“I’m so tired of the 9-5 work schedule!!!”
You were studying for years – or better decades – you got into college, graduated, maybe went for MSc, got this, too. And why? To have a good life.
Then why are you miserable now?
Everyone told you that after all this, you’d have a good life. But now you work – at least – 8 hours a day, every day for a salary that barely allows you to make ends meet – or sometimes not even that.
"Is this how you want your life to go?"
I asked myself this a year ago. And the answer was so immediate that it must be the truth.
NO!
That’s when I decided to search for ways to escape the 9 to 5 nightmare, to make me financially independent and to get rid of my boss in a legal way. 😛
The ways I’ll give you here will not make you rich overnight. I won’t tell you the lottery winning numbers. I don’t know them. What I will tell you are some legit ways how to escape 9 to 5.
1. Start An Online Business
I’ll start with this one because this is what I did.
And it’s not as hard as it sounds as long as you have the right training. Last May, while I was searching for legitimate ways to earn money online, I found a post about affiliate marketing and a platform called Wealthy Affiliate. It is free to join and they didn’t ask me about any personal information, so I said: “Why not?”. It’s not like I had anything to lose.
In a few words, they teach you how to build a site about something you like and how you can monetise it. It takes time but it’s definitely worth it. Check it out if you will!
2. Write A Book
Because that sounds so much easier than starting a blog. The amount of writers that can’t live off their earnings is way higher than you imagine. Only about 1 in 10 make a full-time salary out of it.
Then why am I including this here?
I believe that as long as you want something and you try, you will succeed. It’s okay to fall down 100 times as long as you stand up 101. Because you will fail a lot in your life, no matter what. What’s important is to learn from your failures and move on.
So if you like writing, this is a great way to earn money. And when you finish your first book, make sure to promote it like crazy. Especially online!
3. Sell Your Art
If you make jewellery, paintings or any other kind of crafts, start selling them online. Either start your own site or you could sell them on some other platform like Etsy.
There is a category for anything handcrafted so check out which is the best for your products and start selling them. Just make sure you take good pictures of the items and give a good description of them. People want to have as much information as possible before they buy something because it’s an online item and they can’t see it up close.
4. Become A Photographer
If you’re good with a camera, then don’t hesitate. There is a demand for pictures online and offline. Lots of people need images for their sites and since the fines are getting heavy, they’re willing to pay money for good images. Check out Adobe Stock, for example.
In case you’d like to become a photographer but you haven’t started yet, find a course and practise as much as you can. You have to invest in a good camera and pay for the course, so there is a cost for you. But if it’s something you’d like to do in your life, just do it!
Plus, when you do this full-time, you can start travelling a lot to take pictures from different places and that’s a huge perk for me. 😀
5. Create Youtube Videos
More and more people watch videos every day. There are 1.300.000.000 people on Youtube now. 5 billion videos are watched every day. Sounds a lot, huh?
So why not start making videos? Find something you like and create videos about this. Don’t worry too much about the technical stuff, just do it. As you make them, you’ll start getting better.
Here are some suggestions on topics for your channel:
- Lessons (instrument playing, cooking, singing, programming, dancing, painting, language learning, etc.)
- Gaming
- Personal Development
- Reviews (Restaurants, gadgets, books, cars, etc.)
- Beauty/Fashion
- Comedy
- DIY (jewellery, crafts, even clothes)
- “Magic” Tricks
Of course, there are a lot of channels from these categories. So if you can find an original idea, it’s way better. Or you can choose something from the list and do it your own unique way! 😀
Be Careful!
It may be tempting to focus solely on your new venture. You probably have more fun working on it, but don’t quit your job until you start making some serious money from your dream job.
Unless you have people willing to support you financially for a couple of years until you make it, keep your job and work as much as you can on your new venture in your free time. I know, it’s exhausting. But when you succeed, you’ll be free to leave your 9 to 5 job to someone else.
Recommendations
My #1 book recommendation, if you’re thinking about escaping 9 to 5, is Tim Ferriss’s “The 4-hour work week“. Seriously, if you’re interested in having more free time, travelling more or starting a business, get it!
