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Key Takeaways Greg Keogh runs an oversized lint roller business that brings in $50,000 to $115,000 a year.
Keogh dedicates two hours a month to the venture, showing how minimal effort can generate passive income.
The cultural ideal of working hard and climbing the ladder is being challenged by a newer dream: building passive income.
Greg Keogh turned a simple household annoyance — pet hair everywhere — into a six-figure business by selling an oversized lint roller online. His story captures how passive income has become the new career dream for many Americans.
According to a recent report from The Wall Street Journal, Keogh started out like many burned-out workers. He was worn down by commuting; each workday left him drained of energy. He began looking for an alternative path that could give him more flexibility without immediately sacrificing his income.
The turning point came when a dog owner told him about an oversized lint roller that made it easier to clean fur off furniture and carpets. With an engineering background, Keogh saw an opportunity. He designed a lint roller almost as wide as a paper towel roll, then launched it on Amazon, where it quickly found a niche among pet owners.
Keogh’s product could have become the foundation for a bigger cleaning brand, but he deliberately chose to keep it lean rather than build a large operation. Seven years after launch, he spends no more than two hours a month on the business, he recently told the Journal.
Despite that minimal time investment, the lint roller line generates between $50,000 and $115,000 a year, depending on performance, he disclosed. That means sales are enough to rival a steady paycheck.
Keogh’s story is part of a broader culture shift in which many people now aspire to earn money in ways that don’t require trading every hour for a wage. Passive income is money earned with minimal ongoing effort. It refers to money that flows in without consistent day-to-day work, like rental properties, vending machines, online courses and e-books.
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