If you were to quit your job...

15 years ago

Originally Posted by jeskola

I have a question for those who have already, or those who are thinking about it...

How much would you be looking to earn a month from your IM activities?

Enough to cover the bills? Match your salary?

How much cash would you think a safe amount to have in the bank before you did?

How many consistent months would you be looking at before you did so?

What if your product only had a couple of years shelf life?

Personally I want to make exactly what my current salary is per month +50%. This will help me cover superannuation (I think this is called 401k or something in the US) and my annual leave/sick leave etc.

Ideally I'd be making this amount for 6 months and have all that money set aside before quitting. This would mean I have a bit to fall back on in case of disaster and an additional 6 months to fix the problem or find another job if need be.

As for the shelf life... I'm working hard at building a recurring income so it shouldn't be a huge issue.

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MatthewCrump

15 years ago

Originally Posted by jeskola

I have a question for those who have already, or those who are thinking about it...

How much would you be looking to earn a month from your IM activities?

Enough to cover the bills? Match your salary?

How much cash would you think a safe amount to have in the bank before you did?

How many consistent months would you be looking at before you did so?

What if your product only had a couple of years shelf life?

Before i quit my job i'd like to be earning $5 k month ($1000 a week) to cover bill house payments etc but Ulitmatly i would be doing it for the time more then the money (Don't get me wrong i love money and you can never have enough) but i would use that time to see my little girl grow up she is only 18 months atm but working nights at current job is killing me as weekend and 5 hours during the day (After i have my sleep) is the only time i get to spend with her.

but as soon as i get 5k+ a month on a regular bases i personally would be out of there in a flash

Thanks
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marston007 15 years ago

Just go make your 5K a month, then worry about it. I would put your energy into reaching your goal, once there you can start thinking about the future.
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- MatthewCrump 15 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by marston007
  
  Just go make your 5K a month, then worry about it. I would put your energy into reaching your goal, once there you can start thinking about the future.
  
  Marston,
  For sure Mate thats the plan
  i know it not going to happen overnight but i'm going to give it my all as it something i really need to do as you can always make more money but time is something you can't get back
  
  that's why it time to study hard a put all effort to making sure my goals are reached
  
  -Matthew
  
  Thanks
  
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- Mike Hill 15 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by marston007
  
  Just go make your 5K a month, then worry about it. I would put your energy into reaching your goal, once there you can start thinking about the future.
  
  This is by far the best advice... Don't concern yourself with it now, just set a goal and reach it first. Then decide what you're wanting to do. You never know, things could be different in your life by then.
  
  Thanks
  
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Gary Ning Lo

15 years ago

Interesting questions here.

Can you also share some answers?

Cheers,

~Gary

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jeskola 15 years ago

Originally Posted by garytsang

Interesting questions here.

Can you also share some answers?

Cheers,

~Gary

LOL! Gary - i am looking for answers myself.

My blog currently makes me around $2000 (due to affiliate sales etc), though i'm stopping doing the affiliate stuff to concentrate on my own products - 1 of my affiliates has made around 16,000 from my blog alone in 3 months, so i want to start making my own products that do this.

My living costs are around $1500 a month.

Much the same as everyone else i have a pretty well paid job that keeps me at my desk 12 hours a day - when i get home i dive straight into my own blogs - i have no time really for myself or my girlfriend during the week. To be honest i'm starting to feel very stressed out as i'm permanently sat at a computer whether that's work or at home.

To earn what i earn at work requires 8 hours a day - to make the money off the blog is around 2 hours a day.

At the moment i can live of the blogs and i'm trying to bank my salary.

I just wanted to know at what point you jump into it if you think you can sustain it.

My worry is that it's not really sustainable - or is it?

I work in the digital industry, taking a couple of years out to focus on blogs would really not be good as i have to stay right up to date with new trends in social/digital/tech.

Just trying to weigh up my options.

Especially when you consider you have to have around $1.5 million in the bank at age 60 if you want to have a good 40/50,000 yearly 'pension' - it's a lot to consider!!
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CyberSorcerer

15 years ago

I recommend to my students the exact same route that I took when I quick.

What ever you're making right now, per month, save up 3 months worth before you quick.

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Jamie Charles

15 years ago

I think this is the first "should i quit my job to do full time IM" where the person asking is ACTUALLY MAKING MONEY.

