Self Employed or 9-5?

We are all seeking the self employed scenario, and unfortunately most people are working far more than the 9-5 employment.... that's what takes people to the warrior forum.

For sure! I definitely get that.

Just was curious about peoples specific situations! Do you work 9-5? Are you earning an income online?

Hi,

I am earning a full time living running my own marketing agency, that said, I did start out juggling a 9 to 5 job for the first two years while I set up my business after hours and on weekends.

If you're going to pay the bills and build your client base or whatever you're working on successfully for the long term, it's a pretty good way to make a smooth transition without the massive fear of having to make ends meet.

My business is structured in a way that I have regular clients that I work with on an ongoing basis so I can estimate what I need to earn each week/month/year and set targets to ensure I meet and exceed these goals.

If you're looking to branch out and work for yourself 100% of the time, I would have a chat with your accountant so you can calculate what you need to make a living.

While I don't essentially earn my money from online income, I run a digital office and have client's all over the world and it just takes time and a bit of serious planning to make sure you have everything set up so you are earning what you need.

I would suggest diversifying your revenue streams, and not putting all your balls in one basket so to speak, that way if you have a slow month in one area you do have other revenue from other projects coming in.

All the best - I'm sure you will do really well. Warrior Forum is a great place to ask questions and check out the historical threads.

FreshBlogger,

Rightly so, in my opinion. After all, everybody struggles to make ends meet, to some extent. So, everyone needs consistent income to fend for their day to day expenses; and

In my experience, it took significant time to operate an online and offline business that consistently generates income to cover my day to day expenses and leave me with money for emergencies and some savings for business expansion and new investment opportunities, so:

Before I decided to work on my business full time, I think it was best for me to have held a day job. Here's why:

I was able to save up some money that then covered 2 years of my family's daily expenses, emergency funds and savings. I also saved up some money for at least a year of business operating expenses ...

This allowed me to test and tweak my business plans without worrying for a year about my family's day to day expenses and relevant business costs; and

Based on the results of my tests, which showed that I had more control over my income if I were to focus my time on working on my business -- I then decided to free up my time so as to continue testing and tweaking my business plans for another year using what my business earned from the previous year, all while still not worrying about my family's expenses for another year ...

This is so I had enough time within a year to get a new day job in case I needed to supplement my average business income, or to entirely abandon my business ...

I now own and operate a company full time, with our newest offline office headquartered in Texas USA; and

Here's an interview that I did with BBC News and BBC Radio London last year (November 2015):

BBC World Service - Business Daily, The Blind Entrepreneur Building a Call Centre Empire

I also do my part as a resource consultant and country representative in actively participating in conferences, workshops and seminars about the role of ICT, global inclusive businesses, access to helpful resources and basic human rights in improving the lives of persons with disabilities around the world; and

I just got back from a human rights conference in Bangkok as an ASEAN resource consultant and a United Nations APCD country representative ...

Personally, I still have an offline job as my circumstances dictate I need a "secure" job. I do this on the side and make easily about £3k GBP per month. Not saying its easy money, just that that's what I make in profit. I spend about 6 hours a week on average maintaining all the income streams.

Different people react differently to certain situations. I could quit my offline job tomorrow and dive str8 into online, however don't want to take the risk if something changes online and my streams go to s**t.

However if I'm str8 out of uni with no commitments then why not?

Everyone is different. Do what feels right for you however don't be fooled or convinced that what works for some on here, will work for you. Most have been at it for a while, some are talking s**t and there are some that kill it. These people don't make a difference to your life, YOU DO

i teach english three hours a week but thats purely for visa purposes.

I plan on getting my permanent visa so i need it.

