How To Quit Your 9 to 5 And Build an Online Business That Replaces Your Salary

How to quit my 9 to 5 job is a highly searchable phrase on the internet.

And many of the clients that come to me are in the process of quitting their 9 to 5 to start an online business. So I thought today I would answer the question, how do I quit my 9 to 5 and build an online business that actually replaces my 9 to 5 corporate income?

Because at the end of the day, you're going to start an online business, you want to be making money with it, especially if you want to try and do it as your full-time job.

In case you're new here, my name is Sophie. I'm an online business coach and strategist. And I help people build online businesses that work for them, not feel like a job that they work for. I've been running online businesses now for the past six years. And I've tried almost all of the different online business models that you could possibly think of.

So I feel pretty well versed to be able to answer this question.

So how do you quit your 9 to 5 and build an online business? Now, first of all, one thing that I see a lot of my clients make the mistake of is that they think they have to quit their 9 to 5 before they start the online business. And quite frankly, that's risky. There's many reasons this is risky, because obviously, when you start your own online business, you are stepping into the unknown,

especially if your whole career has been in the corporate world. Starting an online business is a very different landscape, and entrepreneurship is a very different world than being an employee. So transitioning straight from your nine to five and starting something on your own and thinking that you're to make money from it straight away is actually very unrealistic.

So I'm all about helping and supporting you make this transition really smooth and as safe as possible for you. Because at the end of the day, we don't want to just quit our 9 to 5 and have no backup plan. That would actually be very irresponsible. So there's a couple of things that I always suggest to clients when they come to me and they want to leave their 9 to 5 to start an online business.

The first thing that I would always recommend is make sure you understand what your financial runway is right now. How much money do you have in the bank to support you if you were to leave your 9-5 today and start something of your own? Because the reality is you do not make money from your online business immediately. is probably going to take a minimum of three months to set your online business up, if not longer, and then maybe another three months to actually start making money.

So it took a good four to five months until I was actually making money. And even when I was making money, it wasn't necessarily consistent income because I actually didn't have the tools or the resources to understand how to make my business make money consistently. And that's a very common problem that most new entrepreneurs have.

and they go in a bit blind thinking that they're gonna replace their income straight away and that is probably not gonna be the case. So I wanna give you that reality check first of all because it is a really good idea to make sure you have a really clear picture of your finances before you even think about making this move. What I would personally suggest is that you have six to 12 months of your personal expenses in the bank

before you make this move.

That is going to give you a financial safety net and give you the security to make sure you feel comfortable and confident when you're in this transition. So that you don't have so much pressure on your shoulders to make money from your online business straight away.

The second thing I would suggest that you do if you are in a nine to five and you want to start your own online business is start it whilst you're in your nine to five. use the time that you're filling with things that aren't actually that productive to take action to build your online business.

alongside the job that you're already doing. Now, I know you're probably thinking, but I'm exhausted when I get home from work. I don't have the time. I don't have the resources to be able to do this. I don't have childcare that would let me. Think about all of the small things in your day that you are doing that are actually just a waste of time. So watching Netflix, binging TV shows, or just laying in bed on the weekends scrolling TikTok is actually not that productive. What if you dedicated one hour a day

of things that you're already doing and replace that time to spend building your online business alongside the nine to five that you are already working in.

That one hour a day is going to compound and eventually lead you to see that you are building something very tangible, something real, something that later down the line you could go full time on. This is going to eliminate some of that pressure to quit your nine to five because you are going to be stimulated by this online business that you are building in the background and you're going to get some solid foundations underway before you actually make that leap.

and jump from the nine to five into going all in into entrepreneurship.

I actually talk a lot about both of these things In my ebook, the Freedom Founders Playbook, where I document my own journey from transitioning from a nine to five employee into entrepreneurship and all of the mistakes that I make. I will pop the link to that in the show notes in case you want to go and check it out.

The next thing I would think about if I was going to be quitting my 9 5 to start an online business is what skills do I already have from this 9 to 5 that can be transferred over into doing my own thing? Because at the end of the day, you've probably been working in this 9 to 5 career for a while now. And there's going to be so many transferable skills and things that you are doing, the experiences you've had in this 9 to 5 that can be bought over for you to start your own online business with.

so many aspiring entrepreneurs that I meet think they have to go and learn a whole new skill set in order to start their online business. And that is absolutely not the case. I would really recommend as a starting point for your first online business to take the skills, take the experiences, take your existing passions and transfer them over into doing your own thing.

From that, you've got a really solid baseline to start building your very own online business using things that you're already being paid for.

that actually is set up to make you money online. We're gonna look at who you might potentially want to sell to, and then I'm gonna give you a three-day action plan to actually start that business

Most people are procrastinating on amazing business ideas that they've had for a really long time because they don't know where to start. and in this free business bootcamp, I'm going to literally give you your first step so that you can stop procrastinating, stop feeling fear.

Stop feeling overwhelmed by all of the things that you could be doing and just focus on the things that are actually gonna move you forward to create the online business that is gonna give you the freedom lifestyle that you desire. It's not just gonna happen overnight, but you can take steps to build the freedom business that you deserve so that you can quit your nine to five and become your own online boss.

The link to join the bootcamp is in the show notes. And if you are listening to this after the 2nd of June, don't worry because there will be a playback.

so it's still worth registering.

So to summarize today's episode of the Freedom Method podcast, let's recap. If you are wanting to quit your nine to five and start an online business, the first thing I need you to know is you do not have to go all in straight away. You can build this around nine to five so that you can maintain your financial security and

Even if you're just doing one hour a day, that one hour is gonna compound. That is seven hours a week that you are dedicating to building your future, your future online business that is gonna make you money and help you live the life of freedom that you are dreaming about right now.

The second thing I want you to think about is start looking at your finances. Where are you today and where do you need to be in order to feel safe and comfortable and financially secure moving away from your nine to five and into the online business space? Because it is not freedom if you are quitting your nine to five and starting online business just to feel stressed about money. It's not worth it.

So make sure you have a financial runway, some level of financial security, some level of support system financially if you are gonna make that transition.

And the third thing I want you to do is start analyzing all of the skills that you currently have, all of the experiences that you've had in your nine to five and look at what is transferable. And then if you join me on the 2nd of June, I will help you create your online business plan.

so that you can take those skills, take those passions, take those experiences and build them into your very own online business that makes you money so that you can become your own boss and build the freedom lifestyle that you have been dreaming about.

Thanks for joining me today on this episode of the Freedom Method podcast. I hope it has given you some inspiration and some reassurance on the question of how do you quit your nine to five to start building your own online business that actually makes you money to replace your nine to five income. It is not as complicated as you may have thought. And I'm here to support you every step of the way.

I'll see you on the 2nd of June in the Freedom Business Bootcamp.

In the meantime, don't forget to like and subscribe this podcast because I'll be coming at you very soon with more frequently asked questions about quitting your nine to five and starting your very own online business and becoming your own boss. I'll see you next time.