I’m so tired of going to work every day. 9 to 5 is a nightmare!
Everyone who ever worked a 9 to 5 job – or any job for that matter….
Everyone told you that after studying for years and graduating, you’d get a nice job, a good salary and you’d have a great life.
Wrong! Things didn’t go as expected, and now you’re feeling miserable. But why?
Maybe because you work 8 hours a day for a salary that barely allows you to make ends meet – or sometimes not even that?
Or maybe, because you have a lousy boss? Awful colleagues?
Or, is it because you feel trapped in your life? You want to travel but you can only go on vacation 15 days a year – and you have to work for the other 350. How will you ever start travelling if you have to keep working like this???
Is this how you want your life to be?
I asked myself this a few years ago. And the answer was so obvious.
NO!
And… that’s when I decided to search for ways to escape the 9 to 5 nightmare. To get financially independent. To get free!
Before We Start
Let’s start with a few things you need to know before you start.
This. Will. Take. TIME.
It’s important to know this will take time. You won’t get rich overnight. You’ll get rich over time.
It’d be awesome if all we had to do is work on one of these for a week and then… poof, we get rich. But this is not the case here. It’ll take time to make enough money to be independent. Truly independent.
Effort
I’m going to tell you a few great – and legit – ways to escape 9 to 5, but you’ll be the one to work with them.
If you don’t make the effort – or if you stop after the first failure – then they won’t work. But it won’t be their fault, and it won’t be my fault either. It’ll be yours. And even this sounds a little mean – I know – isn’t it also crazy empowering?
You have complete control over your success!
Summary
It’ll take time and effort but it’ll be worth it!
So here are a few side hustles you can try – in no specific order.
5. Start An Online Business
Yeah… that doesn’t sound difficult at all…
But I’ll start with this one because this is what I did. I decided to start my own business.
Which, surprisingly, it’s not as hard as it seems as long as you have the right training.
How to get started
The training I followed is called Wealthy Affiliate and I have to say I really love it!
And since I was a total beginner when I started, I can guarantee it’s totally for beginners! All I knew when I started is that I wanted to make money doing something I love. Nothing more!
It’s free to join and they didn’t ask me about any personal information, so I was like:
Why not?
It’s not like I had something to lose!
2 years later, and I still believe it’s the best decision I’ve ever made!
4. Write A Book
Because that sounds so much easier than starting a business…
The number of writers that can’t live off their earnings is way higher than you imagine. Only a few of them make a full-time salary out of it. And we’re talking about the ones who actually publish their books. There are a lot more who have quit halfway.
Then why am I including this here???
Because I believe that as long as you want something and you keep trying, you will succeed.
It’s okay to fall down 100 times as long as you stand up 101. You’ll 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!
How to get started
If you haven’t written a book before – I assume you haven’t – it’s a good idea to start with some writing classes or online courses. Masterclass is a nice place to start!
3. Sell Your Art
If you make jewellery, paintings or any other kind of crafts, it’s a good idea to start selling them online.
More and more people start buying stuff online – especially these days. Use it to your benefit to start making money!
How to get started
You can either start your own site or you could sell them on some other platform like Etsy, for example.
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 offer a good description of them.
Potential buyers want to have as much information as possible before they buy something since they can’t see it up close.
2. 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.
How to get started
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 to take pictures from different places and that’s a huge perk for me!
1. Create YouTube Videos
More and more people are watching 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?
How to get started
Find something you like and create videos about it. Don’t worry too much about the technical stuff, just start. As you keep making more and more videos, you’ll start getting better.
Here are some topic suggestions 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 in 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 in your own unique way!
Be Careful!
It may be tempting to focus solely on your new venture. You’ll 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. Doesn’t this sound awesome?
Recommendations
Also if you feel like changing your life, here are a couple of resources you may want to check out:
#1 Book Recommendation
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. 😉
#1 Video Recommendation
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
And this is all I’m telling you about escaping 9 to 5.
Is it easy? No, otherwise, everyone would do it.
Is it worth it? Definitely YES! So start today!
So… what do you think about it? Go ahead and let me know in the comments below!
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!
Homework
While I’m gone, you better do something about what you’ve just read!
Task: Choose one item you really like from my list and commit to working on it an hour a day – no matter what happens. To maximise your productivity, check out my productivity tips!
Recommended Resources
Top 9 Productivity Tips For Bloggers
Wanna improve your productivity? Check this out!
Start Your Own Business For Free
Want to start a business? Here’s my favourite training!
Hi there, I’m Jenny.
Blogger/Internet Marketer/ Occasionally Cool Person
Want to get in touch?
If you have any questions, suggestions or just want to say hello, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. If you’re nice, I won’t bite!
And if you notice any grammar and/or spelling mistakes, please let me know. I’ll owe you a favour!
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!