This Youtuber Went From College Dropout To Earning $8,200 A Month In Passive Income By Working Just 4 Hours A Day: And The 3 Biggest Lies She Wants You To Stop Believing About Making Money While You Sleep

After exiting college in 2007 with $50,000 in student loans and no degree in hand, Amy Landino was financially insecure and unsure about the future. Almost two decades later, she's raking in $8,200 a month in passive income — all while putting in just four hours of work a day.

In a recent profile for CNBC Make It, the content creator and group coach shared what she's learned on her journey to building a sustainable business — and what people misunderstand about passive income.

What Happened: Landino created her brand with over a thousand YouTube videos on productivity and personal branding. "It takes consistent upkeep and creative planning," she told CNBC Make It. Behind each video lies hours of prep and filming, and older content needs to be updated regularly to keep providing value to viewers.

She got her first taste of automated earnings through a straightforward video course that brought in $1,000 in one day, with just one email to a small pool of subscribers. "I started with a camera I already owned," she said.

Why It Matters: As Landino shifts her attention towards coaching, she is countering what she calls the top three "complete lies" about passive income: that it takes no work, that it requires a huge budget, and that it sustains itself forever. In reality, she notes, successful income streams depend on maintaining connection with your audience, putting systems in place, and offering products that evolve according to their needs.

Throughout her journey, from self-publishing Vlog Like a Boss to creating a morning routine planner inspired by fan requests, Landino has relied on her community to direct each new step.

"Passive income doesn't mean set-it-and-forget-it," she said. "It means being strategic about how you show up — and creating things that keep working, even when you're not."

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