring entrepreneurs for years.
But not everyone is a believer. Gary Vaynerchuk, a well-known entrepreneur, shared his doubts with an audience member. This person dreamed of leaving the office for a “beach in Mexico.”
The quickest way to not be on a beach in Mexico is to think that passive income exists.
YouTuber Sarah Chrisp from “Wholesale Ted” disagrees. She provides clear proof, showing how she makes over $10,000 a month from one passive income source. This post breaks down key points from her approach. The “passive income” debate hinges on redefining terms and building automated assets.
1. The real definition of “passive” is a stark absence of staff.
The foundation of Chrisp’s strategy is a crucial clarification of terms. She draws a hard line between “truly passive” income and what she calls “semi-passive” income.
• Truly Passive: Automated systems that require no staff to run.
• Semi-Passive: Businesses that require employees or virtual assistants to operate.
This distinction is crucial. She claims all income figures in her video, like the over $10,000 a month, meet her strict “truly passive” standard. They are fully automated and need no staff. This re-framing changes the focus. We focus on “no ongoing operational dependency” instead of “no work.” This shift addresses the main issue in the debate.
2. The secret to passivity is not owning the customer. Affiliate
This counterintuitive principle is the architectural foundation of her passive income streams. Her model is based on affiliate marketing. In this system, you promote another company’s product through a specially tracked link. You earn a commission for any sales that come from your link.
The main benefit of passivity is that the buyer is the company’s customer, not yours. She uses Placeit as an example. It offers product mockups. In the last 30 days, she earned over $800 in affiliate commissions from this one product “doing no work.” When someone clicks her affiliate link and buys a Placeit subscription:
• Placeit handles product delivery.
• Placeit handles all customer support emails.
Chrisp makes a clear trade-off. She gives up maximum customer Lifetime Value (LTV) and ownership. In return, she gains near-zero operational overhead. This is the architectural choice that enables true passivity. This setup helped her truly earn money while vacationing in Tokyo. It directly challenges Gary V’s “beach in Mexico” dismissal.
3. The “Passive” Part Isn’t the Product—It’s the Automated Traffic System.
The key to income isn’t just the affiliate product. It’s the automated system that brings in qualified traffic to the offer. Chrisp’s system focuses on making valuable YouTube video tutorials. These videos draw in viewers naturally through YouTube search.
The “automation” is not magic; it is the result of a deliberate content strategy. Her high-value tutorials focus on high-intent search terms, like “Shopify tutorial.” This makes her videos lasting digital assets. They attract organic traffic from YouTube’s search engine long after they go live.
Her data-backed examples are compelling:
– Two tutorial videos for the AliDropShip e-commerce plug-in make over $1,500 in commissions every month.
• These two videos also promote SiteGround web hosting. They generate “hundreds of dollars” more, adding up to over $2,000 a month from just these two videos.
• Her best example is a Shopify tutorial from six months ago. It now brings in over $10,000 a month in commissions, all hands-off.”
The “set it and forget it” nature of this system is the core of its passivity. Once creators make a video that ranks well on YouTube, it keeps bringing in new viewers. This earns commissions each month, with no extra work needed from the creator.
4. The Surprising Point of Agreement: Passive Income Is Incredibly Hard Work.
Here lies the twist in the debate. Chrisp shares her thoughts and finds common ground with Gary Vaynerchuk. They both agree on one key point: passive income is not easy money.
She highlights a clarifying statement from Gary V:
I promise that those in the 1% of passive income put in a lot of hard work and time to reach that evergreen spot in the sky.
This quote perfectly summarizes her own experience. She details the immense upfront effort she invested in creating her automated systems:
• The video promoting Placeit required a significant time investment to create.
• The AliDropShip tutorials that earn over $2,000/month demand even more effort.
• Finally, the Shopify tutorial now brings in over $10,000 a month. It took the biggest time commitment of all.
This doesn’t include the time needed to learn the platforms to teach them well. The final conclusion is clear: the end result is passive, but creating it is not. The myth isn’t that passive income exists. It’s the idea of a “magical money vending machine” that needs no effort.
Conclusion: It’s Not a dream, it’s an Asset
Real passive income isn’t a scheme. It’s the money you earn from a valuable, automated digital asset. This asset requires a big upfront investment of work and skill. The goal is not to find a magic button you press for money, but to build a system that works for you.
What automated system can you start today? Remember, passive income needs time and effort, not shortcuts.
