Things to consider about Passive Income and the pet industry

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Have you seen posts or courses talking about passive income and how easy it is?

Maybe the thought of waking up and seeing lots of money in your PayPal or Stripe account sounds appealing? Or you’ve seen other people talking about their passive income work and thought, “is this something that might work for me?”

I’m Rachel, and I’m an accredited pet business coach, former journalist, dog-friendly cottage owner, membership site owner, planner creator, and author of Publicity Tips for Pet Businesses.

Many of these things might sound like easy passive income offers from the outside.

I’ve written this post to explain why they’re not, and to share some things worth considering if you’re being tempted by the passive income conversation.

What passive income really means

I’m not saying passive income doesn’t exist. I’m sure it does, for some people. What I don’t believe is that it’s possible for everyone, and I think we’re often sold the myth that it is.

The reality is that passive income only works if you can actually let it be passive.

And if you’re someone who likes to be involved, who cares about the detail, who finds it hard to let go of the personal touch, it’s probably not going to work the way you’ve been promised.

My experience with passive income

I’ve bought lots of courses over the years, listened to podcasts, and worked with coaches on passive income products. What I’ve found is that they’re not that passive, at least not for me.

It’s not because anyone has done anything wrong or deceptive. It’s more that I’m not good at letting go.

I feel bad if I’m not hands-on. I want to offer personalised support and the result of all of this is that the things I do simply aren’t passive.

Here’s how it’s been for me, and you might relate to some of the things I share.

2026 planner for pet business owners, designed to help with content planning, goal setting, and organisation.

Is the Pet Business Content Planner a passive income product?

People will tell you that creating a planner is passive income. It really isn’t, or at least mine isn’t.

I started working on the 2026 Pet Business Content Planner in August 2025 and had written the bulk of it by September.

Every single one of the Words for When coaching exercises comes from real client conversations and evidence-based coaching techniques.

There are twelve of them in this year’s planner, covering everything from self-compassion and difficult conversations to the magnifying glass of misery, which is what one of my one-to-one clients and I named that horrible habit of scrolling to compare yourself to others when you’re already feeling wobbly.

Getting the awareness days right alone takes days of really intense work.

I research them, hire someone to double-check them, and then check them again myself, because they move, get created at the last minute, or disappear entirely.

There was a Pug Day that appeared after the planner went to print. That is the kind of thing that keeps me up at night.

Once the planners arrive, every single one that goes out has a handwritten thank you card, gets packed by me, and I walk it down to the post office and get it scanned in myself.

There is nothing passive about that.

To get it out there this year I did hundreds of social media posts, several email campaigns, press outreach that got us into the Warrington Guardian, Yahoo News, Pet Gazette and Pet Trade Extra, talks in memberships across the industry, and a charity campaign that raised over £1,200 for Street Vet.

If you feel like you talk about your thing too much, come and have a look at my social media and I promise you’ll feel better about yourself.

Read more on this: Behind the scenes of the 2026 planner launch

Are Pets Get Visible and The Planner Club passive income products?

My Pets Get Visible membership is a coaching community for pet business owners focused on confidence, visibility, and getting your work seen.

It is not a ‘bung a load of PDFS from 2019 into a Google Drive and flog it and leave them to it,’ kind of membership.

Every single month there are seven hours of live calls, including coworking and coaching sessions, plus a private Facebook community and a resource library covering press, content, and visibility strategy.

Seven hours of live calls a month is not passive by anyone’s definition.

The Planner Club is a newer offering, designed for pet professionals who want support actually using their planner rather than having it sit on a shelf.

It includes four planning calls across the year, an online annual planning day, and six coworking mornings – all of which I show up for, plan, host, and facilitate.

There is also marketing for both products throughout the year.

Read more on this: Should you join my Planner Club

Rachel Spencer Sunnyside Cottage Robin Hood's Bay

Is Sunnyside Cottage a passive income business?

In theory, a holiday cottage could be passive income. I could leave Sam and Sian at Baytown Holiday Cottages who manage it for me to do everything.

But I believe I’m responsible for the success of the cottage, so I need to do my bit, which means arranging press coverage, review stays, and three social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.

Over the past year I oversaw a full refurb at Sunnyside Cottage in Robin Hood’s Bay – new windows, new floors, new bathroom, new carpets, new sofa, new mattresses, new bed frames, decorating, DIY, and pointing on the outside walls. I did as much of it myself as I possibly could.

I do my own cleans. I prepare every single welcome pack. I source handmade dog treats, bandanas, paw balm, bowls, robes and long-lasting chews from small pet businesses I love and believe in.

I invest in Instagram training, attend live training sessions, and am constantly working on my skills to market the cottage better.

I’ve also started a newsletter for Sunnyside (register here) and am always looking at what more I can do to make sure guests find us and feel well looked after when they arrive.

None of this happens without me doing work!

Read more on this: Behind the scenes at Sunnyside Cottage 2026

This post from 2023: Doing visibility my way at Sunnyside Cottage

And this from 2024: The first year of running Sunnyside Cottage

So what’s the point I’m making about Passive Income?

It’s not that passive income is a lie. It’s that it isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution, and the programmes that promise otherwise aren’t always telling you the full story.

Before you sign up for something that guarantees you can build income while you sleep, ask yourself: ‘Am I actually someone who can let go?’

Because if you’re hands-on, if you care about the details, if you like to be involved in every step of the process, it probably won’t be passive.