Yupppppp…. I did it….


On August 16th I walked out of the office for the last time…

It was bitter sweet because there are a lot of amazing people there that I truly care about. The team that I built up around me was awesome and they truly helped shaped leader that I am today. I really do want to thank them for everything that they have done for me. Your friendship is what kept me in the position for as long as I stayed and made it difficult to leave…

Okay… enough of that sappy stuff…

Let’s start off with the title… Did I really leave a 6 figure job to start blogging???

First, I am not even 100% sure what my salary was when I left…

 

You see, About 3 weeks prior to me putting my resignation letter in, I was promoted to a higher position. HR hadnt shared with me the final numbers…. But with benefits, it was over 6 figures.

Second, did I leave my job to blog from the couch? 

Well… no, not really.

What?!?

The income from my blog has allowed me to quit but that wasnt the reason I decided to walk away. I think for me it was a personal choice where I thought about what the next 20 years was going to look like and I realized that I couldnt keep doing that.

How did I leave my Job?

I want to start with a disclaimer. Please please please don’t quit your job just because you read it on the internet. I am serious… 

For me quitting my job was one of the hardest things mentally that I have ever done.

I spent years climbing the career ladder.

The job defined who I was to so many people. Myself included.

Just think about when you meet a new person for the first time. What is one of the first questions you ask them?

“So what do you do?”

That one thing that was so constant for so long is gone.

Leaving your job shouldnt be an easy decision. 

Okay, I will step off the soap box now.

So how did I leave my job….

Step 1 Develop a side hustle. 

When you decide to quit your job there are a couple of paths that you may take. One is looking for a new job, another is creating a business, or three stop working all together. 

For most people it will be looking for a new job or creating their own business.

Both of those things may take time so it is important to have some means to bring in income.

Over the last two years I have been blogging and slowly have increased my income on the site to over $1500 a month. Now that is not going to replace my 9-5 job’s income but what it does do it save me from spending my savings as quickly.

Step 2 Create an escape fund.

When you quit you should have a fully funded escape fund.

An escape fund is money that you set aside for the sole purpose of being used after you leave your job. It acts as a buffer between your last job and your new job or acts as a runway while you try to grow your business.

There is no magic formula for how much you need in this escape fund. Everyone’s situation is a bit different and it really depends on which path you are taking.

For us, we knew that we were wanting to try and grow an online business. So we knew that it would probably take longer to build up the income.

Due to this our escape fund was larger than what may be needed for others.  It was based upon not bringing in any income over a set amount of months and still being able to live exactly the same.

If you were going to try and find your dream job, your escape fund might be a bit smaller. It may only take you a month or two to find that job.

The escape fund gives you and your family some financial security as you are trying to take a risk.

Do you really need an escape fund?

Well… no. But, I view things in terms of risks and responsibilities.

If you have zero responsibilities. No kids, no mortgage, etc. You can take bigger risks without having a ton of negative impact if it goes south.

For me, I have a ton of responsibilities.

We have two kids and a mortgage. For us, we needed to ensure that these things were taken care of while we tried to grow the business. If not, the stress would drive me to find a job.

Step 3 Communicate with your significant other and family

My wife and I have been on the same page about this decision for months. She is in my corner 100% supporting me along the way.

Without her support, there is no way that I could take the leap of faith.

Your spouse or significant other needs to understand what your goals are and how you are going to get there. Otherwise, they are going to think that you are sitting at home watching Netflix.

Communication with the family is also super important because in most cases they are going to think that you have lost your mind…

Step 4 Pray about it

I really think this happened throughout the entire process. But truly pray about it and see where God leads you.

Why I did it

Why did I leave…. 

That is a question that I have gotten a lot.

I wish I could point to a single event that pushed me to that place, but I don’t think there is just one. There were many events that slowly nudged me to the realization that I needed a change.

For me, I tried to visualize what my life was going to be like in 20 years.

The thought and idea that I would be doing the same thing was numbing to me. I had climbed to a point in my career that there was little left to climb, so the reality was that I could in fact be doing something similar 20 years from now.

To me that was exhausting and I didnt like the person that I was becoming. 

It impacted not just me, but also my interactions with my friends and family.

I stepped back and re-evaluated my life and realized it was way too short to not to take a risk. I knew that if I stayed in my job for the next 20 years, I would have looked at this moment and wondered “What if?”.

What if I took the risk…

I weighed the various outcomes of taking the risk, in particular failing…

What would complete failure look like?

Well, it would be not making any income…

Reality: The blog is already earning income…

So what does partial failure look like?

Not bringing in enough income to support my responsibilities.

What could you do if you partially fail?

I could get a job in my field.

For me, I am blessed to be able to get a job within my field within a couple of weeks. It would not be at the top of the ladder, but it would be able to cover all my responsibilities. 

When I laid it all out this way, I realized that the only thing standing in my way was me.

I needed to make sure that I was okay to fail.

Don’t confuse that with planning too fail. I am not planning to fail, but I needed to be okay with failing.

I remember sitting with Michelle and telling her…

“I’m doing it”

I wrote my resignation letter and handed it in the next day…

What next?

As of writing this, it has been 5 days since I have taken this journey and it’s been interesting so far.

For one, I don’t think the reality has hit me yet.

I sit and work in my home office and it feels like a weekend. 

To help me stay accountable, I felt like laying out my goals is important…

Feel free to email me in the coming months to see where I am with it.

Business Goals:

High Five Dad: Over the next year double the income to $3000 per month

Strategies: Increase article output, find affiliates to promote, build relationships with sponsors.

New niche Site: Over the next year grow to $1000 per month

Strategies: Develop site, develop digital product, find affiliates

Facebook Ads: Over the next year grow to $2000 per month

Strategies: Work with local businesses to use ads to generate leads

If I hit all my goals, the business will be bringing in $6000 per month.

Why am I not pouring 100% of my energy into one of those???

Honestly, thats a great question and I have bounced back and forth with. But again for me, it’s all about spreading my risk. 

If I pour all my energy into one it has the potential to grow a whole lot faster but if it fails, that is 100% of the income.

If I have side hustles for my side hustles… I have the opportunity to learn new skills and potentially have income coming in from various sources. 

How am I feeling?

The day I handed in my resignation letter I was more at peace with the decision than I was at the beginning of the journey. 

I wondered if I would freak out moments after handing it in or wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat…

But that hasnt happened… yet.

I know this journey isnt going to be easy and I might fail…

I am okay with that…

I did something my future self is going to thank me for.

I took a risk…