Not the prettiest of months, I had to write down my RSUs (which also vest next week and I will be paying tax on!), due to my company being at a 5 year low. Bit of a tough one as I was hoping these RSUs would give me the cash buffer I could do with at the moment. My net worth has been stagnant for the past few months, but given the decline in stocks and house prices I think I have down well to cling on. When the bull market returns I expect to do very well.

Life: There has been a lot going on in my life with the birth of my first nephew and various drama. I ran my first half marathon in a time of 1.55 which is reasonable I think… not quite the 1:45 I wanted but I definitely did not train enough for it. My mental health has been “ok” but not marvelous. Mostly because I hurt my foot and could not run. It’s amazing the effect of not being able to do the thing you rely on for your mental health. All my other habits didn’t happen nearly as often as they should have done once I stopped running. I need to diversify the tools I use for my mental health, mediation, singing anything really.

Portfolio: £3450

I changed my strategy for my Trading212 investing account as I decided I wanted to be much more ambitious in this portfolio. My risk tolerance is very high, and I have plenty of exposure to S&P in my pension (I changed from the Scottish Widows North American Fund to an actual S&P one, I hadn’t realized the fees were so high on the former (0.8%!) which will save me a lot in the long-run.

I bought two quite ambitious and risky stocks this month (and consolidated all my investments into these two) Oxford Nanopore – I bought just after they were mentioned in Apple’s M3 chip launch hoping for a bit of a trade. I’m up about 6% in a week but I think that is from sentiment turning around within sequencing. PacBio massively outperformed expectations so the sector has turned, momentarily at least, bullish. The second company I bought this month is Oxford Biodynamics Plc as they roll out their new prostate cancer test in the US and UK. Currently neither are profitable, but the amount of growth potential (and actual revenue sales) is outstanding. I’m very much looking forward to seeing how they fair.

Rest of the balance sheet looks like this:

• Pension: £15500
• Crypto: £700 (staked Ethereum)
• Savings £1884 (NatWest Digital Saver and Santander 5%)
• Home Equity: £118,000
• RSUs vesting 2023 – £2800 (subject to tax on vest)
• Stocks – £3450 and £371 left in FreeTrade (via Crowdcube)

My girlfriend and I have reached an agreement for me to focus on my side hustle at certain times of the week, and she is going to help hold me accountable. I’m still debating which of them I want to go “all-in” on but I’m seeing some good traction on Google for one in my professional and local niche, which I think would be well worth fleshing out.

• How Much Passive Income I Made From Cloning My Voice on ElevenLabs (1st 48HOURS)

  This is one of the rare “actually passive” income streams, it won’t make you rich but it could just help you generate some free cash or Beer Money.

  I posted an article last week discussing the change ElevenLabs (an AI text-to-voice software) made to their system allowing anyone to make money by cloning their voice. This is an update to that.

  Skip to the end of the article for earnings, but here’s how to get started.

  1. Sign up to ElevenLabs — you need the creator program for this (you can cancel once you’ve cloned so total cost is limited — you will make it back in a week or two)
  2. Head to “Professional Voice Cloning”, you will need to upload 30 minutes of your voice. Note: make sure you have no background noise. I messed mine up the first time.

  

  3. Enable sharing and Discovery in Voice Library. This allows people to find you. I haven’t managed to find the best “labels” to use yet to boost your name in the search settings, but people still seem to be able to find me.

  4. Sit back and do nothing, you don’t need to lift a finger (although you need to ensure your Stripe account is connected) and then wait for payments to arrive. You need never even log into the service again if you don’t want to.

  https://youtu.be/rpoeF28sYrU

  I think the opportunity here is clear, some folks who have 400 million characters used — which equates to around 12k USD! It’s a clear first-mover advantage, and Elevenlabs is VERY keen to grow (just raised a big series B). As they do, the oldest voices on the platform are likely to be the ones that produce the most mon

  Here are my usage metrics after 48 hours, on the 18th so far I have 15k credits used:

  

  Financial rewards

  

  Not much, but it’s a little something. My best day so far is $0.45 I’d be very happy if I got to $10 a day.How Much Passive Income I Made from Cloning My Voice

  Give it a try, it might just be a nice little earner for you.

  

  How To Use AI Voices To Make Money on TikTok

  If you’ve been on TikTok recently you will have seen a lot of these kinds of posts, but how are they made?

• Make Money By Cloning Your Voice.

  Imagine generating revenue for years to come, just by uploading 30 minutes of audio online. Imagine being early to YouTube or TikTok? This could be the opportunity you’ve been waiting for!

  On the 12th February 2024 (about an hour ago at time of writing), ElevenLabs released the below statement, allowing people to make passive income from licensing their voice:

  

  You read that right. If you clone your voice using their software, every time someone uses/licenses your voice you get a cut of the revenue generated.

