Escaping the rat race was the central focus of my life for a long time. Maybe that’s why I blog about it, after the fact. For the average person to achieve even a little success, to gain some autonomy in this area, is a feat of will over matter.
I once typed ‘I hate my job’ into Google thinking that somebody out there must have a solution for me. I searched other terms like, ‘quit my job’ and ‘work from home ideas’ and even 'easy ideas to make money." but I couldn't find anything substantial - just a bunch of 'life coaches' who are either very successful at getting people to buy their courses or a faking it to try to encourage you to buy their courses - either way, I couldn't find a real solution.
Stuck in a full-time, shift based job, I was caught in the dreaded routine of work, work, and more work.
The trade, of my time and labor in exchange for a wage, didn’t seem fair. I longed for freedom, freedom to choose my own path, my own labors. I hated the fact the I was forced to accept the whims of another, simply because the rent was due. In this article, I will share with you my story and the things I did to little by little craft enough income to quit my job.
I Hated My Job
I spent my time researching ideas, trying to understand theories and checking the credibility of equations. I was inspired by some of the information I found.
Although not as direct as I will be here, my research would lead me to question what I valued more, freedom or comfort. I learned that comfort in the equation could be substituted with convenience or pride (perception).
Keeping Up With The Joneses
Never one to keep up with the Joneses, I was still far from understanding how much of my money was being wasted on wants, rather than needs.
I wanted a way to spend my time on earth doing what I wanted to do. I didn’t want to spend the best of my self at a ‘job’. It took years to understand, develop and apply a concept that worked for me.
The phrase that encapsulates what I wanted is ‘Financial Independence’.
But, I didn’t have the patience, nor the will, to continue to wage-slave long enough to achieve it. I found, however, that by combining a number of popular (in the non-mainstream sort of way) concepts, I was able to leave the workplace in my mid-thirties.
So I started My Own Lifestyle Business (s)
First I learned to Code
I really hated my job, even though I had a good engineering job and enjoyed what I did, after almost 10 years I had only worked for one company that I actually enjoyed and felt like I had the opportunity to make a good living while enjoying a good lifestyle. That lasted only two years then all other jobs were crap. I knew that code and programming is the way of the future, there are so many jobs for programmers that is incredible how fast technology is evolving - yet not many know how to code. So if you learn even basic code you have the opportunity to live by the beach and still get a remote job with a company that allows you learn as you get better. This could be ideal for you, for me it wasn't too ideal because it still meant I had to exchange time, skill, and effort for money which would eventually get me back into the rat race. I don't want the rat race.
Learning to code gave me access to some cash flow from designing websites for others, mainly Wordpress websites that I could under bid other companies and this enabled me some experience and rapport within the industry.
Click the image below and it will take you to another page to learn more about how I learned to code the fast and easy way.
Learning to code gave me access to some cash flow from designing websites for others, mainly Wordpress websites that I could under bid other companies and this enabled me some experience and rapport within the industry.
Click the image below and it will take you to another page to learn more about how I learned to code the fast and easy way.
Step 2 I also then started reading a lot! Like a lot!
Reading is important! As Tai Lopez likes to say, if you want to become successful you have to change your mind, reading and learning helps you change your mind frame and unlock opportunities for making money and a better lifestyle. So I did, I read a lot of books on business, technology, social influencers, etc. etc.
Then for a while I was promoting these books through my facebooks groups and through other blogs for referral commissions - this game me some cash inflow but not significant enough to quit my job. More like once a month weekend money. I was starting to see the potential in a lifestyle business.
Step 3 then I started A Cleaning Company
Because my background is in business, engineering, and marketing, I was able to look for markets that were severely underserved in my area which was Phoenix, AZ. I saw an opportunity in cleaning and went for it with the help of my wife. She was dealing with her own health issues that drove her to wanting to secure more income in case her employer let her go. So we started Honest Maids. It took us a few months to get everything right from the process, the hiring, the brand and the website, which I built myself. Once we launched it, it took about 3-4 months for us to get a steady flow of 1 or 2 clients per week which was just enough to keep our 2 part-time employees busy for about 20 hours per week. They were single mothers who were staying at home but wanted extra income.
