That may sound like a hustle—and it can be—but distributing credibility via certifications is totally legitimate and so common that it’s almost invisible. Whether a high school diploma or a college degree, state board license or driver’s license, Social Security card or passport, or any industry certification, the structure is the same:
- A trusted industry expert or organization or company or entity requires a minimum standard for identity, knowledge and/or performance and offers a certification that, if achieved, sprinkles Magic Credibility Dust on the heads of…
- Folks meeting the minimum standard and proving their abilities, who can then show the cert to…
- Other folks wanting third-party verification
This is a game where everyone wins. The folks wanting a third-party verification get a single piece of paper that represents the hassles of testing and verifying the certificate holder’s credentials, abilities, and knowledge. With a trusted certificate, they’re assured the holder: 1) is who they say they are, 2) knows what they say they know, and/or 3) can do what they say they can do.
The folks who acquire certifications get credibility-by-association, which is especially helpful for newcomers to a field. Certifications don’t replace real-world experience, but they do offer potential clients or employers that extra bit of proof.
What does the certifier get? Well, they get paid, of course.
So Where’s The Money?
The money is all along the certification process, from application and registration to training and testing to the piece of paper at the end. Here are some examples—
- Last week I mentioned Jim Horan, a consultant who earns passive income by certifying other consultants to resell his licensed One Page Business Plan system. He charges $2,800 to $10,000 for training and certification, as well as a $250-$750 annual license renewal fee.
- Microsoft administers their technical certifications through authorized testing centers worldwide, with exam fees at around $125. Certification tracks require up to 7 exams.
- Microsoft outsourced administration of their Office Specialist (MOS) certification to Certiport, who also administers exams via authorized testing centers, these at around $80 each. The Master Specialist track requires 4 exams, and the Master Instructor status requires all of that plus proof of teaching experience and a $95 application fee.
- Learn2Type offers a self-administered online typing test, where it’s free to take the test, but the paper certificate itself costs $19.99 plus shipping.
- BrainBench has 575+ self-administered online exams for everything from ASP to XML at $49.95 each, which includes a hardcopy certificate. They also have a subscription plan for $199 a year with unlimited access to their entire exam library.
So when I tell you Jim Horan has 400+ certified consultants paying $250+ annually to maintain their certification, and that Certiport’s 12,000 testing centers have delivered 5.5 million exams at $80+ each, and that BrainBench has delivered over 8 million exams online at up to $49.95 a piece, you can appreciate the earning potential in offering—or even just administering—certifications.
I bet you can think of at least 3 more certifications I didn’t list here…every industry has their own. When you have them in mind, put on your Passive Income Glasses and look closely at the setup. Is it passive income? Could it be?
Mmmm! Passive Income…
Clearly, the passive income part depends on what the certification is based on and how it’s administered. If the certification requires a personal interview with each applicant, then that setup is the opposite of passive income.
But if certification depends on background verification and testing, it’s easy enough to delegate the daily operations to staff, contractors, or technology.
Jim Horan’s applicants attend teleclasses that may be taught by him, but are likely facilitated by qualified members of his consulting team. Microsoft and Certiport both outsourced some, if not all, of their certification administration to partners. Learn2Type and BrainBench offer online exams that are 100% web-based, so staff need only print and mail certificates.
But you can already see trouble brewing, can’t you?
Fakers, Cheaters, and Other Credibility Killers
A certificate’s value is wrapped in the credibility of the certifier and/or the certification process. Obviously the certifier has to be trusted and respected, but the process has to do its share of the heavy lifting when it comes to establishing the certificate holder’s credibility. If the client or agent or customer doesn’t know, respect, or believe in what the certificate represents, it’s just a piece of paper.
For example, I’m an ordained Scribe. Seriously. The Universal Life Church openly offers free online ordainment. I typed my name in a box and clicked a button. Done! The only thing easier would’ve been wielding my pen as a magic wand and tapping my head with it. “Poof! I’m a Scribe!”
And while the certification seems a bit of a sham, the certifying body is totally legit—apparently my state recognizes ULC’s instant ordainment as proof of my qualification to hold marriage ceremonies. Still, it didn’t take much so it doesn’t mean much. The easy-peasy process is a credibility killer.
Fakers will wreck a certification’s credibility, too. MCSE bootcamps are legendary in the IT world for churning out legions of underqualified systems engineers—termed “Paper MCSE’s”—who are well-trained to pass Microsoft’s certification exams, but not necessarily able to handle the jobs their certificates get them. So while employers like to see these certs, they’re not a golden ticket.