  Although this might come across as scary to some in the industry, it could be quite the reverse. For the best voice actors out there, they could make a lot of side income simply by cloning their old material and letting people use it.

  We don’t currently know how much they are paying, but the business charges between 10–20$ a month so is not short of cash to throw at creators. I would expect them to start paying the big creators a lot of money to get more people onto the platform, just like TikTok started doing with the creator fund. It is also a chance to gain exposure and get paid for at the same.

  If you want to get started simply click here

  To understand the process, read on below.

  

  Above is where your voices will be shown, you can see some of them have over 100k uses, and this is very early on in the platforms history. But they are doing all the right things and rewarding people.

  What do you need to get started?

  1. Subscription to Elevenlabs. Unfortunately, you need to pay for one, rather than the free version (although I recommend trying out the free version first to get used to it). You need the “Creator” tier otherwise you simply won’t be able to access this, but you only need this for the first month (from what I can gather).
  2. Pretty good mic, most have one these days, but a Blue Yeti or something similar is a good place to start, possibly a pop filter
  3. 30 minutes MIN of audio recorded, I just used audacity and the current book I am using. Elevenlabs recommends up to 3 hours of content to get the best results. The more the better basically!
  4. Allow you voice to be used, there will be a button to add to the marketplace
  5. Connect your stripe account — and wait to get paid.

  There is nothing active about this. You are unique, and the more unique your voice the better. I think getting onto the platform early could have big upside potential. Imagine generating revennue for years to come!

  How Much Money My Faceless YouTube Has Made in 90 Days

  Some people are making $1000s a day on these channels, so I thought I would give it a try.

  Excuse the thumbnail, but below may be a useful guide for cloning other people’s voices — you can also make plenty of money there! Follow along for more money making tips.

• Does Salary Sacrifice affect My Mortgage?

  The short answer is, no, your salary sacrifice scheme should not affect your mortgage application.

  So long as the lender you are applying for takes into account your “gross” income (before deductions), rather than your net income, you shouldn’t need to worry. It’s been noted that Santander in the UK will look at net income sometimes.

  For more like this: FAQ: Salary Sacrifice in the UK

  Historically, lenders used your net income, but in the UK now they use your gross income. Why?

  

  Partly because they have to, house price to salary ratio have risen from 3 times in the 1970s to over 8 times as for 2024. You simply would not be able to borrow enough if you had to rely on your net income. Once one company does it, the others have to fall in line to remain competitive.

  Few things to be aware of when you are on a salary sacrifice scheme either for electric car, finance, or pension.

  Although salary sacrifice may not affect your ability to get a mortgage the mortgage lender will assume you will cancel any of your salary sacrifice schemes should you need to repay the loan. So don’t get too comfortable with that fancy car, or those large pension repayments.

  Example: I used to put an extra 10% of my salary into my pension via salary sacrifice. As I was forecasting an extra £250k by the time I retired.

  However, since interest rate rises in 2023 and the cost of living crisis of the same year I found I needed to increase my cash reserves. So I decided to cancel my repayments temporarily (my company still puts in 10%). Until I reach my 6 month emergency fund, I can’t put money into my pension.

  You just need to be prepared that this can happen. In hindsight it would have been a good idea to have this emergency fund ready beforehand. Perhaps, reader, you can take something from that.

• How to Make 10k on TikTok in 100 Days (A Detailed Guide):

  Disclaimer: This method is presented as a possibility and may not guarantee results. Success on TikTok depends on various factors, including content quality, consistency, niche selection, and luck. Be mindful of platform guidelines and responsible business practices.

  You’ve seen those folks making ridiculous money on TikTok, those screenshots are everywhere. You sit and work your 9-5 whilst these “kids” get rich. Below is a screenshot as an example:

  

  Well it seems impossible. It likely is but if ou want to give it a try, then I’ve written a short guide on how to make money on TikTok:

  Step 1: Craft a Theme Page with Strategic Planning:

  1. Identify your niche: Choose a topic you’re passionate about or knowledgeable in, with a large product selection in the TikTok Shop (e.g., wealth, health, relationships).
  2. Research your audience: Analyze trends and popular accounts within your chosen niche to understand content preferences and potential product demands.
  3. Create a unique identity: Craft a consistent brand image for your profile picture, bio, and video aesthetics that stand out and resonate with your target audience.
  4. Content sourcing and repurposing: While repurposing content is mentioned, ensure you have proper rights and permissions to use it. Consider creating original content alongside repurposed material to establish your own voice and avoid ethical concerns.

  Step 2: Develop an Engaging (Optional) Digital Product:

  1. Prioritize engagement, not just sales: Remember, the primary goal is not immediate product sales but algorithm boosts. Create a digital product (e.g., course) closely related to your theme that provides valuable information and keeps viewers engaged.
  2. Course content ideas: Explore topics like “Making money on TikTok” or any topic relevant to your niche that offers practical or insightful information.
  3. Integrate seamlessly: Ensure your product link blends naturally into your videos’ descriptions and content without feeling forced or sales-oriented.

