How I Left My Job, Built My Online Business & Replaced My Income in 6 Months!

It dawned on me the other day that I have never told you the story of how I left my job, started my online business and replaced my income all in the span of six months, so that’s what I want to share today. I also want to take some time, as I recount my tale, to highlight some important details that may help in the event that you follow a similar path as I.

Let’s go way back…

… To sometime in the spring of 2008. I had just graduated college, didn’t have a job, and I was looking for ways to entertain myself online while searching for employment. I had been reading a few blogs and watching some interesting people on YouTube, and I thought to myself “I can do that!” So I did. I started my first blog in the spring and my YouTube channel launched a little less than a year later in January 2009. At the time I used my blog to talk about lifestyle things I was enjoying, basically using it the way many blogs were used back then, as a digital scrapbook of things I liked, my opinions and the occasional recipe. My YouTube channel, however, was the place I shared my love for all things technology. You may not be able to tell so much today by looking at my site, but I was obsessed with Apple technology, gadgets, and the whole online/virtual space.

At about the same time that I started on YouTube, I also found full time work at a fortune 50 company as a lowly administrator. At the time I thought that this job would be a temporary thing until I found better work, some career that truly fulfilled my love for writing, creating, and hopefully, technology! Of course, I had no clue at the time that by the time I did finally leave the company five and a half years later, I would have risen quite substantially to a management level position complete with bonuses, a company car and an expense account. What can I say? I’m a smart cookie!

So while I worked my way up the corporate ladder, I continued to work on my online presence. I kept up with blogging, although it was not anywhere near the scope of how I blog today, went through a few iterations of blogs as I decided on what it was that I really wanted to write about, and of course, made YouTube videos in my spare time! Being tech obsessed, I also stayed up to date with social media and used those platforms in an attempt to promote and connect my content to other like-minded women.

Now, this is the thing you need to take away from this part of the story. My success, although I agree, seems to have happened overnight, was really the product of years of effort setting up systems and communication methods that would support my eventual leap into working for myself full time. I learned a lot about the online world in the years before I officially started my business, made a lot of mistakes, but also stumbled upon some great information and practices that would eventually bring me success once the moment was right!

The Months Leading up to my Launch

In the months leading up to my launch, a lot of things started to happen very quickly. In early 2014, I got intimately involved with the planner community, fan girled on planners, and made some videos about it. This was the tipping point for me and my business. I knew that this community I had stumbled upon was going to be my salvation and would enable me to go full time for myself.

You might be wondering how I knew this? Let me explain. First and foremost, my subscriber count jumped significantly. I was already making a steady income from YouTube before this shift, but after it, my income grew substantially. Second, I had a few things going on in my personal life that were leading me to be unhappy at my job. That isn’t necessarily a unique situation to be in, however I began to notice a weird pattern. I would have a very bad day at work, and then I would have a great day on YouTube. I’d start a day feeling terrible because of a conversation with my boss, but by the end of the day, my community on YouTube had me feeling like it was the best day ever. For lack of a better explanation, I felt like the Universe was telling me that it was time to leave my job and do YouTube full time. I also began to get opportunities I had never been offered before that ended up supplementing my side income even more! Once things reached a certain point, I knew it was time to make the leap!

What I want you to take away from this is that often times, things happen for a reason. I do believe that God or the Universe (however you prefer to think of it) does guide us and we need to be vigilantly watching for the patterns that can show us exactly when we need to make our move. I personally feel like I get signs from a greater power all the time that help me to decide which path I should take or which opportunity to explore, and as this story illustrates, following the signs can lead to major success!

Setting Goals and Preparing for Launch

It would be convenient for me to say, follow the signs and leave your job and the Universe will catch you, but we all know that’s not how it works! Once I decided that 2014 was going to be my year to launch my own business, I made specific preparations and set important goals to measure my progress. First and foremost, my husband and I began putting away as much money as possible. We have always been savers, but we wanted to make sure that we had enough money in the bank so that we could live comfortably if we both were out of work for six months to a year! Let’s be honest, in this economy, it was a real risk for me to leave my secure Fortune 50 job, and although I was confident that I could find another job if things didn’t work out with my business, we wanted to have the money in the bank to ensure our solvency.

