Going Full Time
Leaving your day job to become an Internet marketer
Most people who take the challenge and start an online affiliate business usually are doing it for a couple of reasons. Some want the extra cash, but many aspire to make online marketing their full time occupation and wish to leave the corporate rat race behind. If your motivation for being an online marketer is the latter then you have come to the right place. With time, dedication and a lot of effort you can make online marketing your full time job.
The most important part of transitioning from your day job to the being an affiliate full time is to make sure that you do it right. Despite what you think, there are many important things that you might not be considering. Failing to make the move properly could result slow sales, too much work or worse yet, having to return to a nine to five job.
This article will outline the steps you should take as it becomes likely that you wish to leave your day job to run your affiliate business and the things you should do once you have made the best decision of your life!
Your Growing Business, Your Waning Day Job
As your hard work begins to pay off and you see traffic to your website and money in your bank account, you will start to care less about your day job and more about your affiliate business. Its natural, your affiliate business provides you time and freedom, while your day job does not. There are a couple different scenarios that you might be in. Your affiliate business might have literally blown up over night and you are making $25,000 a month. Obviously this kind of money brings a serious change. It is also possible that your business has taken a steady growth pattern over the last year and a half and you are now making as much money from your affiliate business as you are at your day job. No matter what situation you are in, there are some things you should do as you start to consider leaving your day job and affiliating full time:
- Keep working hard at your day job: Most likely people at your job know about your home internet marketing business. It probably won't be a surprise if you decide to leave sometime to work harder at home and that's fine but you need to keep working hard at your current job. If you are a hard worker and have a good reputation with your current employer then they provide you with a very important safety cushion in the event your affiliate business goes south. Work hard and leave your job on good terms so that in the event you ever have to return you are greeted with open arms.
- Talk to other full time affiliates: Talking with experienced webmasters who have made the move to full time affiliate work will be your best source for advice and answers. Ask specific lifestyle questions that will give you a good idea of if you are up to the challenge of working on your own.
- Listen to your friends: Your friends will usually be supportive about your move to self employment. Supportive friends will provide a great confidence boost to you and your business plan, engage them in conversation about the move and hear out their concerns.
- Don't listen to your friends: You have to remember one thing that sets you aside from your peers. You have taken the big step in actually starting a business and attempting to become financially free on your own. Many of your friends and peers don't even consider doing something so bold. They don't think it's possible. When negative or un-motivated friends and peers call you crazy for considering leaving your job, simply ignore them and talk to your friends who are supportive.
Getting a number of opinions and thoughts on your transition is a great idea and it will provide you with perspectives from all angles. Ultimately though, you will need to do what your gut tells you. Use the information from other affiliates and your peers to make an informed, well rounded decision about your future.
I am leaving my day job, what now?
If you truly have decided to leave your day job then the first thing you need to do is celebrate! You are joining an elite group which consists of some of the most innovative marketers and entrepreneurs in the world. After a short celebration its time to get a few more things off the checklist. Everything that follows are the things you need to make sure you have in line before you leave your job or slightly thereafter. Take care of these things now so that your home based operation is completely set up and ready to go when you leave your day job for the last time:
- Save some money: Once you leave your day job there will no longer be a guaranteed paycheck every Friday. If your affiliate business is doing well you should have a pretty consistent stream of income, but always plan for the worst! In the closing weeks/months of your day job make sure you set some money aside just incase your affiliate business has some rocky months. If your affiliate income for some reason were to cease and you would have no option but to return to work, then you may want to put off quitting your job until you can handle a bad month or two. Save three to six months of living expenses or at least have a solid backup plan.
- Talk to an accountant: You may have already talked to an accountant in the formative months of your business. If you haven't, now is a good time to do it. You will want professional guidance from an accountant for a few reasons. An accountant can help steer you to the proper structure for your company (S corp, LLC, partnership) and will be invaluable in helping you manage your finances.
- Don't forget about your 401K: If you had a 401k or other type of retirement plan with your employer, get on transferring it right away. There is no reason to let your 401k just sit there, talk to a financial planner and get it rolled over so you can continue to contribute.
- Get health and life insurance: Despite what you have heard, health insurance for a single person who is self employed is really cheap. Sometimes you can get health insurance on your own that is cheaper than what your employer provided. Bottom line you need to make sure you health care needs are covered. If you have a family make sure to get some life insurance, it's cheap and provides peace of mind and financial security for your family in the event a tragedy occurs.
Some final thoughts
Not being tied to the daily grind of a day job is going to free up a lot of time in your life. At first you might find that your time is abundant and you might not be sure how to manage it. It's important to develop some type of schedule to follow so that you can continue to work effectively. If you find that a "work as you please" type attitude doesn't work, then you will need to define a more rigid schedule to follow.
On a closing note, you are going to find that your successful affiliate business runs very smoothly right as you leave your day job. After all, it has made you enough money that you have actually made the biggest decision of your life and left your day job. This can be very dangerous though. If you become complacent and happy with how your business is now you are setting yourself up for failure. You must continue to work just as hard as you did to get you to this point. Continue to grow and build your business. Your business will not simply run itself and keep you fed now that you have quit your job. It needs your time and commitment now more than ever.