And of course there are the cheaters, whose certifications are worth less than nothing. They memorize the answers from stolen tests, pay someone else to take the test in their place, or buy the certification outright from an unethical or unauthorized vendor. When word gets out that the certification can be bought, it’s absolutely worthless…forever.
But some credibility killers are built into the certification process by the certifier. For example, the BrainBench and Learn2Type exams are 100% online, and therefore 100% honor system. I’ve taken their tests, and I believe they are valid ability tests. But anyone at all could take the tests in my place, so what good are they at proving MY ability?
Also, I’ve seen would-be professional certifications (naming no names here), where the passing exam score was near failure by any other educational standard—a pitiful 63%. The certification’s stated benefit is it proves holders “have key job skills”. I’d begin or end that phrase with “barely”, based on the certifier’s low expectations.
Which is all to say that offering and/or administering certifications can make for great passive income, but it’s not without pitfalls and hazards and its fair share of rogues. If you take this on, step carefully and guard aggressively.
Some Last Thoughts
So developing a certification process that’s a passive income generator isn’t tough, and I’ve shared plenty of examples of people, organizations, and companies who are earning heaps of money from it.
The challenge is in gaining and maintaining the credibility that gives the certificate its true value. And it’s as much about the certification process as it is the certifying body…maybe even more.
Because above all, a certificate’s purpose is to provide proof that the certificate holder has demonstrated their knowledge or skills, and if the certification process is lame or flawed or easy to circumvent or nonexistent, it’s not worth a helluvalot to anyone.
We have a hard time trying to find a certified tech in our business. Sad that people would even try to falsify documents or scam. I run a legit business and have no time or money to waste especially on this crap. I went to the Ministry site and I am too a Scribe. Scary thought since I have little to no religious beliefs. Great post keep them coming.
dang thats a lot of info to swallow, but its very interesting. ill prolly have to read it 2 or 3 times to get it all down
-KeLLi
@Beth—Howdy! The UCL is very open about being available to folks with little or no religious beliefs, so you fit right in
And it is so very dumb to scam a certification exam. Besides being unethical (and maybe even illegal), don’t people realize that at some point they’re going to be required to perform at a level the cert promises? Sheesh! No forethought.
@Kelli—Yeah, this post was a mouthful…I should have broken it up over two posts…or maybe two weeks
Wow, thanks for the article. It’s awesome! I’ll need to read it again! lol
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@Eric—Welcome, thanks, and my pleasure…and okay, okay, no more posts over 750 words
I just spent my hours on line getting all my class time completed so I could be certified in Googles Ad word and Analytics. I will let you know how the passive income hits in the near future!
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Interesting post Crystal. The math looks great.
Quite a few open source projects make their money through certifications for partners & implementors. I wonder what other things besides software can be given away for free while charging for certifications?
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echoing sterling post. Math really looks great!
I need to read the article again and again on order to digest all the information.
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You should check out one of my clients site, http://ki-work.com
They are building a global marketplace for online work that is built on this certification and accreditation necessity. The play is genius as it empower groups to become trusted and visible not just one off freelancers. Imagine an entire network of professionals ready to go to work. A network of trusted experts in their field.
Fortunately, in our business, we have “continuing education.” So no matter how many titles you have behind your name, you still have to keep learning. Not a bad idea!
This is totally true, whether its a piece of paper or word of mouth, credibility means everything. Who would want to hire a contractor that no one has ever heard of?? Btw, check out my website,
http://www.businesscashadvanceloan.com
The catch to earning a passive income from certification is that you have to already have a great reputation of a professional organization behind you in order for anyone to want your certification.
I am certified in public relations the the Public Relations Society of America. It requires a long written exam, an oral exam to pass, then continuing education to maintain.
PRSA makes money of the certification, but none of the people who help with the training and testing do.
We miss your posts…
@GirlPie Thank you
I miss them too. Soon…
And I miss y’all. See you next week, I hope…
Got a few of these types of qualifications and they have proved valuable.
Crystal,
I’m so glad to see you haven’t forgotten about us. I am really looking forward to getting more sneak peaks inside your brain!
Impossible to forget y’all
Still up to my eyebrows, but starting to peek above…
Research is the key. By doing the necessary research on who is reliable and not, we are assure we got the best service we want and need.
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I never really gave this much thought, although I know the degree that I’m working towards is certainly having me jump through a lot of hoops! So you’re an ordained Scribe? LOL. I would love to get some BS certs just for the fun of it.
