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When & Why Did You Quit Your Day Job?

by Dave Rodman Banned
23 replies
Just out of curiosity, as a percentage, what % was your IM income of your day job income when you quit. If you haven't quit yet, what would you take. They say that when you add in benefits, your true salary is Wages x 1.3 so if you wanna use that number.

Just curious cause I passed my day job income A LONG time ago and still hung onto my job. While some people choose to quit once they are making anything close to their day job income.

To me, my setup has worked better. If I quit my day job, I'd likely get in the habit of doing everything. With this, since I don't need the income, I have everythign setup in a system so it doesn't require too much work. And I think that has actually allowed me to grow much faster.

How bout you?
#day #job #quit #when or why
  • Profile picture of the author Lazy
    About 14 months ago I had a little spat with my boss at my crappy minimum wage job. I decided then and there that i'd never work for anyone ever again.

    I got started in IM shortly thereafter, because I needed money for a roadtrip, and I didn't really feel like working that hard to get it.

    Here I am, making more money than I ever thought possible, and loving every single second of my life.

    Cheers!
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    • Profile picture of the author jthall89
      Originally Posted by Lazy View Post

      About 14 months ago I had a little spat with my boss at my crappy minimum wage job. I decided then and there that i'd never work for anyone ever again.

      I got started in IM shortly thereafter, because I needed money for a roadtrip, and I didn't really feel like working that hard to get it.

      Here I am, making more money than I ever thought possible, and loving every single second of my life.

      Cheers!
      That's awesome man. And quite inspirational for a noob like me!!
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  • Profile picture of the author redstanford
    hopefully within the year of 2011. that's my #1 goal right now

    I don’t enjoy waking up in the morning for a job. Almost as simple as that. I really don’t want to go through this grind until I retire in 30 years or so. All the respect in the world to those who were able to get out of bed every morning as the sun rises for 30+ years. That is not how I want to live my life.
    Hopefully I can do IM full time. I’m taking it one step at a time and putting “money in the bank” as my HS football Head Coach would say when we sweated through 3 a day practices in the dead of summer while everyone else was sleeping in.
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  • Profile picture of the author Matt Morgan
    When & Why Did You Quit Your Day Job?
    You may aswell ask HOW did you quit?

    some people resign,
    some quit,
    some tell their boss "Im outta here"
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    • Profile picture of the author Dave Rodman
      Banned
      Originally Posted by Matt Morgan View Post

      You may aswell ask HOW did you quit?

      some people resign,
      some quit,
      some tell their boss "Im outta here"
      I was gonna ask "How", but I figured most people had boring stories like they just gave their 2 week notice and went to TGIFridays with their co-workers.

      But if your quitting story starts with telling your boss "YOU S.O.B!", then by all means.
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      • Profile picture of the author Lazy
        Originally Posted by Dave Rodman View Post

        I was gonna ask "How", but I figured most people had boring stories like they just gave their 2 week notice and went to TGIFridays with their co-workers.

        But if your quitting story starts with telling your boss "YOU S.O.B!", then by all means.
        Haha, when I said "little spat" that was an understatement. I think I told him he could take the job and shove it somewhere I can't mention without being censored.
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  • Profile picture of the author anthony2
    Originally Posted by Dave Rodman View Post

    Just out of curiosity, as a percentage, what % was your IM income of your day job income when you quit. If you haven't quit yet, what would you take. They say that when you add in benefits, your true salary is Wages x 1.3 so if you wanna use that number.

    Just curious cause I passed my day job income A LONG time ago and still hung onto my job. While some people choose to quit once they are making anything close to their day job income.

    To me, my setup has worked better. If I quit my day job, I'd likely get in the habit of doing everything. With this, since I don't need the income, I have everythign setup in a system so it doesn't require too much work. And I think that has actually allowed me to grow much faster.

    How bout you?


    I was quit my job last year.

    I was able to do it within a 4 month period.

    I wasn't making that much anyway and my total

    expenses were $1600 dollars a month. So it didn't

    take long to surpass that. If i was making $8 to 10k

    a month from my job then it would have taken me alot longer to

    surpass that income
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    In 2000 I worked for an Interactive Ad Agency and they went out of business.

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    • Profile picture of the author Kay King
      I didn't plan to quit - I had been making a sweet little part-time income from IM for a few years and had a secure job that paid $30-40 an hour that was fun. I liked the people I worked with...enjoyed IM, too....life didn't suck.

      My workplace was on the water - three stories tall with each floor larger than a football field.

      Overnight - that building was destroyed. My workplace was closed for a year. Many of my friends lost their homes (my house was held down by the trees that crashed onto it). Helloooo, Katrina!

      I was on 80% pay for three months (good employer) and at the end of that time I realized I was now a full time IMer whether I wanted that or not. Some serious ups and downs for a while - but I got through them.

