Is it worth it??

No one can make up your mind for you, especially since there's not guarantee regarding how much you'll make. That sounds like an awesome job you have, actually, and only 4 days/week? Excellent.

I can't tell you how much you'll realistically generate, because there's a lot of variables involved in that (what niche, high-ticket products or low-ticket, etc.), but here's one thing I'll say: the amount of money you earn is directly proportional to the amount of value you offer others.

It can be a rocky road, especially once Shiny Object Syndrome kicks in and you jump from product to product and system to system in search of a magic bullet. There's a real learning curve, that's for sure.

Doc,

Very few people who frequent this Forum can match your yearly income - very, very few.

The dream of living the "Internet lifestyle" of freedom and plenty of income and time to do whatever you please is just that . . . a dream . . . for 99.9% of Internet marketers.

I would suggest you continue on with your career while maybe giving the equivalent of 1 day per week to Internet Marketing so you can learn about and get your feet wet in this industry without turning your back on what you have worked hard to create.

For most of us that derive income from Internet Marketing, the "job" of being an online business owner is often not glamorous, easy, or "stress free" as it takes dedication and daily execution of sometimes unpleasant tasks to create and grow a successful business. In a sense, it is every bit as hard . . . and takes the same discipline . . . as showing up for work as a dentist.

At least in the beginning, you would be trading one "job" for another.

I would say . . . be sure this is what you really want (by experiencing it) before you turn your back on a good thing.

The very best to you,

Steve

These are the types of decisions you need to make as an entrepreneur.

Is it worth it?

Absolutely...

However the risks you take and choices you make are gonna have to be made by you.

Well, I would certainly keep the $200k/year job, at least for now anyway. That is a darn good income by most people's standards. Not a lot of people can say they make that much.

If you would like to get into IM, I would say do it on the side and gradually grow your brand & reputation.
Focus on things like cultivating a list of buyers, and always maintain a relationship with your customers.
Strive to deliver excellent value to your customers. Don't get sucked into "shiny object"
syndrome and try to follow the strategies and techniques of those that are already successful.

But yeah, if it were me, I would keep the job and start small at first with IM. Who knows, you may someday make more than your day job and decide to go into it full time. I can tell you though, the vast majority of internet marketers make nowhere near $200k/year.

Thanks for the honest input guys, I'm not ready to leave my day job, and i'll likely dabble in the world of IM and content creation as a 'dedicated hobby' and see where it takes me.

You don't really have to chose between IM and your current job. Unlike 99% of people here you are in the position where you don't have to work hard, you can have you money work hard for you. In other words you don't have to learn know to build an online business from scratch, you can buy one, assuming you have put some cash aside. You can invest it into buying a website or business that already makes money.
People are willing to sell their sites for 12x - 20x monthly income.

Search for Empire Flippers and listen to their podcasts. (I am in no way associated with them.) Do your due diligence to make sure you are confident to buy form them and there you go...

P.S. It wouldn't hurt though, if you learned and understood how and why the particular site makes money before investing, in case you are going to buy a website (business).

Some smart people here have chimed in and steered you well. But I am surprised that nobody has suggested what to me would be the most obvious course of action.

You clearly have a very marketable skill, or you wouldn't be compensated so well for it.

Take that (whatever that is) and use it as the foundation of an online offering. If you are prohibited from doing that by the terms of your current employment then you may have to be more creative, but there is always a way that should be profitable and ethical.

If you want to share some information about what it is you do (I see you are a dentist, apparently... do you specialize?), I am sure we can guide you with some more specific advice.

Good luck - you are in a better position to start something than most of the other people who share your desire.

With an income like that, you have a few options

You could outsource an entire affiliate marketing business, selling affiliate products using free traffic from Google, etc

You can get a full-time virtual assistant for $150 - $300 a month, this way you could build your online business passively.

But your best bet would be investing in websites making about $1000+ a month

You'd pay about $10,000 and up...

Looks like you'd need around 16-20 of them, to supplement your income.

Set a goal and work towards it...

Might take you 5 years, but it's a sound process, and it's relatively passive.

This is the same principle that has been setting people free from the workplace for years, just usually with real estate

You could also write a book about how you got to where you are, there are tons of college kids dying to know!

