Over the years my motivation as an online entrepreneur has shifted from trying to make enough money to pay my living expenses, to then earn enough to move out of my parent’s house, to buying my own car and house, and having enough money to travel and live anywhere I want to.
It took many years, but I met each of those goals, building on previous results to climb my own personal success ladder.
Once I made over a million dollars online I reached a point where my decision making turned away from financial objectives to goals orientated towards personal satisfaction. Money still matters of course, but I wanted to dig deep and discover what I really love to do simply because I love to do it.
As I thought and reflected, I asked myself what is the outcome – the impact I want to make with my current business. The conclusion was simple…
I want to help people to quit working full time jobs they hate.
Yes I teach blogging, information marketing, email marketing, blog sales funnels and everything in between, but the outcome these things can deliver to a person is what matters.
Although success stories are few and far between, I value them so much because I know I played a part in helping these individuals to break free from spending their days doing something they hate simply because they have to make a living.
Dan Breaks Free
In the Laptop Lifestyle Academy, I support and coach the members to work towards that big goal – freedom from needing a job because you can financially support yourself through online business.
The community is new, and I know how long the transition can take to reach the point where you are financially independent. This is why I was so excited to recently read this post in the community from member Dan Netting…
I’m finally my own boss!
Last night was my last shift working for Fujitsu Services, where I have been working for the last 8 years.
Today is the first day of my new beginning, now that I have finally achieved my very long term goal of getting out of the rat race.
Even though this is something I’ve wanted for so long and I know this is just fantastic for me, I found myself getting surprisingly emotional as I walked out to my car for the last time, and I’m not ashamed to admit that I shed a few tears on the car ride home. I’m not sure I can tell you why exactly, but I imagine it’s a mixture of a lot of things that one feels when such a huge chapter in your life ends (I’ve been there not much less than a third of my life!), even if some of that chapter isn’t pleasurable.
Very mixed emotions today. Ones of sadness looking back, but most definitely feelings of excitement looking forward.
It’s my birthday this weekend, so the rest of my week will be spent relaxing, as well as celebrating with friends and family over the weekend. I’m not going to put pressure on myself next week though, and my week will be spent getting my head straight and around what needs to happen moving forward.
To the encouragement part of this post, to those striving for this same goal I want to say nothing more than keep trying, and do not stop.
It’s taken me a long long time to get here, longer than a lot of others I imagine, but through shear persistence I’ve got here.
I see a lot of people here who are still early into this whole process. There are going to be times when you doubt what you’re doing, whether you can make it, whether you even have what it takes, whether you have the right topic etc etc etc.
This is completely normal, but I promise you that if you plough on regardless and keep your head in the game, those feelings will disappear and things will continue to move in the right direction. They always do.
So keep doing what you’re doing. Learn how to do things right then apply, apply, apply.
You’ll attain what you’re reaching for if you do.
I hope to see many (somewhat emotionally charged) post like mine in the future 🙂
Dan Netting
biketrackdayshub.com
Last night was my last shift working for Fujitsu Services, where I have been working for the last 8 years.I asked for Dan’s permission to repost this here because I felt it would serve as encouragement for so many other people. It also just makes me happy to see Dan have this breakthrough since I know how life changing it is.
When Is It Realistic To Quit Your Job?
Everyone has different criteria and thresholds for when they are comfortable to leave their job and focus full time on their business.
I’ve worked with many bloggers as a coach and watched them make the transition. I’ve also listened to the entrepreneurs journey story from hundreds of guests on my podcast, hearing about how they left employment to become full time business founders.
For most people, the core challenge is a financial one, however your mindset and tolerance towards ambiguity plays a big part as well.
Some people don’t feel safe leaving the apparent security of full-time employment until their business is earning at the very least as much money as their job pays, sometimes even more.
For certain people it’s more about stability, meaning consistent income over time is most important. You might make $5,000 from your business one month, but then only $1,000 the next month or two, which is not going to give you a feeling of financial stability.
There are also those people out there who are insecure about what to do once they are focused 100% on their business. It’s a lot more scary to think of your business failing after you quit your job to work on it full time, compared to treating it just like a side project.
Unfortunately for many businesses, the fact that they only receive side-project attention from their owners means they never deliver the stable income necessary to support them.