      Five years later - the roles are reversed. My full time income is from IM and I work for my old employer on weekends only. The economy has affected that income but it's still $20+ per hour so good for a part time job. Also good to make me mingle with people as I'm a hermit at heart.

      It's wise to have choices, options, etc - but sometimes life decides them for you.

      kay

      EDIT: Thinking about it - I work harder now than I did for my employer. I work longer hours, I push myself harder, and there's doubt and uncertainty at times. Having been forced to take the plunge into full-time IM - I wouldn't go back to a full-time job for anything!
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      • Profile picture of the author Dave Rodman
        Banned
        Originally Posted by Kay King View Post

        I didn't plan to quit - I had been making a sweet little part-time income from IM for a few years and had a secure job that paid $30-40 an hour that was fun. I liked the people I worked with...enjoyed IM, too....life didn't suck.

        My workplace was on the water - three stories tall with each floor larger than a football field.

        Overnight - that building was destroyed. My workplace was closed for a year. Many of my friends lost their homes (my house was held down by the trees that crashed onto it). Helloooo, Katrina!

        I was on 80% pay for three months (good employer) and at the end of that time I realized I was now a full time IMer whether I wanted that or not. Some serious ups and downs for a while - but I got through them.

        Five years later - the roles are reversed. My full time income is from IM and I work for my old employer on weekends only. The economy has affected that income but it's still $20+ per hour so good for a part time job. Also good to make me mingle with people as I'm a hermit at heart.

        It's wise to have choices, options, etc - but sometimes life decides them for you.

        kay

        EDIT: Thinking about it - I work harder now than I did for my employer. I work longer hours, I push myself harder, and there's doubt and uncertainty at times. Having been forced to take the plunge into full-time IM - I wouldn't go back to a full-time job for anything!
        That's an interesting story Kay and it's good you had options. Realistically, I think that's the only way I'll quit my job (hopefully not by a hurricane) is if I get canned for some reason. I'm like you were....to me the job I'm working isn't that bad. In my case, I know that if I didn't have IM income, I'd be forced to go up the ladder. And there are SERIOUS diminishing returns that goes along with that (more work for not much more pay).
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  • Profile picture of the author kris2012
    That´s my goal for 2011 to be financially independent.

    I would say for me to quit my day job I should make $5000 a month
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  • Profile picture of the author DeborahDera
    Originally Posted by Dave Rodman View Post

    Just out of curiosity, as a percentage, what % was your IM income of your day job income when you quit. If you haven't quit yet, what would you take. They say that when you add in benefits, your true salary is Wages x 1.3 so if you wanna use that number.

    Just curious cause I passed my day job income A LONG time ago and still hung onto my job. While some people choose to quit once they are making anything close to their day job income.

    To me, my setup has worked better. If I quit my day job, I'd likely get in the habit of doing everything. With this, since I don't need the income, I have everythign setup in a system so it doesn't require too much work. And I think that has actually allowed me to grow much faster.

    How bout you?
    I quit my job 2 1/2 years ago to freelance full-time. I was making about 1/3 - 2/3 of my salary at the time. There simply weren't enough hours in the day to get to 100% before quitting, so I save a small amount to help me through the first month and jumped ship. Sometimes you simply need to lite a little fire under your feet.
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  • Profile picture of the author trishworks4u
    I think a lot of people didn't "quit". I also think that this "Recession"/"Depression" - whatever you want to call it - is the best thing that could have happened for a lot of people (myself included).

    Those big corporate layoffs have forced a lot of us out of our comfort zones and into some incredible changes that I know I would have never thought to make for myself otherwise.

    I have been in IM and "full time" for 2 years since Day 1 out of necessity. I will NEVER EVER go back to work for a company again - no matter what. Love this stuff.
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    • Profile picture of the author Dave Rodman
      Banned
      Originally Posted by trishworks4u View Post

      I think a lot of people didn't "quit". I also think that this "Recession"/"Depression" - whatever you want to call it - is the best thing that could have happened for a lot of people (myself included).

      Those big corporate layoffs have forced a lot of us out of our comfort zones and into some incredible changes that I know I would have never thought to make for myself otherwise.

      I have been in IM and "full time" for 2 years since Day 1 out of necessity. I will NEVER EVER go back to work for a company again - no matter what. Love this stuff.
      Yeah, I figured that's what happened to a lot of people. Shoemoney says that most people should just continue with their day jobs until they get fired. Ha.

      My family used to go down to St Pete's every year. We stayed at the Sandpiper and Tradewinds. I've been tempted to go back to those places, but part of me wants to remember it how I did as a kid. And usually I end up thinking "This place isn't that nice" or "That movie wasn't as good as I remember". ha.
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  • Profile picture of the author brandony
    Hey Dave,
    Great topic. I've heard the 1.3 factor also, and it's probably a good rule of thumb. For me, my transition has been much easier. I had house flipping and building up websites for people to help me lose my day job. Since july of 2005, I've been employed by somebody else only about 9 months. I LOVE being in charge of my own ship.
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  • Profile picture of the author Biggy Fat
    If I could've made $800/month (consistently) like I did at my old restaurant job back between 2005-2007, I wouldn't need a job.
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    • Profile picture of the author Kay King
      it's good you had options
      Dave -

      I didn't know I had options - didn't think of IM as an option. It was a profitable hobby that paid for some trips and extras. I had never considered working online full time.

