Richard
Some people like watching football. Others keep fish tanks. For me one of my biggest passions is entrepreneurship.
Quite simply I long to quit working for “the man” and instead doing my own thing.
Even as a full-time employee I’ve always maintained “side hustles” to provide me with “a fix” and with the intention that sooner or later one of them will turn into a full-time business for me.
Some years ago I wrote an ebook about blogging; something I’m just as passionate about today.
The book is no longer for sale (no sales pitch!) but when it launched sales went crazy.
I’ve never known anything like it.
In the first week of sales I made more than my full-time job.
Over the next 6-8 weeks I was generating several hundred dollars a day and my bank balance just kept on growing.
Every time I checked my sales I’d cleared another hundred dollars. Heady stuff indeed.
It didn’t help that I hated my job, so it wasn’t long before I decided enough was enough and told my boss I was leaving to work on my side hustle full time.
The first few months were pure pleasure. I’d quit at the beginning of the summer so I spent most of June sat in the garden on my laptop working on projects that I was passionate about.
The problem was that sales started to slow down.
July came and went and still the income dropped. I started to dip into the funds I’d accrued before quitting.
I stopped taking “days off”, working seven days a week to try and turn my fortune around.
By August I was getting seriously worried about my financial position and wondering if I’d have to go back to full-time employment.
I was working 10+ hours a day, 7 days a week – more than I did at my previous full-time job – because I was getting so worried about money.
By September I was losing sleep about my finances and worrying about every bill that came through the door.
With a heavy heart I admitted defeat, rang my old boss and asked for my job back.
Soon enough I was back to “business as usual” – same position, same salary, same holiday package. And I hated every minute of it.
Having failed when I felt so close to “freedom” sucked even worse than the job itself. As did having to explain to everyone I knew that the dream had gone up in smoke.
But at the same time my financial worries disappeared in a puff of smoke.
I wasn’t worried about meeting my rent or about surprise bills. The emergency fund started to replenish and I slept much easier at night.
I also found I was able to enjoy my days off without feeling “guilty” that I should be working on my side hustle.
Here’s the lesson I learned; while following your heart and doing something you’re passionate about is an incredible feeling worrying about money sucks big time.
Having experienced both sides of the equation I decided that – for me at least – financial security is my number one priority.
At that point I made myself the promise that I would do whatever necessary to maintain (or improve) my financial position.
While I still dream of being my own boss (and genuinely believe it will happen) I won’t be so quick to jump ship in the future.
In contrast I keep this important lesson at the forefront of my mind at all times: that it’s better to hate your job but enjoy financial stability than it is to “wing it” and manage your finances on the fly.
What is the toughest financial lesson you’ve learned? Please leave your thoughts in the comments section below…
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