Build a list of people interested in that kind of info, invest into growing that list, and in 5 years, you'll have another valuable asset to contribute to your freedom

The most I've made in a year from the internet was $36,000, last year I only made $25,400, but I worked about 5 hours max per week, because I have a small team of Virtual Assistants in the Philippines, so it was fairly passive.

I acquire more passive income generating assets each month, and my VA's are always creating more content so my income is always growing. Plus my list is growing each month.

If I had more capitol to invest, my monthly cashflow would expand by leaps and bounds each month

Basically unlike most of the people on this forum you already have money...

Put it to work, or else you'd just be leaving your offline job for an online job

first off none ever said that to dive into IM you have to leave your actual career, you can start doing IM from the comfort of your own home, then when you will get more skilled to it you can even scale it up and see how it goes...but you do not have to leave your job. just do both of them and after got some experience decide for your self without care on what people has to say about your choice, remember that people always judge anything based on their own point of views and experiences...which means nothing to do with you!

best regards

Hello Doc

I could tell you what I would do if I were in your place: I would keep my job for $ 200K a year, I would try to learn IM, but also when I would be able to work well, my work does not leave him.

anything, following the passion of M would think to earn something more.

There's a lot of opportunity for someone like you - Intelligent, driven, and you have the cash to make smart investments. There's no reason you should start at the bottom.

I would partner up with a top level marketer, and see what you can come up with. I can tell you, that you're not going to find them on this forum. I wouldn't trust any relationship based solely on the internet. Go to some of the major conferences and start networking.

Keep your day job, and invest some of that salary into building a list online. You probably won't make 200k per year online, but you might be adding a nice income source. With the amount of money you are making, you can afford to work with major marketers, and build a huge list fast.

Hey Doc,

What's surprised me most about this thread are the very clear, helpful replies. I think you really lucked out with the people and advice already given in this thread.

I'm responding as I read someone mentioned our company (Empire Flippers) and thought I could add some value as well.

As others have stated, most working in the online space don't make anything close to $200K per year. My guess is that would be a fraction of the top 1% of those working online.

However, I'm guessing you've been earning $200K per year for more than a few years. The issue there is (I'm guessing, here) your expenses/costs are high as well. Unless you've worked very hard to minimize your personal expenses/splurges, they've probably crept up with your income.

I'm also sure that it took you years of training + experience to get to where you are today. You're currently cashing in on the fruits of your labor from years ago. You're in one of those comfortable spots that comes with hard work and dedication to a particular craft, year in and year out.

Starting over and looking to build a career online - you're back at the bottom, scraping your way until you get to reap those benefits. There's a "1,000 day rule" with online businesses - you're typically looking at a 3 year plan to "making it" with your online business.

Are you willing to put in the dedication again, knowing it will take years to find some success? Could you handle significant cuts in your expenses to baseline and increase your runway for a new startup venture? How many months/years would you have, starting from scratch, with your current burn rate?

As others have mentioned, leveraging your current professional experience in building your online business would seem to make sense. You can definitely shave some days off the 1,000 day rule by doing that.

What value could you provide other dentists that are cash rich and (possibly) time poor? Others in the same position as you right now?

It's been a while, but I remember talking to someone else that made a business out of helping dentists build online portfolios of profitable websites. I thought it odd that he targeted dentists specifically, but it was a niche he'd found that worked.

Earning $200,000 a year you have the potential to get mentored by an Internet Marketer who earns more than $200,000 a year, don't overspend, but maybe start and pay for a bit of help along the way (I mean face to face not some online course!)

The good news is you have a great job that will be able to cut the learning curve to Internet Marketing. Don't waste your time trying to learn it on your own. Invest in an online mentor and you will be doing very well for yourself in six months time.

actually your income is high enough ... anchio not advise you to completely abandon your work ... you can initially make the two businesses together .. with the time you decide ... but leaves his back covered

Do both first and see if you really like to make money online.

Hi there,
I think to goes into your priority and what value u put first to your life, is it freedom or security.

If your offline job needs you to work 9-5 then I think you should learn to have a team to run your online business, or maybe buy a blueprint that's proven that can automate your online income.

From that $200k annually u can have like 10% and build gigantic online biz empire , only if you put the right sauce of secret in online business.

Dropping one of them doesn't seem a good deal , and I will never do that.