(ARTICLE) How & When To Leave Your 9-5

Firstly,

If your job makes you happy and allows you to lead a life that you love, that’s all that matters. It’s not important whether you punch in at 9 am or you work from your laptop in the coffee shop of your choice.

So please don’t allow struggling ‘entrepreneurs’ make you feel lesser because you’re in the corporate path.

There are plenty of people who work “traditional jobs” who are happy and live very fulfilling and meaningful lives.

However, If you are feeling trapped in the 9-5 rat race, I am here to tell you that you are not alone.

There are thousands and thousands of other hard-working men and women that feel confined by the rules, limitations and frustrations of the corporate world.

Furthermore, it’s important to consider why you feel trapped.

Are you underpaid?

Overworked?

Disengaged from the work you do?

Stuck in a shit company that doesn’t offer creativity and growth?

What is it about your current situation that is making you dissatisfied?

If your ONLY goal is to work less, then you absolutely should NOT try and become an entrepreneur.

Most of the entrepreneurs I know (regardless of their income or success levels) work, at minimum 60 hours a week. 

That’s not even including all the time they spend thinking about work or the time they spend educating themselves or networking with other high-achievers.

Quitting will bring you more work before it brings you freedom. 

Be sure you’re okay with that.

This idea that self-employment is somehow an “escape route” is a load of bullshit.

It’s not.

It’s harder than working a 9–5. It will take more time (you should expect to spend at least 5–10 years working 60+ hours a week before you get a taste of real freedom). And it will cause you more stress.

This isn’t what you want to hear, but trust me on this…

My friends who work normal jobs have more free time and less stress than my friends who earn more but are self-employed.

Here is the good news....you do not have to be stuck in it forever. 

There are ways for you to escape the 9-5 and have happiness, success and even make a difference.

Falling into a 9–5 job you hate is easy. Getting out is the challenging part.

But if you have made up your mind that you never want to work for a boss again, then you can choose to transition out.

Before you try and escape your 9–5, look for a possible compromise.

Can you apply for a new job in a new location that pays more and gives you the opportunity to work with an amazing team on projects that you love?

Can you find a way to make your current position more enjoyable? Can you ask for different responsibilities? Negotiate a pay raise? Ask to work from home 2 days a week?

Can you get creative and make the 9–5 work for you?

For 80% of people, this is the course of action I would recommend.

However,

Here’s how to really quit your 9–5 job if that is your goal.

Months 1–12: Laying the Groundwork

For the next six - twelve months, you are NOT going to quit your job.

You’re going to show up every day and give 100% to your position.

But, you’re going to start preparing for your escape in two ways.

1. STACK YA BREAD UP…and a lot of it……live like you are poor.

2. Develop a highly marketable/profitable skill

What Is a highly marketable skill?

What are you good at?

What do people always come to you for help with?

What can you spend all day doing and not even realise time go by?

If you’re an analytical person who’s on your computer all day. Start learning how to code (highly profitable skill)

If you’re obsessed with the gym. do an evening or online personal training course. Get qualified. Work at a gym then start slowly building up your own clientele and a fitness business.

If you’re a good writer. Start a social media page sharing and writing blogs about trending topics and posting it online consistently.

If you can talk none stop for ages. Start a podcast speaking on trending topics and topics of your interests.

If you’re good with women, find a way you can share your knowledge about women in a way it can help men (and women). There’s people who’d pay A LOT for that sort of help.

If you’re obsessed about beauty, find a way to become a qualified beautician in the type of beauty you wish to specialise in and work with test clients in your first few months

Find what you are good at and something that people often come to you for help with.

Or find skills and strengths you have about yourself which can be used in a highly profitable field of work.

I.E. if you’re an analytical problem solver, you could use that strength of yours within tech, software development and coding which is a highly profitable field of work.

The more money your business is making, the slowly you reduce your hours at work. Go from a 100% workweek down to 75% or 50%, whatever is possible and available to you.

Don’t go into debt for your business, EVER.  Use your corporate job to help fund your side hustle.

In the beginning, more often than not, you might not be able to replace your old salary with your new career’s income from day one. It might take some time depending on your background and all the pre-work you might have done for your business.