There’s this Golden Key Club honors group, that operates at most colleges, and their entrance fee is around $100. Sounds like a scam, but it’s a real organization with support from the colleges. Where does the money go? Well, call me a sucker but I’m a member just to have it on my resume, and I think this is the idea behind most certifications in general…
All of that is good but by the way you say it sounds like fake certifications. Nothing like legal documentation following the normal procedure.
Math really looks great!Great article……Thanks for the post.
You are so right. Certifications have to mean something. That’s why I think the best ones are from professional associations.
However, you have given me some ideas. I have a textbook that is used in many public relations university programs to teach PR students to design for target public characteristics rather than for aesthetics.
The research on those characteristics is the foundation for my site and blog.
Maybe I can develop a certificate program for students who have been taught using my textbook.
Warmly,
Linda P. Morton
pretty helpfull. but very confusing at the same time lol… could work on my degree more..
Absolutely brilliant! I never even considered the idea of issuing certifications for others as a revenue stream. This will definitely take some more thought. Thanx!
I have also tried various brain dumps for passing MCSE exams. I am of the view that those all are money wastage.
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Certified tech are not easy to get indeed! if one prepares seriously and with dedication it could indeed be a great advantage.
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Thanks for the post. It’s amazing! I’ll need to read it again!
great article! read it twice.
Cash For Gold
sure qualifications are important, but equally if not more important is your reputation, and that takes time to build regardless on the qualifications you may or may not have.
Thats new thing. Now everyone can create passive income even at home. You can make your own website and then earn money from that. Real Estate is albo good way to making money. Just slow down with your day job and concentrate on your small business. Even 100$/month passive income is better than nothing at the beginning.
Now everyone can create passive income even at home. You can make your own website and then earn money from that. Real Estate is albo good way to making money. Just slow down with your day job and concentrate on your small business. Even 100$/month passive income is better than nothing at the beginning.
Certification is a huge thing in business as people always want to see if the person they are dealing with is gone through some type of certified training.
Good article! Although i have an MSCE, experience beats all certs and quals hands down.
while certs prove to be a huge advantage when getting yourself employed, in the end experience and attitude will be important factors that employers look at if they’d keep you or not…
I will definetly be considering offering certifications as a form of revenue. This blog was really helpful. I run my business in London, UK and this has pointed out a very interesting revenue stream idea. Expecially as my business is still quite small this will come in handy!
Thanks
That’s one hell of a good post there Crystal!This one is indeed very informative.Hubby is done with his Microsoft certification and you said it right it spells a hefty sum of expenses for us and a good source of passive income for others!
Lengthy article, but covers a wide variety of information that is beneficial for all
Well, we work so hard for the certs but when you started to work it is the hardwork + attitude that proves to be more important~
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I noticed that most big companies prefer getting employees who undergo certifications especially in IT business wherein they prefer having employees who are Cisco or Microsoft certified.
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Passive income is good in a sense. Thanks for sharing!
It took me twice to digest that. But it’s really true what you say about certifications..It made me want to start a new one.
Great post! Enjoyed reading it. Thanks for sharing. Hope to see your new updates soon.
yeah, I always wanted the benefits of a passive income. If you’re a school girl, you really have to find this very helpful banking on your credibility. The business model’s quite practical too
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I think it is hard to achieve passive income but once you get it then it is especially nice.
Nice article and very helpfull me. Thank’s a lot
I’m really glad I stumbled across your site. Forever I’ve been considering completing more of these investing certifications for my own benefeit, but I never considered being the certifier. Thanks for expanding my scope a little. Sometimes it’s easy to get in your box and not look out. A great idea, and I’m sure I’ll find more as I scope the rest of your site.
Thanks,
Bill
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great post, I think trusting in certifications is, more often than not, futile. Passive income from a source that is futile is ok in my book. People buy what they want, not what they need. If someone gathers confidence in a certifications, and even more if they pay for it and submit to a process, then they certainly need a place to buy it.
I used to always take “certification” as a legitimized seal of authority for the holder of the certification. I didn’t realize that it could be an industry until I worked as a mortgage originator and took a course to become a “certified mortgage planner.” I received a certificate, and pin and could say I was a certified mortgage planner, but in the world of banking there is no such official designation.
All it is good for is lending an air of authority and knowledge to the clients of the holder, but in reality it holds no weight. Maybe that is why we are in some of the mess we are in today in lending and housing. Too many certificates were handed out for a price.