-Ike Paz

I left 9 to 5 back in 2002, and running full time offline businesses since then. The keyword here is smooth transition and risk mitigation. How to transition from 9 to 5 to self employment. My strategy was to leverage on offline businesses and 9 to 5 income to build online businesses which are highly automated and scalable. You may want to read up Eric Ries book on Lean Startup and also google steve blank on the same topic. So far i followed these methods to achieve smooth transition and better risk mitigation. Self employment is no easy and small feat and carefull planning now is always a better option. IMHO you seemed to be on the right track. With a little bit more tweaks and a little luck who knows your dream venture maybe just around the next corner. Good luck

To be honest, I don't really have that urge to quit my job and go fully self-employed.

Sometimes when you enjoy your work, it doesn't hurt to combine both. Of course, the only downside is the fact that your time is very limited with a job, so essentially you spend most of the day at work and then you only have the weekend to do other things.

The great thing about being a teacher is you really do not work 9-5, more like 7-2 or 3 with summers off. That gives you a lot of time to really build a decent online business. You will find that most of us kept our jobs while building an online business. That is what is so fantastic about an online business, you can build it with just a few hours a day, but you need to put those few hours in every day without exception.

al

According to me first learn the basics and complications of the market or business in which you are interested by working in a good firm after that you can go for your own .

I used to have a 9-5 job. In the evenings, I would do freelance work. After a couple of years, I transitioned to full time freelance work. I do find myself working more hours than before, but then again, I can schedule it as I please. That's the best thing about it.

I would recommend starting a side business and allowing that to be a bridge to full time entrepreneurship.

You need to earn money online. I work about 4 hours a day, so I have time to do IM for about 3 hours every day.

Find out what works for you while at your formal employment, and plan to leave while things are working out.

But you need to take that step. Be focused and have passion for what you plan to do online, and then put that extra effort, everyday. And most important, stay here and consult, you will need the information.

I used to work in a bank but hated it. The whole 9 to 5 thing just wasn't my cup of coffee to be brutally honest - it still sucks as job security isn't really worth much. We all know that you are basically at the mercy of a boss anyway, so forget about the whole security and peace of mind mantra.

I quit my 9 to 5 a good few years ago once my campaigns made enough money so I could swap wearing a suit for walking around in boxers all day

I did struggle initially yes and it took a long time to finally figure out what works best in IM, but I'll never go back to a regular 9 to 5 job. Not until hell freezes over, and even then I'll crank up the heat myself!

Nick

The majority of the world work 9-5. That's just simply the way that we're programmed as humans - we go to school to be taught to get good grades and a good job, then most work in a normal job for 50 years before retiring. Sad thing is that a lot of people don't actually like what they do.

But I suppose you gotta ask if that's what you want, if you are happy in what you do and can see yourself doing it the rest of your life then great. But if you have higher ambitions and are passionate about a certain something, you need to pursue it. Even if you haven't made anything in a month, something will crack if you keep going. It's better to try than turn around in 25-30 years time and said 'I wish I had done that...' - how many times do you hear of stories like that.

I've been doing full-time marketing online for nearly 6 years now. 9-5??? The first few years it was 16 hour days, the last few years have been much less, but there is still alot to do.

If you don`t have enough money to get started in which ever niche you may want to be in or what you may want to do in IM, I recommend getting a 9-5 and build your internet business until you get to an income level you want to be at, than quit the job.

Most people don`t want to do that...If you are not willing to bleed for your dreams than its not going to work.

Nope, no 9 to 5. Took about 2 years of research but found my niche and ways to make money online. I live where I want. Been traveling to different countries. I know it sounds cliche but it is true.

What does it matter what the rest of us do or did? That has exactly zero bearing on you or your business. Start thinking less about yourself and more about your customers and maybe -- just maybe -- all your dreams of entrepreneurial riches will come true.

It's not what you want that's going to determine your success -- it's your ability to give your customers what they want that matters.

Hey how are you?


You have a good start your actually thinking about taking action so that's good!


Personally people quit their jobs to early and really regret it! I like the saying...


"make your income for 2 years while still having your day job then you can quit your day job"


EXAMPLE: say I earn 50,000 net a year, this would mean I need to make roughly $140 a day each day of the year!


When consistently doing this for a couple years I know I would have nailed it