Passive income: NO

Earning passive income solely as a packaging designer is challenging. While it's possible to earn passive income by licensing designs or selling pre-made templates, it's not a common scenario. Most packaging designers earn income through active client work rather than passive sources. To reach a passive income level, designers would need to create a substantial portfolio of sellable designs, maintain an online presence for sales, and potentially outsource production or marketing tasks. Setting up automation for sales and marketing could help streamline the process, but it still requires ongoing effort. Achieving passive income in packaging design is more of an outlier situation than the norm. It's realistic for a few highly successful designers with a strong following or unique niche designs to earn passively, but for the majority, consistent active client work is the main income source. Misleading expectations include thinking that passive income will flow easily once designs are created, without considering the competitive market and marketing efforts required. Costs range from $0 to $500 for setting up an online store or platform for selling designs.