A design student turned a simple resume idea into a passive-income stream that now pays him hundreds each month—with zero ongoing effort.
Challenge
As a college student studying programming, Tim A. was eager to stand out from the competition. Years earlier, while still in high school, he’d created a visually striking résumé using Photoshop—something more creative than a standard Word document. Although the design didn’t land him a job back then, it did earn him praise and sparked an idea that would later shape his first business.
By the time he reached university, Tim needed extra income. He remembered how unique his old résumé looked and wondered if others might pay for something similar. The question was: how could he make money from it without spending all his time on custom orders?
Action
Tim began offering custom résumé designs on Fiverr for $5 each. Orders started rolling in immediately—sometimes as many as eight a day. He soon discovered that although people loved his work, the process was time-consuming. Between classes and client revisions, he barely had time to breathe.
After experimenting with a few online marketplaces, he realized he needed a scalable model. Instead of designing every résumé from scratch, Tim decided to sell pre-made templates that customers could edit themselves. He called the new brand Foundry Resumes and created sixteen polished designs. Then he listed them on Etsy and Creative Market for $11 apiece.
Result
The shift from service to product changed everything. Within weeks, Tim saw steady sales—and this time, he didn’t have to lift a finger after uploading the files. His inbox filled not with client requests but with payment notifications. Within months, the project generated about $460 a month in fully passive income.
That success gave him freedom: he could focus on new projects, travel, and study while money continued to flow in from something he built once.
Lesson
Tim’s story shows how persistence and adaptation pay off. His first idea worked, but his second idea scaled. By shifting from trading time for money to selling digital assets, he built a business that earns while he sleeps.
When you find something that works—don’t stop there. Keep refining until it works for you.
Inspired by a true story originally featured on Side Hustle School by Chris Guillebeau. This rewritten version is independently produced and fully original.