How to Quit Your Job Without Making Sacrifices

[nivvie]

For those of us who haven’t already taken the leap of faith and decided to work from home, it’s something to be dreamed about. The potential to pack it all in and be your own boss seems all too distant — and the finance concerns take it to a whole other level. We’re told that we need to make a choice. You can either be comfortable and secure in traditional employment, or much happier with greater freedom, but less security, in self employment. But that really, really isn’t the case.



Working for someone you don’t want to is horrible, being restricted from taking breaks as and when you choose, and pouring countless hours into mundane tasks you’ve really got no interest in. Getting a slap on the wrist for being just a few moments late, having to prepare for presentations, and the all-too-common conference calls. These are just a few of the reasons why working for someone else is hell.



But you honestly don’t have to. Whilst you may be firmly set in the belief that in order to work from home you need to make sacrifices, this is simply not true. As time progresses, more and more companies and businesses are moving online, but they continue to thrive. This means that everything these business were relying on in the real world is plentiful online, too! If these multi-national corporations are able to transition to an online-only business model, then there’s plenty of scope for you to work at home and earn money online as well. The myth that you need to take a pay cut in order to work for yourself is an outdated assumption. In fact, many people who I’ve been in contact with who’ve made the transition have come out the other end a lot more affluent.



But it’s not just about the money. Being able to work for yourself from the comfort of your home office means that you’re always around. You can be there for your family and children, and reconnect with your neighbours and community. As other families distance from each other, you can remain connected and maintain strong, stable relationships with your children and partner. Additionally, working from home and making money online provides you with the flexibility to stop what you’re doing as and when you choose — whether it be for a cup of coffee or in order to run an errand, it’s all possible with the new found freedom of working from home.



The key to successfully quitting your job and working from home is working freelance, and building an identity through doing so. Everyone has a skill set, so this really is a viable option for nearly everyone who’s wanting to work for themselves and make money online from the comfort of their own home. Just as important as being good at what you do is building good connections within your field — which is precisely why Fiverr is the perfect platform to kickstart your small business and freelance career.



Each time you render a service for a client, you’re networking. That’s another individual who’s aware of your presence in the market, and can return to you for a bigger, more valuable project. You’re not just rocking services to earn money, you’re building a portfolio too. All the time I get people saying to me that working on Fiverr is not a sustainable freelance business model — but it doesn’t have to be. Fiverr develops so many connections for you that within a year you’ve got enough connections, contacts and clients to last a life time. Yes, the majority of them won’t return to you in the future, but those that do are an avenue to serious income and independence as a freelancer.



Through working on Fiverr, you can easily and quickly earn money online whilst working at home. You’re your own boss, and you’re never tied down to something for more than half an hour, so when something important comes up, or a more valuable client sends you a message, you can drop what you’re doing and focus on your priorities right away.



My experiences of the services marketplace mean that I no longer need a job whilst I’m going through university. I can live comfortably, eat well and most importantly, study hard. I’ve got no worries and I’m not working a dead end job which eats up all my time that could be spent more productively. Rather, I get some writing done for a client, voice a script, answer a few emails and then I’m done for the day. Even better is that I know my work from home efforts are completely expandable, and will never go away. I’ll always have my portfolio. Once I’ve finished my degree, if I ever need something to fall back on, I’ve got my contacts and the skills I need to continue. I can easily make much more than I do at the moment, I’d just need to spend more time working, answer more emails and focus more on my freelancing. I’m never waiting around for work, but work is always waiting around for me.



That’s why I’m confident that each and every reader could quit their jobs without making sacrifices, hell, you can quit your job and benefit from it!



So tell me, what’s stopping you from quitting your job and working for yourself as a freelancer today?

[landongrace]

I have been self employed for 20 years and I have never had a salary or benefits.



I have found, people are wired 2 different ways.

1. Some people need the security of a specific amount of money on a schedule and benefits. They are willing to sacrifice or settle for the problems you mentioned to accomplish that. They will sacrifice the amount of money, dealing with employers and other employees, and work a strict schedule to accomplish the security.
   
   
2. Some people desire the self-employment, free spirited route. Not being able to see further than 2 weeks out. Committing to overhead or expenses without knowing what the work load will be. It is almost about being incredible risk takers. Taking on the risk can reward you with high income, or you can go bust.
   
   
   
   I would not encourage people to jump out of their full time jobs. That is not a good plan.
   
   If you are working 40 hours a week, you have 40-80 hrs of spare time around your job. Build another leg of income with that time. If you are correct in how much more money is possible, you could very easily match your current 40 hour/week job’s income with the extra 20 hours a week of work. Then you could transition.
   
   
   
   It is important not to have only one source of income. I see many people caught up in having to pick one job. It is a mindset. Again it goes back to their security being in the job title itself.
   
   
   
   Working at home with other people in the house is very challenging. Because I do what you suggest. Stop whenever I want to (like I am on the forum right now), take a break, I just ran to the bank, My wife needed something from the grocery store, She just asked what was for lunch. I tend to work off and on from 5am-10pm at night. I probably get about 3-6 hours of real work done. You are right, it’s flexible. Yesterday I stopped and watched Scandal, and caught up on a few Netflix shows. I usually home cook from scratch 2-3 meals a day.
   
   
   
   What I love about it is when I work really hard, I make really good money, but when I don’t get things accomplished I lose money. I had a self-employed friend say one time that he was going to go get a job and let someone else pay his bills for a while." That is definitely how it feels sometimes.
   
   
   
   Many people relate income to time and not output. That is a problem. We teach young people this when we give them their first job. They clock in and no matter what they do they gain so much an hour. They work just hard enough to stay on the schedule and not get fired. People have no concept of the idea that they produce value and their boss shares the profit with them. Value should be measured by output.
   
   
   
   Fiverr is one of the best things I have done over the last 20 years.

[nivvie]

Thanks for your insightful reply, Landongrace. I totally agree that hourly rates are archaic and that people should certainly be paid based on their output and contributions. Talk about ways to produce an effective workforce.

[fastcopywriter]

Freelancing does require sacrifices, you don’t have the certainty of a biweekly paycheck. You have to save money for emergency, for the future. If you go on vacation, it won’t be a paid vacation, which is why freelancers and contractors rarely take vacations.



However, it does have rewards. Not having a boss, waking up when you want, working when you want, not doing projects you don’t like. If you’re a smoker, no more stepping outside to smoke (assuming the company parking lot isn’t smoke-free already).



Besides, getting a full-time job seems to be getting harder and harder, employers today seem to want more skills for less money. Some evil HR people make employment applications overtly burdensome to get rid of undesirables. So I have faith in the online economy, the only question is, how many people can freelance successfully?

[Guest vectormoon]

Like previously mentioned, it’s not wise to quit your full time job until you have built a strong foundation and you witness it working. And never ever put your eggs in one basket.



But at the end of the day, it really depends from your goals. If your goal is to become a professional in your area of expertise, and work as a freelancer. Then you should be working really hard every day on setting up your own business. Freelance marketplaces are a great way to kickstart your career, build connections and portfolio. But sooner or later you will want to eliminate the middleman and be in control of every aspect of your business. This is where it gets hard, and this is where you can start making actual progress in your freelance career, by no longer relying on someone elses business model.

This is also where most people fail, when they find out that their 9 to 5 job was actually a lot easier, or they will just end up being stuck in elance, odesk etc. Becoming a freelancer is hard work. But if you manage to get past that breaking point, then that taste of freedom is definitely worth it.