stop working 9 to 5

There are many reasons why you might be trying to escape the rat race and finding something where you can work on your own terms, with much more freedom to pursue your own interests and work on something that gives you a real buzz and you feel is very much worthwhile…

For me, it was the realisation that in my day job I was leaving the house at 6 most mornings and getting back until after 6 every day. Just to do either a 9 to 5 job or maybe a retail role where the shifts were even worse.

Traffic is getting worse every time I got in the car to drive to work, meaning you leave earlier. Now this is often the reality, and I kind of accepted it until Will (my son) was born.  I was missing out on so much, like seeing him grow up.  I often got back in time just to take him to bed.

Then there are the people you sometimes have to work with, or your boss that is becoming the bigger reason why you want to leave.

Surveys have often shown that the main reason why people are looking to leave their current job is down to their boss.

There could be many reasons why you might be looking of a way of escaping your current job, and this can often be that you start looking for another job in a similar field – but this will mean that you will still be affected by the commute, having to answer to a boss and still miss out on a lot of family time or time to pursue your own interests.

This was the place I found myself in a couple of years ago…

I didn’t want to find another job that didn’t improve my situation with my commute, family time and answering to a boss.  I decided the look to see if there were any other ways of achieving my goals.

Now looking for a way to earn money online is easier said than done.  There are a high number of scams out there, products that promise the world and everything will be done on auto-pilot and it ends up being a load of crap.

But once you sift through all of it, you can find that there are some real opportunities to earn money online and with the right mindset, you could easily be leaving the day job behind in a year or two.

You might think that is a long time… I want it sooner!  Wouldn’t we all, but the reality is any product that promises you a full-time wage straightaway is not genuine, and you will have lost your money.

If you are fully versed in the world of Internet Marketing, then you could easily achieve it sooner.  Otherwise, having realistic timescales and goals are really needed.

Ways to Work from Home

There are a number of genuine ways you could earn money online, earning a few extra quid completing surveys, etc. is fine if that is all you want.  But, being able to start your own online business where you can earn enough to achieve your goals of giving up the day job and spending more time doing what you like doing is a great feeling and was something, I was keen on working towards and wouldn’t have achieved it without the help and support I got.  But before I discuss that further, let’s explore a couple of ways you could work towards that goal…

Freelancing

There is an opportunity to earn good money by offering your services to online business owners and making some decent money from it.  To start with, it is easily something you can offer in your spare time and there are many different services you could offer. For example, many website owners are looking for people to write articles for them.  Researching and writing an article can take a while, so people hire writers.  If you are any good at graphic design or photoshop, there are opportunities to earn money there too.

Here are some other ways you could earn through freelancing:

• Graphic & Design
  • Logos, Illustrations, Flyers & Brochures, etc.
• Digital Marketing
  • SEO, Social Media Marketing, Online Marketing, etc.
• Writing & Translations
  • Website Content, Translations, Proofreading, Research, etc.
• Video & Animation
  • Promo Videos, Music Videos, Short Video Ads, etc.
• Music & Audio
  • Voice Overs, Mixing & Mastering, Jingles, etc.
• Programming & Tech
  • WordPress, Website Builders, Ecommerce, etc.
• Business
  • Virtual Assistant, Data Entry, Market Research, Business Plans, etc.
• Fun & Lifestyle
  • A number of different topics

If you are so inclined to earn some extra money online, with a view of turning freelancing into a full-time income many people have actually chosen this path and have succeeded in it.  The only thing I will point out with this one is… you still have to answer to someone, most freelancing sites like Fiverr have a review process, so making sure your first few clients give you great feedback will mean you can get more gigs to continue earning money this way.  You will also have to work to deadlines and submit it work on time and ensure it is high quality and they are happy with it too.

Once you have established yourself into freelancing, you can easily get a lot of work, just remember not to take on too many gigs at once otherwise you will not be able to keep up with deadlines.

Selling Your Own Products

This is the one many people think about when we talk about being our own boss.  Selling your own products online is a very viable way of achieving your goals of working for yourself.

There are multiple ways of doing it too.  The example I always use my wife’s wedding stationary business – you can order using the website, Amazon, eBay, Etsy and we use social media to attract traffic to those places.

