Why You Still Need a Day Job Before Becoming a Full Time Internet Marketer

Before I decided to pack it in and say no to brown bagging my lunch every weekday, I was funding my love for internet marketing. Most people have the idea that they can throw up a website, slap some ads on there and then walk away and retire a couple months later. Ha! Don’t even think about it. I was chatting about this with my friend who works at Landrum HR, a recruiting company, and she agreed with me. Before quitting your job to become a full time internet playa marketer, there are a few things to consider.

• Do you have enough money saved up?
  Most internet businesses fail their first year online, or never get off the ground to begin with. Making sure you have enough funds built up to live on while you wait for your business to progress is a necessity. The last thing you want to do is go crawling into your boss’ office asking for your day job back.
• Do you have health or dental insurance?
  Most employers will provide you with medical and dental benefits as long as you’re on the payroll. But what happens when you decide to quit? Shop around for the best coverage on your own to make sure you and your loved ones are taken care of now that you’re working on your own. CAA (Canadian Automobile Association), similar to AAA in the U.S. provides reasonable rate coverage for its members. Some companies don’t even require you take a physical to get approved.
• Are you contributing to a retirement fund or RRSP?
  Many employers allow their employees to have contributions from their paycheck automatically deducted to go towards a pension plan. When you decide to go in your own direction, it’s completely up to you to make sure you’re putting away a percentage of your earnings (usually 10-20% every two weeks) towards a retirement plan, investment or RRSP. If you don’t want to keep blogging or creating PPC campaigns when you’re 75, you need to make sure you’re prepared financially.
• Fund your online business and create a residual income before quitting your job.
  Probably the most important factor here is making sure that what you’re getting into is going to be worth your while. Before I quit my day job, I funded my PPC campaigns, hosting fees, business start up costs etc., with my everyday paycheck. I knew that if my attempts at creating an online business failed, I still had my regular job to fall back on. The first year I began working online, it was nice to have a guaranteed income coming in to reinforce my online business funding. The point where I decided to quit and become a full time internet marketer was the day I realized my online income outweighed my normal income. It was a nice feeling, but a bit scary at the same time. Since then I’ve never looked back and it feels great!

Photo: Office Space – 20th Century Fox

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