To me this is a no-brainer, you know how to make money online, and you're actually doing it.

You can cover your costs of living from one blog.

Cut the cord, believe in yourself. Making your own way is incredibly fulfilling. If I were you I'd be gone tomorrow.

Granted I dropped out of college in my last semester to do this stuff, so I might be a little reckless or crazy, but when you know its going work, you just know.

The only thing about your post that really worries me is "Especially when you consider you have to have around $1.5 million in the bank at age 60 if you want to have a good 40/50,000 yearly 'pension' - it's a lot to consider!!"

Get that out of your head. Forget benefits, pension, etc. Work for yourself and have 10.5 million in the bank at 60. or 150 million. You choose.

If you said that you had no experience and haven't made dime one, the advice would be different.

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jeskola

15 years ago

Jamie,

Interesting!
Much the same i dropped out of school at 16 to get into online (web design) back in 97 - everyone thought i was nuts at the time - a passing fad i remember getting told. Smugness aside...

Yeah, well i know for a fact that i could make money from my blog. I am in fact duplicating it for a similar niche right now, which i hope means i can double my income.

Another problem i forgot to mention was that i live abroad and require a work visa which i wouldn't get if i left work - i could live on a holiday visa but then all the cash earned would be illegal (i don't pay the tax on it right now mainly because i don't know where to begin - the country i live in you get paid 'tax free' until the end of the year you file).

I guess what i am worried about is the lack of security, saving up 3 months salary is not a problem. I guess i would be scared of living hand to mouth and having nothing tucked away if anything went wrong outside of that 3 months.

Actually my dream was to travel Asia and live of my blog in the process - now that would be one hell of an adventure!! Probably a product in itself LOL.

Yes - the million in the bank - i know exactly what you are saying but 17 years working the normal 9 to 5 world that mindset is ingrained into my mind.

I'm quite lucky in that i have 17 years of digital skill - graphic design, coding social , digital strategy... so i suppose there freelance etc to fall back into if need be. I suppose i'm afriad of losing the monthly pay checque.

One thing i should add is the fear spect of it appeals to me - when i moved abroad i had less than 2,000 in my bank, no job to go to, didn't know a soul in the country i came and made it - so i suppose i can do it all again!!

Originally Posted by Jamie Charles

I think this is the first "should i quit my job to do full time IM" where the person asking is ACTUALLY MAKING MONEY.

To me this is a no-brainer, you know how to make money online, and you're actually doing it.

You can cover your costs of living from one blog.

Cut the cord, believe in yourself. Making your own way is incredibly fulfilling. If I were you I'd be gone tomorrow.

Granted I dropped out of college in my last semester to do this stuff, so I might be a little reckless or crazy, but when you know its going work, you just know.

The only thing about your post that really worries me is "Especially when you consider you have to have around $1.5 million in the bank at age 60 if you want to have a good 40/50,000 yearly 'pension' - it's a lot to consider!!"

Get that out of your head. Forget benefits, pension, etc. Work for yourself and have 10.5 million in the bank at 60. or 150 million. You choose.

If you said that you had no experience and haven't made dime one, the advice would be different.

Thanks
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Itachi 15 years ago

If you want to quit your job but you're not confident enough with your revenue i suggest you wait till you have a good bit of % (30% i'd say in a nutshell) above what your original salary was, so you don't find yourself in a situation where you revenue drops and you have troubles to pay bills.
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TBInternetMarketing

15 years ago

I think I'd want to make sure I was comfortable. You need to have a backup plan basically. Make sure you have enough in the bank for a couple of bad months and a plan as to how you are going to get money coming in when you do.

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Pinky Painter

15 years ago

I'll quit when I feel I am matured to start my business - the online business. The confident level to be a boss is not an easy one. It needs knowledge and the gut to run a business.

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WebPen

15 years ago

My wife would always like to work a "normal job", so that helps.

I think for us, about $3K/month plus her income is plenty.

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Caper224

15 years ago

Originally Posted by jeskola

I have a question for those who have already, or those who are thinking about it...

How much would you be looking to earn a month from your IM activities?

There is no set number, when Frank Kern envies me maybe then I'll be satisfied lol. But, back when I did quit my job I was aiming for $5000.00 a month.

Enough to cover the bills? Match your salary?

Yes, plus at least $1000.00 free cash for fun.

How much cash would you think a safe amount to have in the bank before you did?

