Various Articles

Recently my online business has started making enough money to enable me to leave my job and strike out entirely on my own. I have had to work hard to be able to get to this point, but I attribute my ability to leave my job to the 3 things below (they're things you can do too):

1. Low overhead lifestyle. My wife and I have managed to reduce our expenses to the barest of minimums. We've managed to reduce our rent and utilities to zero. Our insurance, petrol and groceries are our largest expenses now and they come in under a grand. It doesn't take much sales from our business in order to cover those bare necessities. Now we are just looking for products that are base hits instead of home runs. Look to reduce by following the 1 time downside (ie moving) with ongoing upsides (1/2 to 1/4 the cost in rent). Avoid doing things with the opposite costs. Avoid clipping coupons because they incur an ongoing downside with a once off upside.

2. Give yourself time. I've had to spend a few hours each day working on the business in order to get to this point. This meant I had to reprioritize a few things. Easy to eliminate things like TV and sleeping in were out. Just those 2 things enabled me to gain the skills I needed to start earning a basic level of income before ever taking the risk of going out on my own.

3. Have a backup plan in place. I made sure I didn't burn any bridges and did my work until the very last day of my job, just to make sure I'm welcome back. My backup plan is very simple. Go back to my former employer and contract with them for 3-6 months. The money I make during that time is enough to tide me over for an entire year. Find something you could do in order to make ends meet if things don't go as well as you hope. Keep it close to you to give yourself the courage to strike out on your own.

Those are the 3 things I did in order to build my skills and reduce my fears to the point where I confidently struck out on my own. They are really easy to do but they may be emotionally difficult, especially if you are addicted to TV or really tied to a certain area. If striking out on your own is your number 1 priority, doing the 3 things above will speed you on your way.