Soften The Blow
Most people who are too scared to quit their job to focus on their business dreams see things in black and white. They only believe two possible extreme outcomes are possible…
- Losing everything after they quit their job and their business fails, like the statistics say happens to most small businesses
- Winning big time, with a multi-million dollar success story, albeit a very unlikely and rare outcome
The truth of the matter is far more blurry. Success comes in many forms, and the path there will not be clear.
The key to leaving your job is to be realistic, rational and prepared. Here is what you should do…
- Know your numbers. How much money do you really need to survive? Cut out all the personal extraneous costs temporarily until your business can pay for them. Give yourself a target monthly figure as a bare minimum to survive, and make sure it’s realistic – cover every cost you have and a little extra for the unforeseen expenditures, including both business and personal.
- Get freelance/contract clients locked in before you quit. Contracting is a great stepping stone income source you can use to supplement yourself financially.
- Save a cash buffer. Some people run with a three month runway, others need six or twelve months to feel ‘safe’. Personally I would want to see at least a full year of my expenses covered in my savings buffer in case my business stopped making money suddenly.
- Have a ‘worse case scenario’ plan. If your business fails and you run out of money, what happens? You go back and get a job is the most likely outcome, so plan for this possibility by keeping in contact with key people who might have work for you.
- Keep a part time or casual job. I’ve never had a full time job, but I did have casual jobs that supplemented my income while I grew my business. These jobs required ten-to-twenty hours per week and would cover my rent and food costs.
Another factor to consider is speed. Growing a side business will naturally take longer than growing a business you focus on full time. In some cases the business may not succeed at all until it gets your full time attention.
Your temperament matters too. You might be highly motivated and would love to spend all day on your business, so you know quitting your job will provide the freedom to really double down. Or you might struggle to focus on one thing all day every day, so constructing a schedule that includes a mix of contract work, a casual job and growing your business might suit you more.
Get A Coach And A Community
Some people are fine working alone. They are self-motivated, can deal with ambiguity and work through fear and stumbling blocks on their own.
However, I believe most people benefit from a peer community and mentorship when it comes to business. There is a reason why you will see company founders bring on advisors, and why most high achievers seek out mentors and coaches. It’s smart to get advice from people who have achieved what you are working towards.
A peer group, or mastermind, can help you through common situations every new online entrepreneur faces. It’s nice to have others around you talking about the same things you are up against, helping each other figure out technological solutions, find contractors, and fight through mindset challenges like fear, doubt, and confusion.
I’m of the belief that people who successfully transition from full-time employee to running their own online business more often than not are part of communities, get coaching and constantly educate themselves. This is how you solve problems and deal with the biggest enemy of all – your own mind.
Yaro
Liberating Entrepreneurs
P.S. Of course we’d love to have you as a member of the Laptop Lifestyle Academy, especially if your goal is sell your knowledge online and help other people through your expertise.
Congrats Dan and Congrats Yaro for once again proving if you do the work it is possible. I know i didn’t cry or feel weird on my last day, I was STOKED! (even though at the I had only earned $384 in nearly two years of blogging) It is all about action and NEVER about shortcuts. In less than 2 weeks I move into my new home which isn’t my dream house, it is well beyond anything I could have ever dreamed of.
If you are on the fence about joining Blog Mastermind, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain, I am living proof and now Dan is as well but there are many others who simply took a plan of action, didn’t see it as joining the course was the action which honestly is where I saw a lot of the people in my group fail. If you are serious about building an online business, not a “get rich quick scheme”, and are willing to put in the hours and not afraid to ask the “stupid” questions, then I can testify this program works.
Mitch we need to tweak your testimonial a bit 🙂
I think you meant to say that people should join the EJ Insider coaching community.
Blog Mastermind as far as I know is a defunct product, it use to be on the market back when Mastermind was a trendy cool marketing term.
Nonetheless Mitch, great to see you here on EJ again.
Oh Dan you are not paying attention to my updates! Blog Mastermind 2.0 came out at the start of this year, a completely brand new course I created from scratch during the last six months.
You are correct that Mitch is not quite giving a testimonial for this blog post though!