You don’t just want to end up being completely broke and out of money when maybe you want or need to invest a little bit in your business.

That’s why supplementing your new career can be a good option.

If you’re running your own or starting your own business, please do it for yourself because YOU want it. Go for it and be in it for the long run for the long game.

But if you’re just looking to get quick money, I would actually suggest going somewhere where you receive a paycheque.

Because when you’re starting your own business, there is this lag time before you actually start making a lot of money.

“There are only two ways to influence human behaviour: you can manipulate it or you can inspire it.”

— Simon Sinek

If you want to start a side-hustle or look into building a skill that can land you the job of your dreams, make sure the new path is compelling to you.

Most people fail at quitting their job and making the switch to something better because their reasons are superficial.

Everyone wants to quit their job and starting some cool online business, but is that really what you want to do?

Everyone wants financial freedom, but that’s too vague to sustain you.

You get the outcomes, freedom, and income, as byproducts of doing something you enjoy. Not even love, per se, but a truly above-average level of enjoyment.

You want to find something you can get good at.

I don’t know if I love writing itself. I know I love increasing my competence at it. 

Mastering something makes you passionate. And alignment with your strengths gives you the best chance at pulling it off.

Once you find an experiment that sticks, the compelling reasons will pull you closer to the end goal. Use your current job to push you, especially if you hate it.

Most people distract themselves from the ills of their job. They numb themselves with:

- Netflix

- Weekend activities

- Alcohol

- Porn

- Drugs

- Women

- Parties

Instead, redirect that energy.

Don’t like your job? Good. Use it as fuel.

Do you want to spend a third of your entire life at a job you don’t want? 

A third of your life. Think about that when you’re tired, distracted, or don’t have motivation.

Think about that when you don’t want to get up early before your 9 to 5 and work on your side project.

Think about that when you come back home from a long day at work and just wana "chill out" instead of investing 3-4 hours on your side project.

You’re going to need money before you can leave 9-5.

A good goal is to save at least 6 - 12 months of living expenses and give yourself a nice little runway so that you have time to figure out how to make your self-employment work.

if you live with parents, it may not have to be that much. But just make sure you have enough that can sustain your living expenses for a few months.

Ideally, you’ll be able to quit your job without needing this income (because your current salary will be replaced by your side hustle) but shit doesn’t always work the way you want it to.

And it’s better to have the cash and not need it than need it and not have it.

So set aside as much money as you can.

Cut your living expenses down to a minimum. Stop spending your salary on dumb purchases that don’t add anything to your life.

You want to make the switch from your current job to your full-time business or dream job as seamless as possible.

You can focus on building your bridge for as long as you see fit.

You can keep your side hustle for years if that makes you feel comfortable.

Maybe you need a year’s worth of cash.

Only you know your temperament.

But just know, you might need to give yourself that push.

Even when the stars are aligned, making that leap is hard because you’ve been trained your whole life to be dependent on that steady income or that routine you’ve become accustomed to.

Once you come out on the other end, you’ll realise the truth about living your life on your terms with a career or business you truly enjoy.

As you’re doing this, you’re going to invest the hours from 5:30–9:30 pm Monday-Thursday 

(save Fridays for letting off some steam) and ALL day Saturday into developing a marketable skill like copywriting, web design, software development, funnel optimisation, email marketing, Facebook ad optimisation, etc. or whatever this skill may be.

Pick something you already have some experience with and go ALL in on mastering that skill.

Watch YouTube videos, take online courses, practice, practice, practice, and then practice some more.

It will probably take you at 12 months to save up enough money and get your skills to a point where they can replace your current income.

And once you do that, you’re ready for phase two.

Months 12 - 24: Monetisation & Escape

Once you have achieved expertise in your field and have some money set aside, you STILL aren’t going to quit your job.

Instead, you’re going to find clients who will pay you for your skillset and start moonlighting until can consistently bring in at least 50% of your current salary with your side hustle.

There are millions of ways to find clients, but I personally recommend direct Instagram/social Video messages.

Yes, you are directly gonna reach out to people and offer your services to them for free or a small fee.

