Oh, man. So it's 11:30 PM, and I'm supposed to work on my side hustle but I'm going to take a breather and reach out to my fellow brothers and sisters..
I don't even know where to begin. This is going to be a long one. Anyone that responds, just know I greatly appreciate you.
So here we go..
A little background of myself.
I joined The Fast lane forum back in 2017, read the main book (fast lane millionaire), and got the gist of it in terms of mindset and what not. I have 10 years of SEO experience and have been in a 9-5 since 2013 (I'll get into more of this later). I've spent countless hours listening to podcasts in terms of personal development whether it's Joe Rogan's interviews, to David Goggins, to Jordan Peterson, to Jim Rohn, to Zig Ziglar, etc. from 2008 an onward. I probably slowed down with that around 2020 (when the pandemic started happening), hence why maybe I'm trying to seek for it again (me being here in the forum).
Ever since I've had a full-time job (e-commerce for a big company), I always worked on my side hustle. But for some reason, I just can't seem to crack the code/break free. As in, my side hustle ends up being my full-time job (and passion), where I could completely leave my 9-5. My side hustles just don't seem to be growing at a rate where I can leave my job. (I know there's that saying where you have to have your back against the wall, perhaps this is an area to discuss. And perhaps having a "job" gave me that safety net).
Fast forward to the pandemic, we were all required to "work from home." Guess what? I decided to take on ANOTHER job because I figured "F*ck yeah! EXTRA $$$." And for two years, I had that job, plus my existing e-commerce job. However, last month I was let go from that job, leaving me back to only my e-commerce job. The same time my girlfriend and I welcomed our daughter haha.
I have to admit, the money felt great making roughly around 200k a year. And of course, I maintained the same lifestyle prior to making that much and reinvesting that $$ back into my side hustle.
Unfortunately, it just doesn't seem the money I'm reinvesting to my side hustle is gaining any traction and I'm just continuing to go in the reds. Now that I'm back in just one job I've gotten mixed feelings (an area where I could go for some help).
You see, it seems like I'm in some catch 22.
- I hate the 9-5, yet I got two jobs and enjoyed making that money. However, having those two jobs, I did NOT have time to work on my side hustle. Eventually, my "happiness" went away
- I'm just back to one job now, and getting so much joy from working more on my side hustle (but not reinvesting much). However, I'm no longer making 200k. Nor the side hustle is making any type of gross revenue. And so I have mixed feelings here, where I'm sad as well that I'm not receiving the kind of money with two jobs (salary cut in half!) However...I have more time with my daughter. Having those two jobs, side hustle, plus daughter seemed to be impossible (maybe not?).
The job that I'm back in (the e-commerce) is super chill, but at the end of the day, I just wish I could own my own business. Even if my business doesn't hit 200k a year, or whatever, at least I know I feel more fulfilled that it was something I started. For some context, I live in California (southern Cali), so it's pretty expensive here. And I get it, there's a lot to be thankful about to even be able to make that much for two years and still have a recurring income with my other job.
But I think what really matters more, is "time." The ability to create more time owning a business, and being with my family (especially newborn daughter).
I guess I'd love to hear if anyone here, took that leap or maybe not even a leap, but they had a 9-5 that was getting paid well or even a business that was doing well...Then they lost a good chunk of their salary, but they were able to bounce back from it.
Just hearing other stories alone, and even suggested threads/books would mean a lot to me.
Thanks, everyone!
I don't even know where to begin. This is going to be a long one. Anyone that responds, just know I greatly appreciate you.
So here we go..
A little background of myself.
I joined The Fast lane forum back in 2017, read the main book (fast lane millionaire), and got the gist of it in terms of mindset and what not. I have 10 years of SEO experience and have been in a 9-5 since 2013 (I'll get into more of this later). I've spent countless hours listening to podcasts in terms of personal development whether it's Joe Rogan's interviews, to David Goggins, to Jordan Peterson, to Jim Rohn, to Zig Ziglar, etc. from 2008 an onward. I probably slowed down with that around 2020 (when the pandemic started happening), hence why maybe I'm trying to seek for it again (me being here in the forum).
Ever since I've had a full-time job (e-commerce for a big company), I always worked on my side hustle. But for some reason, I just can't seem to crack the code/break free. As in, my side hustle ends up being my full-time job (and passion), where I could completely leave my 9-5. My side hustles just don't seem to be growing at a rate where I can leave my job. (I know there's that saying where you have to have your back against the wall, perhaps this is an area to discuss. And perhaps having a "job" gave me that safety net).
Fast forward to the pandemic, we were all required to "work from home." Guess what? I decided to take on ANOTHER job because I figured "F*ck yeah! EXTRA $$$." And for two years, I had that job, plus my existing e-commerce job. However, last month I was let go from that job, leaving me back to only my e-commerce job. The same time my girlfriend and I welcomed our daughter haha.
I have to admit, the money felt great making roughly around 200k a year. And of course, I maintained the same lifestyle prior to making that much and reinvesting that $$ back into my side hustle.
Unfortunately, it just doesn't seem the money I'm reinvesting to my side hustle is gaining any traction and I'm just continuing to go in the reds. Now that I'm back in just one job I've gotten mixed feelings (an area where I could go for some help).
You see, it seems like I'm in some catch 22.
- I hate the 9-5, yet I got two jobs and enjoyed making that money. However, having those two jobs, I did NOT have time to work on my side hustle. Eventually, my "happiness" went away
- I'm just back to one job now, and getting so much joy from working more on my side hustle (but not reinvesting much). However, I'm no longer making 200k. Nor the side hustle is making any type of gross revenue. And so I have mixed feelings here, where I'm sad as well that I'm not receiving the kind of money with two jobs (salary cut in half!) However...I have more time with my daughter. Having those two jobs, side hustle, plus daughter seemed to be impossible (maybe not?).
The job that I'm back in (the e-commerce) is super chill, but at the end of the day, I just wish I could own my own business. Even if my business doesn't hit 200k a year, or whatever, at least I know I feel more fulfilled that it was something I started. For some context, I live in California (southern Cali), so it's pretty expensive here. And I get it, there's a lot to be thankful about to even be able to make that much for two years and still have a recurring income with my other job.
But I think what really matters more, is "time." The ability to create more time owning a business, and being with my family (especially newborn daughter).
I guess I'd love to hear if anyone here, took that leap or maybe not even a leap, but they had a 9-5 that was getting paid well or even a business that was doing well...Then they lost a good chunk of their salary, but they were able to bounce back from it.
Just hearing other stories alone, and even suggested threads/books would mean a lot to me.
Thanks, everyone!
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