      A catastrophe that damages your life and threatens your lifestyle can be a hurricane - or a lost job. You don't have to be a risk taker or an entrepreneur at heart to make the choice between trying for a broad jump or falling into a chasm.

      Without that storm, I would have had an easier life in the past 5 years. Because of the storm I will have a better life in the next 5 years. Maybe it all balances out somewhere...

      kay
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  • Profile picture of the author yukon
    Banned
    My employer decided Mexico needed my job more than I did, I had a great job, including pay + benefits. Chances are I would still be at that job If I wasn't layed off.

    I knew about the layoff a year before it actually happend, & they gave me an awesome severance package to stay with them until the job transfer to Mexico was completed. Out of about 120 people I was the last guy out the door.

    It sucks big time to see all your friends & co-workers being layed off day after day. Each time I would see someone else get layed off it felt like I was being layed off, very depressing going through that for an entire year. Sometimes I felt like the first guys layed off were the lucky ones, at least it was done & over with for them.

    I took my severance package & payed off my house & car so I'm thankful they helped me do that. Cashed out my 401k since it was steady losing $1,000+ a month buried that in the back yard, lol, didn't really bury it just made sure I was the only one in control of it (havn't lost a penny yet).

    I was part-time IM a couple years before being layed off, so I already was making a very steady part-time income with out doing anything else (Adsense).

    Starting to work with my brother now, he does TV commercials for a lot of high dollar accounts. He wants to get into IM so he is creating the content & I'll build the sites. Hope that works out because he is very good & fast at creating/editing video.

    Anyways, that's my IM story...
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  • Profile picture of the author RussRuffino
    1.3? Damn...

    I quit my bartending job that paid $800 - 900 a week when I was making around $300 a week online.

    Why? If I poured one more drink, I was going to jump off a cliff.

    Within the next two weeks, though, my online income EXPLODED and I was making TRIPLE what I made as a bartender.

    My advice to anyone is to create your own product, put it on Clickbank, and then spend your time recruiting affiliates. Then you can quit your job whenever you want. It's the fastest path to consistent online income I've ever seen.

    Russ
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  • Profile picture of the author PHPGator
    If I didn't have a family and it was just all me living by myself without having to feed 4 kids and a wife, I would have quit my day job a while ago. Right now I just want to absolutely make sure that I have enough money to pay for insurance and all that. There are days though that I would love to be able to sleep to 9:00 and work in shorts and a t-shirt.
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    • Profile picture of the author Sardent
      My job quit me.

      I had a decent job paying decent money. Which was also killing me.
      Then the economy tanked, half our customers went out of business overnight, title and mortgage companies.

      I survived a couple "promotions" that were meant to keep me in the company, but ultimately my boss could not afford to have me on the team. My last assignment was to train the person replacing me at 1/4 my salary.

      That was February 2009.

      I decided then that I would not trade time for money, or suffer corporate politics again.

      It's been rough, and I've almost quit a few times, but you got to hang in there because if you do you finally reach the saturation point and things start to click and you make money.
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    • Profile picture of the author KostasPapahatzis
      I was making money before leaving my FT job, but I had to make a move sometime and work on other things.

      But I can work back to FT anytime as soon as there is an opening for a good position; automation leaves time for that. For now, I am very happy as I am; only that my job looks very weird to most people in my places. They used to believe that working online is a sick thing to do, and that you are wasting your time and your life sitting behind a computer. Now with the Crisis knocking their door, and all these layoffs, I get more and more 'Huh...what did we say that you do?' Well, we didn't say; or better, we did, but only once, and we are not going to say it again.
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  • Profile picture of the author Marx Vergel Melencio
    Hmmm... That was more than 5 years ago... Was earning 500% more from my business than from my day job, and this was about 5 months since starting to work on my day job and less than a month starting my business... Quit after another 4 months because the people who I were outsourcing my day job tasks - Was a content researcher/writer for an outsourcing firm here and yes, I took 8 day job posts and outsourced the rest to just do editing - can earn more for themselves and for my business if I hired them as employees and assign them to the clients of my business, and I observed that I'll be able to earn from my business 4000% more than my day job and even more as each month passes if I were to focus my time on my business... And also realized that it's better to entrust the financial stability of my family to myself than to any stranger called "boss" who, at any time and for any reason or even no reason at all, can decide to close down his or her company, leaving me unemployed, desperate to again find another job which in my opinion translates to me again entrusting my family's financial stability to another stranger called "boss" then this cycle could repeat itself indefinitely... So I quit my day job... This is just me though...
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