Get off your high horse and stop thinking people are gonna come running to you just like that.

Again, SAVE all of this extra money you’re making to give yourself a buffer.

Continue this pattern until you either have enough cash stocked away that you can survive for a minimum of 6 months without your current salary OR until your salary is replaced by your freelancing/side hustle/business.

It’s that simple.

But it won’t be easy.

As you go through this journey, you must keep a few things in mind…

It Takes Time

It will probably take at LEAST one year and a half before you can quit your job.

But that time is going to pass either way.

Get over it and accept the suck.

Or stay in your current job forever.

Understand that where you are today doesn’t dictate who you are as a person. The greatest people on this planet had very humble beginnings.

Jeff Bezos was working at McDonalds when he was 16 years old.

Its all about what you are doing in order to have a better tomorrow.

You see, many people may SAY they wana leave the 9-5 lifestyle and just be their own boss. But there’s 2 things they often forget about.

It Takes Consistency and Sacrifice

They say that they want freedom, but their actions reflect an entirely different reality.

Instead of working on their business:

They binge watch Netflix, waste their time and money on drugs, alcohol and nightlife instead of reinvesting into themselves

You aren’t going to escape your 9–5 acting like this so be prepared to sacrifice a LOT (time, social events, fun, etc) while you earn your freedom.

Especially in the beginning.

Making The Jump

Before you hand in your resignation, here are a few things to make sure you have in order before cutting ties with your employer and taking your side hustle to full-time status.

Secure enough clients beforehand

How many clients, gigs or projects do you need to feel safe enough to quit your job for good?

You’ve saved enough income for slow periods, so now you need to look at whether or not the clients you have will allow you to cover your expenses very month.

Have a plan to land more clients

Being a solopreneur also means being a hustler.

Just because you have steady work or are making regular sales from your products or services, it doesn’t mean everything can’t change next month.

It’s important to have a strategy in place for when a client cuts down your work or they end the collaboration.

Typically, you want to work on reducing or eliminating lower-paying clients as you start to replace them with higher-paying clients.

This will free up some time and move you up the pay scale.

Similarly, you also want to get your name out there so that prospects start approaching you. This may be done by having a website/page for your services.

Structuring Your Day

Without a manager, supervisor or boss to delegate tasks to you, It’s on you to create a productive schedule day.

The idea of just stopping work and going out with a friend is tempting, but if you aren’t working, then you aren’t making money.

On the flipside, many solopreneurs understand the pressure of doing everything themselves and end up spending 50-60 hours per week building their business.

That’s why it’s important to structure your day.

Decide how you will structure your day/week so that distractions are low and productivity is high.

It Won’t Work the Way You Think it Will

You’re going to fuck up a few times 

It’s going to take longer than you expect.

You will fuck up major projects for amazing clients.

Again…

This is just part of the game.

Things will not unfold the way you expect and you need to expect the unexpected.

You’re going to get the shit kicked out of you. But if you’re committed to making this work, you’ll simply persevere and keep fucking going.

So be realistic in your expectations and EXPECT it to be hard, painful, and time-intensive.

If you’ll do all of these things, you CAN escape the 9–5 and create the life you want.

Having a job you hate or tolerate doesn’t just rob you of the time spent while you’re at the job, but it also robs you of the present moment and detracts from your mental clarity when you’re not at work.

It’s hard to focus on ‘personal development’ when you’re broke.

Why do you think divorces happen?

It’s not just the money, but the state the two people are in having to come home from those environments and unloading all that stress on top of each other.

Quitting your job frees you from the cascading negative effects of having it.

Quitting a job you hate is, without question, the number one domino many people need to knock over in life.

Don’t ask yourself “Should I quit my job?” Tell yourself you want your sanity and life back because this is a life or death situation.

Bad jobs lead to early graves. Stress can literally kill you.

The tone of this post isn’t super positive because you need your ass kicked right now. The level of effort it will take to overcome your job is monumental, which is why so few people do it.

Self-improvement is the process of becoming the exception to the rule.

Someone who reads this post will pull it off.

I hope it’s you.

Till Next Time.