To be clear, the book is not a recipe. You don’t have to follow everything to the letter. Just get what you believe it’ll help you with your life. When you read it, you’ll understand what I’m talking about. 🙂
My #1 Youtube channel recommendation is Charisma on Command. It has a lot of mindset and charisma tips that will help you if you want to start something new in your life.
Final Thoughts
This is what I have to tell you about escaping 9 to 5. Is it easy? No, otherwise, everyone would do it.
Is it worth it? Definitely YES! So start today!
Let me know what you think and, if you have any questions, I’d be happy to answer! Any suggestions are always welcome, so tell me about topics you’d like me to write.
And if you liked this, check out some tips on how to start your blog for free. I think you’ll find them useful. 😀
See you next time!
Hi Jenny,
I was on the boat as you, the 9-5 was no fun for me. Not only that I barely made enough money, I still had to pay my student loan, the bartending gig was the must for me so I ended up working more than 55hrs a week to not be in debt.
I wish I have all the skills to be a writer, photographer or an artist but I am none of that. However, I am still working on my site and youtube videos in the hopes of making substantial money online and can finally leave this heartless workforce. Thank you for sharing the ideas and tips on how to make money online. I know it is going to be a long haul so I am ready for all the training and time investing in my financial future.
I love 4 hour work week too!
I like your attitude. I’m sure you’ll make it!
Some outstanding suggestions there, but the one that sticks out that I cannot agree with more is to pick up the 4-hour work week and read it a couple of times. It is one of the best books on marketing that you will ever read.
One thing I would add is that writing a book, as you suggested, is incredibly difficult. I have tried on a couple of occasions and I start writing then after an hour I have about a page done.
It takes a lot of determination and imagination to be a professional writer. But as you say, try and try again.
On a side note, I like your website’s theme. Is that Hestia?
Thanks for the great article
Mike
Yes, writing a book is difficult, because you have to work for a long time on your own and you have to be determined to finish it. Some people a couple of years to write a good book.
But that’s how it is with most of the jobs like this. You need to have a lot of self-discipline, because there’s no one to tell you: “You have to do this by this date”. No deadline. When you find the time, check out this TED talk. I think it will help you with your book if you still want to write one. 🙂
The theme is called Essence. It’s from StudioPress.
Have a good day!
Very good article. The article is helpful and accurate. Myself, I’m still learning the affiliate trade and it doesn’t happen overnight and it does take work to make it happen. It’s not easy. But that’s a good thing because at the end of the day you have something you can be proud of because you built some something people can benefit from.
Great work?
Thank you! 🙂
Hi Jenny, thank you for a lovely motivating post. It’s really encouraged me to just keep on working at it until I can quit the whole 9 – 5 thing.
Thank you!!
You’re welcome! I’m glad I could help. 🙂
Hi Jenny
I absolutely loved reading your blog. Leaving the 9-5 job is a dream for many but sadly, most of them are unable to do so. There are a lot of reasons which restrict a person from doing that. This article provides a lot of options which was good and encouraging. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Wish you a pleasant week ahead!
Thanks!
Escaping from 9-5 job is a great ideology that is very easy to say but very difficult to do. Why? Not many people have the charisma to stand on their own. All the options you mentioned are good. But with my experience, book production is not easy because of its long time and its consumption. I have produced books before which took me several months before I could sell them all out. It is a good start though.
There is nothing as sweet as being your own boss. Affiliate marketing is my top recommendation. You can also back it up by producing your own product which can either be sold offline or become an affiliate for it online.
Yes, writing a book is not easy but I believe that if you can do it, it’s totally worth the time. Affiliate marketing is my #1 recommendation as well. I like that you can make money by helping others. 🙂
That is a very useful article for me. I personally don’t like 5 to 9 pm jobs. And that’s why I have decided to work online where I can use my skills. Apart from working online, I do love photography too, it is my passion I would say. Thank you for telling the different options of how one can get rid of the traditional 9 to 5 work schedule. I think these are the best ways where one can have the freedom and live their life in their own way.
You’re welcome!