Honest Maids now has multiple city locations and various states and growing. The beauty of this is that we don't clean ourselves, we manage the business as far as accounting and bookkeeping, but when we can't do it ourselves we hire a remote bookkeeper Blue Pearl Tax in Texas who does an amazing job! Almost a year after launching the business, my wife and I decided to move back home and we've been 'running' the business from there ever since. The company still grows, I'm actually in the hiring process as we speak but that's something I can do while I relax on my couch or while I take my kids to baseball practice and wait for them there. This is a lifestyle business that might be suitable for you. Is not completely hands-free, but it's a business that allows you to focus on branding, sharing about yourself, making a brand around you and then just hire others to do the work - if you pay them well and build a good atmosphere people will stick with you and embrace your company.
Through the cleaning company, we send out newsletters which sometimes have household design tips, trends, etc. with items linked to an Amazon affiliate link.
Step 4 I relaunched a marketing company I had branded a few years before
With the success I had growing and branding Honest Maids, I took a stab at other companies and did great. I was initially consulting and leveraging my MBA to get leads, but the paperwork drove me crazy. I love marketing and love figuring out ways to get exposure for what I believe in or want others to experience so marketing was key for me. Marketing was the way out of my rat race and do what I love. My passion in life would help me make a decent living for me and my family. I relaunched Unthink Digital Marketing - through Unthink I was able to find and partner with amazing talented individuals who believed that small business owners, newbies, and startups should have access and deserve the same opportunities and experts as large corporations but at reduced prices. Through Unthink we offer small businesses with large company tools and experts to help with marketing.
We do everything from apps, to websites and social media management as well as inbound and content - almost the same process I put in for my own lifestyle blogs and referral business.
Unthink is my Passion business and it allows me to do what I love from anywhere in the world. it also allows me to travel the world meeting clients.
If you need hosting, url domains, and more - go to www.UnthinkHosting.com and use code "Unthink" at check out.
Frugal DYI Lifestyle is not for everyone
The problem with being frugal is you must not spend on things you don't need. That's the true key to escaping the rat race. When you don't have a job, you shouldn't spend money. Even if you have a succesful business - that's because revenues and profit can fluctuate. But if you find a good steady source of income and don't aim for a luxury living you could be a very happy rat race free entrepreneur with an amazingly comfortable lifestyle for you and your family.
By this point, I had 2 businesses that were pretty much running themselves, I a few blogs with referral links and sources, and multiple platforms where I could share my expertise, my story and sell products people needed. I also leveraged my facebook marketing expertise to sell some high ticket items.
In case you are wondering there are a few tools that i used that truly helped me generate better traffic and convert more without spending a lot of money. People often buy Click Funnels, Sales Hack Funnels, etc. etc. but with a bit of homework and frugality, you can find easy to use tools that can be just as powerful, especially when you are starting out. One of my favorite tools to use is this landing page tool that allows me to drag and drop a design, launch the link live and then track everything in it like how far people scroll down through a page, what's being ignored, what links are being clicked, etc. etc. I truly recommend them. I have been using their platform for almost 3 years now.
This blog post solution is not about a magical way one could stop working tomorrow – or some pyramid scheme I have to sell you. It took me about 3 years before I could finally quit. But I did and so did my wife. Our lifestyle wasn't about moving to Costa Rica and travel the world but about being to live near family, in a city with little job growth, and focusing our children before they got too old. If your lifestyle aspiration is the same I think following some of these realistic steps will help you get started with a clear and undersold approach and I think that's what other lifestyle entrepreneurs won't tell you because they want you to buy all the bull they are selling. I can tell you that I love what I do and love helping others which is why I do marketing - I have to be very good at it too and everything else I set up was a way to secure cashflow through other options even if one had a slow week or month.