  Step 3: Leverage TikTok Shop for Algorithmic Advantage:

  1. Identify relevant products: Select products from the TikTok Shop that genuinely match your theme and video content, avoiding irrelevant or misleading promotions.
  2. Strategic tagging: Tag these products organically within your video descriptions without appearing overly promotional.
  3. Understand the algorithm: While tagging might boost views, remember consistency, quality, and audience engagement are crucial for long-term success.

  Step 4: Foster Virality and Audience Growth:

  1. Consistent posting: Publish high-quality videos regularly to keep your audience engaged and active.
  2. Optimize for discovery: Utilize relevant hashtags strategically and participate in trending challenges or topics related to your niche.
  3. Community building: Respond to comments and messages actively, fostering a sense of community and encouraging audience interaction.

  Step 5: Explore Monetization Strategies (Not Limited to 100 Days):

  1. TikTok Creator Fund: Aim to join the program (specific criteria apply) to potentially earn per video view, but remember it’s not guaranteed income.
  2. Product sales: If you have a valuable digital product, leverage your audience and engagement to encourage organic sales.
  3. Brand deals: As your audience grows, explore partnerships with brands relevant to your niche for sponsored content opportunities.

  Additional Considerations:

  • Focus on long-term sustainability: Building a genuine audience based on valuable and original content is crucial for long-term success, rather than solely relying on repurposed material or quick trends.
  • Transparency and ethics: Be transparent about your methods and ensure you comply with TikTok’s community guidelines and copyright regulations.
  • Diversify your income: Don’t solely rely on a single platform or monetization method. Explore other avenues like freelance work, affiliate marketing, or product creation beyond TikTok.

  Remember, this is a complex process with no guaranteed outcome. Consistent effort, strategic planning, and ethical practices are key to potentially achieving your goals on TikTok.

• 60 Days of Making Money with my Faceless YouTube Account & AI.

  Some people are making $1000s a day on these channels, so I thought I would give it a try. The idea is that you don’t have to show your voice, and use stock videos and similar to produce content.

  If you’ve looked into making money with AI then you’ve probably seen these Faceless YouTube channels all over the platform. I tried it for 90 days, the results are at the of this article.

  Let’s start with the basics, what do you need to build a faceless YouTube channel? Here’s my quick step-by-step guide:

  1. You get ChatGPT to generate a script (or write it yourself) about an interesting story or topic. It seems most “creators” just rip off someone else and churn into something new form. I’d suggest writing it yourself, the AI can do most things but the content it produces will be very formulaic unless you know what you are doing.
  2. Get a nice AI photo, not essential but preferred, you can use Bing Photo AI Generator or similar to do this for both your avatar and thumbnail. Unfortunately, most people tend to use attractive women to game the system, I’d suggest being a little more creative than that.
  3. Find a niche that you like, and are interested in. If you aren’t you are going to hate your life pretty soon. The better your research here the better you will fair. Think of an area you actually find interesting and maybe see what is trending. I love finance and business and so talk and write a lot about that.
  4. Go to ElevenLabs (link here) and either use a free account or creator account (it’s like 10 bucks for the first month).
  5. Find a voice you like (or clone an existing one, this might have legal implications though), and you can do it all with that tool.

  

  Generate a long audio file (at least 10 minutes) but focus on retention, if you’ve written your script right this should be easy. I’m still working on this. If you use Fiverr you can outsource all of this part to ensure the best script.

  Tip: Find a niche you programmatically build out, that is focused on a keyword you can change. Tutorials are good for this, as there is loads of written content you can turn into videos.

  If you aren’t going down the tutorial route then you should focus on editing catching videos whilst talking about an engaging topic. The trick is to either niche down and make your money via affiliate links (and maybe some Adsense) or go mass market (go for a view channel that could blow up).

  Another area that is underserved in this arena is comedy. But I will write a separate tutorial on how to do that. I think all these tools can supercharge our creativity rather than nullify it, as so many are saying online.

  Here are my results after less than 90 days:

  

  You can see it’s a pretty steady flow coming through. That’s the way I prefer it. I’m not going to go viral, but I can constantly generate views every day.

  So far I’ve had around 15 signups to my affiliate and made $0.42 but we will see how that goes in the longer run.

  *Updated February 2024 – this is now up to $2.90 – so not quite the millions I was hoping for. However, this should hopefully stay evergreen and always have the chance to make a smaller amount of money.

  I am likely to turn this Medium article into a YouTube video to see what kind of traction that gets on there.

  I hope you enjoyed it, if you liked this you may like this article on cloning any voice in the world: https://medium.com/p/f37056ea1651

  Happy money-making!