April 1, 2008

How I Earned My Freedom and Quit My Job

Recently my product development business started earning enough money for me to be able to devote my full attention to it. I've been working towards this for a while now, but here's how I got to this point, how I eliminated the fear and how you can too.

1. Cheap living. I've managed to reduce my rent and utilities to the lowest possible amount - zero. While we live in a high cost of living area, our only real expenses are groceries, petrol and insurance. If freedom from a job is your number 1 priority, you need to move to a place where it is not hard to make enough to cover your day to day expenses, it can mean the difference between surviving on 100s of sales a month or 10s. You can move to a different location or the same location, smaller house. I suggest you tackle the large expenses with a 1 time downside (ie. moving) but large ongoing upside (1/2 the rent month after month) first and foremost. I don't suggest clipping coupons or the like, which are ongoing downsides (searching and clipping coupons monthly) with small 1 time upsides (save 25 cents!).

2. Make time. I've been spending extra time working on the business leading up to this point. It meant giving up TV and sleeping in. If you can't squeeze a few more hours out of your day by eliminating low priority items (such as TV and lie ins), you will never succeed. It gave me time to learn the skills I need and set up a basic level of income before going completely on my own.

3. Have a backup. I put in a simple backup plan in place in case everything goes horribly wrong. I plan to go back to my former employers and ask to sign onto a contract for 3-6 months. I am able to earn enough to cover my yearly expenses in that short period and then I would go back out on my own. I made sure I didn't burn any bridges and I did quality work until the very end, just to make sure I'm welcome back. The backup plan gave me the confidence to strike out on my own knowing I could always take care of my family.

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.

Visit my blog and learn the art & science of converting your personal computer into an automated personal cash register -Steven Lohrenz. Here is the URL: Internet Business Automation

- Steven Lohrenz


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