Now some of you will be thinking, I am crafty but not really sure where to get started – well, I will share with you the best ways shortly.

But, if you aren’t particularly creative and haven’t got your own products to sell, don’t worry I wasn’t either – I started an online business and sold other people’s products for them for commission.  I’ll go through Affiliate Marketing in the next section.

If you have your own products and have them on eBay or wanting to get your products to a bigger audience, the best way is to create your very own website.  The reason I say that is, it is yours. You will not be paying eBay every time you sell something, so you can earn more from the sale, which will lead to you being able to leave the day job behind and dedicate more time into your business and increases your sales and your profit.

You can get your very own website very easily and, in most cases, free (to start with) but what you need is a way of getting that website to the first page of Google.  If people are finding your website easily, they will be able to find your products and buy them and give you the income you need to say, “I don’t need the 9 to 5 job anymore”.  Learning marketing methods like Search Engine Optimisation, Social Media Marketing and Website Design all seem daunting but our No.1 Recommended Product helped me learn everything I needed to know to launch and improve my Wife’s Wedding Stationary business to the stage where she left her office job over a year ago to just focus on the orders that were coming through for the wedding stationary business.

But like I said not everyone has the inclination or ability to create and sell their own products and freelancing still means you have a boss.  So, I explored an option where I started selling other people’s products for a commission and I used that same training platform to learn everything I needed to know too.

Affiliate Marketing – Selling Other People’s Products!

If you haven’t heard about affiliate marketing, just know that it is one that is giving people the opportunity to leave the day job behind and is classed as ‘passive income’.

Passive income is where you can earn money without an action.  Every time Gemma (my wife) receives an order there are a number of different actions in the production process before they are shipped.  Affiliate Marketing doesn’t require an action, as you are only introducing a buyer to a seller via your website.

Amazon is actually one of the biggest marketplaces in the world that utilises Affiliate Marketing.  If you introduce someone to a product on Amazon and they buy that product you earn a commission.  This is typically a percentage of the purchase price. So, you could be earning money whilst you sleep.

Let’s say you have a real interest in technology and want to start a blog reviewing gaming laptops, which is a big growing market at the moment.  You would naturally write reviews about gaming laptops and accessories, etc.  Someone lands on your review of a gaming laptop they are interested in, they read your thorough review and decide that it is the laptop for them and follow your affiliate link to the retailer (in this cases Amazon) and they decide to buy it.  You will earn a % of the sale.  A typically gaming laptop is about $2,000. Amazon will reward you with 4-8% of the sale price – at 4% this is $80.  Doesn’t sound that much, but when you start introducing 10 people buying a $2k laptop – that is $800.  On just one review.  People are earning $5k a month using this model and others have scaled their business earning a lot more through multiple websites.  The opportunities are endless!

That is when you start to realise the potential in Affiliate Marketing.  That is why I have used it to improve Gemma’s business to one that uses 3 different types of business – Selling your own Products, Drop Shipping and Affiliate Marketing.

What Do I Need to Start an Online Business???

Whether you choose to start an Affiliate Marketing business or Sell Your Own Products – You need to understand there are a few factors you need to consider before jumping in both feet.  I mentioned all those programs that tell you that you can earn thousands overnight – yeah, they kind of give the general impression that is possible everywhere.  If you start today, you will be giving up your day job in a couple of weeks.  I wish!

The main reason why Online Businesses or Affiliate Marketers fail is, they give up before they reach their potential.

Let’s just give you a clear understanding of the timescales, so you know what to expect.  Most websites will not get a clear cut-through with the search engines until your third month.  So, if you follow all of the clear training I will share with you, and follow all of the steps that you are set to follow, you will not really get noticed by the search engines until you are into month 3.  Why is this important?? Let me ask you a question – when you search for something on google, how often do you go to page 2 of the searches???

Exactly…

You need your content ranking on page one of the search engines to benefit from people ordering your products or from your affiliate business.  This can typically happen by month 3.  But if you give up after 4 weeks, because you haven’t earned anything yet.  You have the wrong mindset to make this business work and leave that job you do not like behind…

This is an honest, genuine way of earning money online and will definitely get you to a place where you can leave your day job behind… BUT, if you are not prepared to put the time in and stay determined that it will work and that it requires effort, then this opportunity is not for you.