The next goal I had to hit involved the income I was making outside of my job. My husband and I set a specific amount of money that we wanted to see my side business make before I was able to leave my job. It was like a challenge and an exercise in law of attraction all at once. If the Universe wanted me to go full time, the Universe would need to bring me x amount of income per month through my #sidehustle! As soon as I hit the number, I gave my notice!

For those of you who are looking to start you own business and go full time for yourself, you really need to make sure you follow my lead on this one. Make sure you have money in the bank just in case things don’t work out of or if you have to supplement your income as you get off the ground! Also, set those financial goals if you have a side hustle that you want to turn into your full time gig. It’s a great way to measure your progress and it gives you a concrete number to work up to instead of a vague concept.

How I Replaced my Income in 6 Months

Once I left my job I made a plan to focus on YouTube as it was a significant portion of my income when I launched my business. My plan was to make YouTube videos five days a week, and continue supplementing that content with my blog and social media channels. This strategy didn’t end up panning out for me, and after a few months of this crazy filming schedule, I decided to change course. So for a few solid months I continued to research and concept out ideas for where my business would go, and then I decided to turn to my community.

My community on YouTube had asked me time and time again to sell my printable planner inserts because they were unlike anything available on the market. I decided that if YouTube wasn’t working for me, I should go ahead and set up a shop and make a bit of money from the inserts I had already designed. So, I tested the waters a bit, offered my inserts for sale in my shop and something wonderful began to happen. People were buying my inserts! So, I started making more inserts and designing other printable planner accessories like stickers and journaling cards and by the end of the year I was officially bringing in the same income I had been making at my Fortune 50 company. It was a pretty awesome end to my year, that’s for sure!

What you really need to take away from this portion of my story is that you need to be flexible and persistent in your business if you want to find success. My original plan to do YouTube full time didn’t yield me the results I was looking for, and because I was willing to try new things, I found a business model that worked for me. Likewise, persistence is also key in business. I didn’t let the fact that my first plan failed stop me from finding a new path. I wanted my business to work, was open to what that business would look like, and eventually found my solution. Sometimes the path to success isn’t linear, so you need to be ready to take detours and turn to plan B, C, or D if you truly want to run your own business!

So what does this whole story mean for you?

I really hope that hearing my story helps you to understand the nature of online business, and that you see parallels to your own situation. I am here as a resource for anyone who wants to find success as a business owner online, because for me and my story, that was the one thing I didn’t have. I had my own passion and intelligence, but I didn’t have a mentor. Yes, I made it on my own and I can be proud of that, but I often wonder how much easier it would have been for me had I known someone who had done this before and could help me through it.

This is exactly why I developed Empire Building, my online business program that teaches you all the information and lessons that it took me over 6 years to learn! 

So I want to ask you. How important is starting an online business to you?

How much would you pay for the tools and lessons to get you from idea, to launch, to building a successful brand? Too many of us pay tens of thousands of dollars for traditional four year educations that unfortunately don’t yield us, not just our dream job, but even a job that pays a living wage upon graduation. There are many online business programs out there that offer the same caliber of content and information as Empire Building, but will cost you hundreds or thousands of dollars for access to notable figureheads that end up being MIA when you need them most. Empire Building isn’t here to put a premium price tag on information and education. Remember, the secret to building a successful business online isn’t secret, it’s based on tried and true methods, tips and lessons that I myself learned through years of trial and error. I’ve just packaged up all my knowledge of the online sphere, my methods for growing a brand presence, and my best tips for earning income online to save you years of effort and error so that you make a strong start when you enter the competitive business world online!

How much would you pay to have a head start on your business? The competitive value of this information in other courses is over $2,000. Instead, you can join Empire Building for a fraction of the price!

Like I said before, I am here to help you, to mentor you and to make this process of building a business easier for YOU! Let me know in the comments what business issues or questions I can help you with and if you’d like to join Empire Building, I’d love to have you!

xoxo,