Passive income: NO

Earning passive income from an engraving side hustle is challenging and rare. Most engravers actively work on each project, as customization requires personal attention. Automation is limited to using machines like laser engravers, but these still need manual setup and oversight. Outsourcing is possible but reduces profit margins. Few people reach passive income levels; most remain active participants. Success stories often involve scaling into a larger business with employees, not passive income. Misleading expectations include believing that buying a machine will lead to easy passive income without ongoing effort. Realistically, it becomes passive for those who can scale operations significantly, but not for individual hobbyists or small-scale operators.