Yaro
Hey Dan, Coaching, mastermind, both…Whatever it takes..lol. I still hear it from someone at least once a week, “you can make a living doing that?” I am just a big fan of action, everyone can come up with an excuse why something doesn’t work or why they can’t, but usually it is because they didn’t take action, enough action, or just quit( but honestly with all of the new tools out, I see more wasting of time than ever, like people spending more time building and organizing a to do list than actually doing anything that will grow their business). Yaro will never claim he did the work for me, he just gave me a solid plan of action that put me on a path to success and eliminated a ton of the time wasters and answered the questions like how do I get people to my blog. I have seen and heard so many phony “gurus” and so many people who simply do not get what being an entrepreneur and building a real business is all about it is awesome to see Yaro is still delivering whether it be his coaching or mastermind course, I am forever grateful. I wasn’t the only one who got to quit my job, I started a second site and my business partner was able to leave his job just being a 50/50 partnerand my wife and my business partner’s wife no longer has to work either.
Yes Mitch like you said and this is important;
“Whatever it takes”
Many potential business owners don’t realize that it generally takes a lot of work, plus resources, business acumen, growth, and timing along with many other factors.
Most people don’t have what it takes to be a business owner and are better suited for a job or career. Of course that still shouldn’t dissuade someone from trying. You never really know until you try but be prepared to fail several times before you succeed.
In general I’m cynical of the marketing but I suppose that it works on the dreamers.
The photos of the computer spitting out the money, the picture of the guy with his expensive car, the selfies at exotic travel destinations and the guy with his laptop by the beach in his hammock or patio chair.
Mitch you’re not just a writer, blogger or a webmaster, you’re much more than that. You’re the owner and CEO of a publishing company that is reaping the rewards of success after years of growth and doing things well.
Congratulations to you Mitch and I wish you continued success. Like you said it’s not about shortcuts but taking action. It’s also about a lot more than that.
This makes so much sense. It’s a really huge decision to quit a job and go full time on a business or do freelancing (I’m currently on that path now), but no one ever really talks about when to actually make the jump. It’s like, for a lot of successful people, it just happens and those who haven’t done it yet will figure it out on their own. It’s a really good guidance for making that life changing decision.
I checked my email at 11:15 am and read your post…I am scheduled to meet with my boss in 5 minutes (11:30am). It was already my intention to quit my job and focus on my blog, sales funnel, and online business…so I joined the EJ Insider mastermind group! I am ready! There are no coincidences in life…so I take a leap of faith today! Woot! Joy
Great to have you Joy! I’ll look for your welcome message in the community later today or tomorrow.
Yaro
This is great going, very motivating too.
Yaro,
This is a great topic for sure. I think it all depends on the situation of the individual.
Are you single?
What are your liabilities?
Do you have a spouse?
Do you have children?
Is your family on board 100%?
Has your business made any money to this point?
Is the income you have made with your blog been consistent over a period of time?
I think no matter your situation, develop a plan of attack and execute. If you succeed fantastic! If you fail, learn from your mistakes and begin again. Thanks for sharing Yaro.
Kurt
Congrats to Dan, and to you Yaro, am always motivated by your articles, have read the first blog profits blueprint and i reallw enjoyed it, am currently downloading the new edition (88 pages), more power to your elbow, keep it up.
This is really a wake up call Yaro,
Being an employee is never an easy task. The challenges that comes with it is quite enormous talking out of experience.
Indeed, there’s nothing as fun and rewarding as being your own boss, working at your leisure and being location and time independent.
Trading your time for money is really not worth it. You’ll only be suffering for someone that does not even know your worth.
Thanks for sharing
It is very exciting which gives enthusiasm to come out of comfortable platform and endeavour with great determination by coming out of job.
i think i am able to get full time with online business because here where i live if you earn 500 per month you will live comfortably.
Great info.
In this era of job uncertainty, it is important to try to become self employed. so better idea is to start building your business part time along with job rather then just quit the job. it is indeed and important decision.
People who are passionate about online business should definitely read your article. There’s a tendency for everyone to settle on a job because it satisfies the requirements of living. But is it really living? In my opinion, to do a job you hate is depressing. Why make yourself suffer when you can do something where you can be great. Thank you for this eye-opener. I will definitely tell my friends about this article.
I think people should definitely wait until they’re ready to go full time in their online business. Unless they just have a burning passion and are positive they will succeed. Some people are just great self-starters and can do anything they set their mind to.
Great post. I’ve had a few friends that have quit their job to pursue their dream, but failed because they assumed their business would be a success before testing it out. Great advice here. Thanks.
Amazing story.
I personally enjoy to read success stories like this one so thanks a lot for the inspiration and sharing!
I’m personally working to get to that same goal myself through my blogs, lists and more.