hours working for the man vs hours working for yourself

I know exactly what you're talking about! My day is like this: I wake up at 6 - 7am, get the kids ready and fed, I get ready and off to my "real job" and then when I get home put the kids to bed and do my IM stuff from about 7pm to 3am. I catch up on sleep some nights and go to bed at midnight and try to sleep in on the weekends. I'm pretty tired but I just feel like I have to do this. I think if you have the mindset that this is just short-term and soon you will only do IM, then it makes it better. I hope in a year I will be able to get out of the corporate world and on my own!

I would say that is the best that you have your 9am-5pm job until you reach enough average amount of monthly online income.
If you work hard at your 9am-5pm job you cant giving 100% of you for your online job as you are tired. But if you work only online you should take that as your real job and do it everyday

I work from 3pm - 11pm 5 days out of the week. Then once I get home I spend the next 2-3 hours working on my internet business. It is a bit easier for me because of my hours due to the fact that after 11pm on weekdays my friends are at home resting before they go to sleep. So I really have nothing else to do after work but work on my internet business.

At first it was longer where I was doing 8 hour work days and then another 5-6 hours on the internet. But then once I started to get some money coming in I started outsourcing work. This way my outsourcers (employees if you want to call them that) are working while I am at my "day job."

Finally having a day job and working on your internet business at the same time makes you more descriminate (don't know if that's the right word) more choosy about the actions you take.

In my experience, having more work "for the man" inspires you even more to work less for the man, and therefore work for your online business can become more focused and serious. You'll hear it over and over again, tons of people come online out of necessity.

The important thing is to keep that motivation and hard work going in work for yourself after you have been able to cut down or cut out altogether the "normal" work.

One thing that I did also that helped me out was I set a bunch of financial goals.

I broke down my montly living expenses into fixed expenses and variable expenses.

My first financial goal was to be able to have the income coming in from my Internet business cover all my fixed expenses, (except my rent).

Then my second goal was to be able to have the income coming in from my internet business cover all fixed expenses including my rent. So I then knew that if I lost my job I could at least pay all the bills.

Then my third goal was to be able to have the income coming in to be able to cover all my fixed expenses and variable expenses.

I think that is what people should do before they even think about quiting their jobs. They should work on both a day job and their internet business and only when their internet business is at the point where the net income can cover your living expenses then it is ok to quit your job.

This is what helped me stay focused. Try it, it might help you out.

Oh and another thing I do is if I want a Flat Screen TV, which I have the current goal of purchasing a LED Smart HDTV, which is around $1,800. I focus on creating an income stream that will pay for that TV.

So last month I setup a sight promoting a friends product and I want that income stream to get up to that $1,800 mark. Then once it is consistently putting out $1,800 I will buy that LED Smart HDTV.

This way I will be able to have my TV, and still have that $1,800 income stream coming in.

Well I quit my job about 9 months ago because I couldn't find anything that paid much better than minimum wage. Towards the last year I switched my job about 3 times and hated all 3 of them. I just have a serious issue doing work that can easily be replaced by a machine.

It took me about 3 weeks of no work before I realized I'd be much better off leaving the job applications to the side. I started selling postcards (direct mail marketing) and when I saw my first check for a little over $4,000 I nearly crapped my pants. My former job would have taken 3 months to make that money which I made in only 4 weeks. Eventually I started doing web design which I liked even more and now that provides a pretty stable income (for the most part that is).

Its still not enough to satisfy me though so I have many other things I'm focused on atm (almost too much tbo). Plus I don't have insurance so I've been avoiding things like the dentist for a while now which is stressing me out. I've began switching things over from web design to running PPC campaigns for my previous clients along with SEO.

The main issue right now is automating everything. That really has been the hardest thing for me. Outsourcing SEO is fairly simple for me its the PPC I'm not having luck with. I still like it better than working a 9-5 but when I need to go to the doctor/dentist thats when I really get stressed out about things. I can technically just pay for insurance but I tend to be a bit ignorant when it comes to my health... which obviously causes problems. Like 2 weeks ago I came down with a horrible fever and wound up being bed ridden for a week, missed a ton of work, got behind on my bills, and am now I'm starting to reorganize things so I can avoid this in the future.

Apparently I think I'm immortal but its really just immaturity. I don't want to pay for insurance cause I'm a cheapass and would rather put that money in the bank "encase something bad happens". Its a bit twisted to think about because if I do ever need serious medical attention I'm going to hate myself with a passion.

-Red

I try to set a daily Goal of at least 45 minutes to work on my sites. I find I am sharp for that amount of time.

You would be surprised how even that small amount of time every day adds up!

Red,

I hope it is just something minor!! Get better soon!!

While you're just starting on your IM business, I would suggest that you make sure you have an income. The only time people should quit their jobs is when their really earning money from IM until then keep your job even if it's difficult.

I've never been a fan of working for other people. I like to have control of when I have to work and who I have to work with.

I started my internet marketing adventure to try and fund a film making career.

Next thing I know I'm falling in love with marketing online, and the beauty of making conversions.

That said, I do have a 40 hour week job. I work from 4pm to 1am, which is A) a perfect schedule for me, and B) is a physical job that I enjoy doing.

I do most of my internet marketing work between the hours of 1am and 6am, often later if I am on a roll.

I currently run several standalone sites and a few services. I generate a solid "hobby-like" income that not only keeps my beer fridge full but pays the car and insurance payment.

I enjoy what I do at work, and I enjoy what I do online.

BP

Thanks again. Everyone. I am feeling more positive. The gig will provide money to invest in the business. I am so busy writing and researching and enjoying that so much.

I should make a carrot list. That always helps me stay on track.

I really can do this.