As you know, Hurricane Katrina has caused destruction and devastation across several states. Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced and are unable to work since the storm. Businesses have been closed for weeks. The economical impact is unimaginable. No one knows what the effects will be ? weeks, months, even years from now.

How would weeks, or months, of lost income affect your family? This event is another solid reminder of how important it is to develop passive income ? the kind of income where you keep making money whether you are working or not. If and when events happen to keep you from work - whether they are wonderful interruptions, such as the birth of a new baby, or tragic events like a hurricane, you'll continue to have money coming in.

There are several ways to set up passive income streams.

Start a website (or several websites)

Set up your own money-maker. Whether your interest is in selling a product, providing information, or a service, every business needs an online presence. If you're uncomfortable with technology, there are site builders available that will walk you through every step of the way. Or, if you want to avoid maintaining a website, many people are making decent money from blogs.

Join Affiliate Programs

Research and join any of the wonderful affiliate programs selling anything from books to bras. If you're unfamiliar with affiliate programs, it's really quite a simple concept. Thousands of companies will pay you to refer customers to them. Whether your interest is sports or doilies, you can make money by linking to products from your website or blog.

Make your own info products and get affiliates to sell for you Create an electronic product (write an ebook, design software, or record an audio product). Once you've created your product, recruit affiliates to sell for you!

And, of course, Direct Sales

If you are in a Direct Sales business, build your customer base and your team and you'll have residual income, too. Build your team both wide and deep for the most security.

Once you know which path you're going to follow, then it's critical that you automate your Business. Set up an autoresponder, so your messages are being sent whether you are home or not. You can automate e-courses and newsletters - all running at the same time, automatically.

Your autoresponder can be your best customer service rep. Make sure your autoresponder sends clients a thank you email as soon as they place an order - and another email a week after placing their order - just to check in. You'll be providing excellent customer service, and your customer won't know that their thoughtful customer service response is really an automated reply.

Are you making money when you are not working? Is your income protected, for the times when "life happens ?If not, my challenge to you is to do one thing to get on the road to making passive income today!