Well put together ,nice read thanks
great post. Thanks for the help
@ Davis No doubt this is great post for everyone related to IT.
Very true indeed. We all need credibility beyond these so called cert-scams. I really valued my “certified-true” certifications. The importance of these “papers” may hold true also as an identity checker.
I am new in this community, passive income is a good way it’s like investing for long term, take it as retirement days.
Wow!I hope you post some more, how it can be done.I am into IT and have been enrolling myself to various certification.I hope I can put my own school to like this kind.Thanks a lot for sharing this.
Muy interesante, gracias por la ayuda.
Great post. Certification is an interesting topic right now.
This is great information on certification. I’ve been thinking about doing a certification program to go with my textbook on publication design.
For now, I just wanted to let you know that I have listed this blog as a dofollow blog and send a few readers your way. I’ve linked to the page above.
I’m in the process of updating the rankings and providing a bit of information about each site. Updates should be up by Wednesday. Let me know if you’d like to change yours.
Warmly,
Linda P. Morton
My take on passive income is, you have a mainstream income coming in and when the passive income equals mainstream income then is the time to give it the serious thought. Who dose not want a passive income, sounds too good but we should think will this really be our cup of tea.
Certification is a hot topic at the moment and i think a number of companies are looking at offering their won certificatons as a way of increasing revenue . These days almost all technology companies are offering their own variety of certification but certification is only as good as the recognition it has.
I just wish there was some sort of certifications for text messaging. Imagine my title Text Messaging Guru. I am sure we could get hundred of teenage girls to sign up and pay 50 dollars to become certifified. I am sure that would be huge on Myspace.
Its amazing how people put so much value in a piece of paper. Years ago it was not uncommon to lie on a resume about education or certification. Now with the internet its a lot easier to check facts , however coming in with a piece of paper from joe schmoe marketing seminar will suffice.
The whole certification business has always been a license to print money. Unfortunately some people still believe in certificates.
This does sound a bit scammy, but hey, I guess as long as people believe in the certification’s integrity then it is real.
it’s very hard to build good reputation and very very easy to destroy it fast
Very informative, most people don’t realize how much stock consumers put into quality, validity and credibility. Like the saying goes, “quality over quantity,” I think have credible certification and information also brings in repeat business.
Few important points:
Work hard.
Be lucky.
Work Work Work – only this works
Promore your business
Invest (don’t spend money doing shopping)
Learn
Great idea , how to start?
Passive income is for me, the best gauge for one’s success. Earning money on a regular basis with minimal work and effort is what I am striving for.
Passive income is seldom made by passive people.
That’s sounds interesting but too complicated for me though.
Thanks for sharing such a useful information, well i did go thru ur article and it was excellent but i guess it missed how you can improve ur credibility. I find a reference for you below..
http://officeinfotips.blogspot.com/2009/02/improving-your-credibility.html
Regards,
Simple
I have worked with some people who came out of fast track certification schools. These are a waste of time if you don’t have the knowledge first. The graduates coming out knowing everything about how to use software like Dreamweaver but have no idea how to apply that knowledge to building a website. I know. I have worked with a few.
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Thx for sharing some good info with us , but i find it humorous in this recession time. ..
Regards,
Sussane
I have to say, I’ve never read an article about the topic of credibility like this before. I’ve never even thought about the business model in any detail before either.
The value created, as you explain, all lies in the credibility of the instituition. But that is precisely why it is a difficult business to start up successfully. Credibility can only come from age, or a large marketing budget in my opinion. In other words, a long amount of coverage, or a large amount of coverage. Awareness is key, and this is precisely one of the biggest challenges of any start up.
I personally wouldn’t venture down this path due to this inherent risk, but I can see from the licensing concept for his business plan system that alot of money can be made. But that business in particular sounds more like a simple licensing arrangement than a certification.
Simon.
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That was really awesome article …They are building a global marketplace for online work that is built on this certification and accreditation necessity. The play is genius as it empower groups to become trusted and visible not just one off freelancers. Imagine an entire network of professionals ready to go to work. A network of trusted experts in their field.
Hi,
Thanks for this information. I also never thought of about this so seriously.. as now I am doing.But is it good for users and buyers???
It is easy to write it down and understand the importance of this issue, how ever to build a trust worthy credibility on line can be mission impossible, sales copy with strong offer with good products can do the work better.
People want to satisfy, their needs first, can you do the job or not, is the issue