Where Do I Learn Everything, I Need to Know…? With Expert Support

I wouldn’t be in the position I am in today, if I didn’t find the platform, I started using a couple of years ago…

The knowledge I have learned has led me to be able to transform Gem’s dream of her own wedding stationary business – She is now getting regular orders across the world with her personalised wedding stationary a hit.

But it also allowed me to pursue my dreams of an online business, I love helping people and love the fact I am now in a position to help other people realise their dreams of giving up their day jobs, leaving the commute behind and spend more time with their families by building an affiliate marketing business.

Below, are the things that you need to bring to the business:

• A Willingness to Learn!
• Determination to Achieve Your Goals!
• Understanding That This Will Take Time!! and I mean more than a month of hard graft.

What Will Wealthy Affiliate Bring to Your Business?

When I first started out, I knew I wanted to find something that could help but didn’t know where to look.  There are plenty of platforms that have great marketing campaigns but end up being full of false promises.  I even tried binary options to see if I could earn any money, but all I did was lost money – but it led me to a training program that changed my life!

There are 3 things that you will need to become successful online:

• Education – You need to commit to the fact that you will need to learn what it takes to get started and be successful online.
• You will need a website, you will get instant access to 2 free websites
• Expert Help & Support – You will need someone there to help you every step of the way.  I offer that support, along with a community of Internet Entrepreneurs all there to help you as well.

The platform that I am talking about is Wealthy Affiliate.  Their training, websites, online tools and their community is the reason I can confidently state that anyone who follows their guidance properly will succeed with their goals.

Whilst at first glance, it seems like only potential affiliate marketers will benefit from their training – I can actually state that anyone with an online business will benefit, purely due to their emphasis on ensuring there is training on all aspects of internet marketing.  Many of their techniques have helped in Gem’s wedding stationary business, my affiliate marketing business – but there is a whole load of other training in there and it just keeps getting better.

The websites and web hosting focus on user experience, to ensure that your audience get the best experience.

Online tools like a content creator and keyword research tool are included inside the platform and are key to your success.

But by far the best thing about Wealthy Affiliate is all members get access to the owners of the platform, Kyle and Carson.  No other platform gives you direct access to the owners.  They are constantly involved in the live chat, answering questions from anyone.  They helped me decide on my first niche and offer regular blog updates on what is going on in the Internet Marketing world and Wealthy Affiliate.

You will also gain access to me as your personal coach – have a question, not sure which direction to go, need motivating whilst it is still new, you just get in touch and we can discuss the best course forward.

Joining WA was the best thing I did and has taught me so much about the fact that I can go and pursue my own online business and achieve my goals – it also allowed my wife to leave her day job to focus on something she wanted to do. No Commute and No Boss!

I will say again, it isn’t for everyone – You need to invest your time, effort and be dedicated to making it work for it to become a viable solution to leaving your 9 to 5 job behind.

But with Wealthy Affiliate’s support you can achieve it, and if you ever need a nudge just send me a Personal Message inside of WA.

If you would like to take a further look around what Wealthy Affiliate has to offer, here is the link to my Review.  Their starter membership is totally free, without any need for a credit card.  Just sign up, for 7 days you will gain access to their premium membership – this gives you a more complete idea of what Wealthy Affiliate has to offer.  There is no pressure to upgrade and you can stay a starter member (for free).  If you decide it isn’t for you, there will be no hard feelings and you can just log out.  I also wrote a blog post about the differences between the starter membership and premium membership you might find useful, check it out here.

Whichever direction you choose to go, I wish you look on your journey to leaving your 9 to 5 job behind.  But remember before I joined Wealthy AFfiliate, I did not have a clue about starting a website, writing content, anything to do with how search engines worked.  Not many of us did, but by the end of the online entrepreneur certification course you will!!

But for those select few who think they have what it takes to build a business where you will be your own boss, earning good money online – I look forward to meeting you inside Wealthy Affiliate.

If you have any further questions about any of the topics in this post, then please leave them in the comments below, I will come back to you ASAP with an answer.

Have you any experience with Wealthy Affiliate, you wish to share – I would love to hear about it.  How did they help you with your online business? What did you make of the training?  Please share your thoughts in the comments below.  thanks