$20,000 if I hadn't made anything online yet or was making under $1,000. If I was halfway to my goal(making $2500 a month) I'd quit with $5,000 in bank.

How many consistent months would you be looking at before you did so?

At least 3 months

What if your product only had a couple of years shelf life?

In general, I would never live on one income stream thats a recipe for disaster. So, I'd have at least 2 other products going so when that one fell off I had 2 others to carry me.

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Duggs

15 years ago

I'm in the Process of quitting my job as well...I enjoy working but the pay is no longer worth my time. As my knowledge and experience in IM grows so does my confidence that if i free up my time totally, then money will not be an issue...

After next week I have decided to reduce my work(job)schedule work 2 or 3 days instead of 5 or 6

My income has become so low from my job that, the only thing keeping me is my loyalty to my co-workers...

My situation is different from the OP, but i was wondering how the OP felt about their JOB???

I ask because if your goal is to make a lot of money, its going to be easier to achieve once you quit your job and focus on your Biz

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packerfan 15 years ago

My wife stays home right now with our child, so for me, I need to replace my current as I'm not interested in changing my lifestyle at the moment. That number isn't really relavant, but here's my plan...

Earn that amount for a period of 6-12 months, reinvest as necessary in my business, but save, save, save. Build a savings of ~6 months worth so I don't have to be completely stressed if sales fall off by x amount in a given month.

After all that's done, take a deep breath, and cut the cord.

I mean the worst that can happen is I have to get a job again, or both my wife and I do.

I'm hoping to make the transition in a couple years.
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- wanjugu 15 years ago
  
  This is a very interesting discussion.It happens that this is the time am toying with the same idea.When can i quit?
  
  My thoughts;juggle the job and IM for a year,build enough networks,then hit the road.In kenya,IM may actually settle for re-doing many sites for clients who got a raw deal.They need SEO,Linkbuilding etc
  
  That niche alone,perhaps i cannot satisfy in the next five years.
  
  Come July 2012,i could be doing IM Full time.
  
  Thanks
  
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Rod Cortez

15 years ago

Originally Posted by jeskola

.................How much would you be looking to earn a month from your IM activities?

Enough to cover the bills? Match your salary?

How much cash would you think a safe amount to have in the bank before you did?

How many consistent months would you be looking at before you did so?

What if your product only had a couple of years shelf life?

I used to advise my financial planning business clients to have at least one year's worth of living expenses in the bank (much more, depending on their actual cash flow projections) before leaving their jobs since your average offline business can take 3 to 5 years (or more) before they turn a real profit. Online can be much quicker, but the same principles apply.

They should have at least 6 months of consistent earnings (preferably 6 months of growing earnings) and, of course, more is better. Though many financial institutions (and investors) want to see 18 months or more.

Regarding your last question it was a bit vague for me, so I will give you a general answer. It's always good business sense to offer a comprehensive product mix. So you should never put all your eggs in one basket. So it's okay to start off with one product, but it's much more profitable to have a product line.

Some other things to think about are having adequate health insurance, life insurance, home owner's insurance, etc. And planning for any unforseen life events such as disability or death. Most entrepreneurs that I've talked to in this forum don't have their assets protected and don't have an exit strategy.

I had an ex-client of mine call me last week to thank me for making sure all his family's assets were placed in a certain kind of trust, funding it, and was very glad that I convinced him to have life insurance policies for both him and his wife. Things happen, so you should prepare for these things.

RoD

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JamesGw

15 years ago

I'd need to be making between 10 and 15k a month to consider leaving my day job, but even then I might not. It gives me something to do. This would, of course, have to be consistent over about a 12-month period.

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Rose Anderson

15 years ago

If you're in the U.S. be sure and add in your costs for health insurance.

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Iworek

15 years ago

Well I quit my job having 6 months salary in the bank. But when I did I haven't even started anything with internet marketing. (never had time for that working 12-17 hrs a day) Now I spent 3 months learning. And just last week I started making some money (not much for now) But I love my life anyway and finely have time and energy to learn and work on my online business.

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lustique

15 years ago

Great thread

Thanks. It's interesting - i wonder when I can work from home!

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DeusX

15 years ago

I didn't quit my job... I had my own company, workers, office, but Word Crisis caught me and I had to close it.That was 14 months ago. Then I started to work on-line, and now I'm not doing anything else

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