4 things I’d wish I’d known before I quit my day job
“I want to be my own boss. I want to work when I want, from wherever I want, and make six figures.”
Sound familiar?
If it’s not your dream, it might sound familiar because it was mine.
And I’ve shared it with you a million times – while I was side hustling those first 3 years, while I was celebrating quitting my day job in January (#SideHustleGoneSerious), and as the reason behind why I created the Free 5 Day Website Challenge.
It’s crazy how powerful our words and dreams are.
We may not have control over the timeline, or exactly HOW it will happen, but we can create whatever outcome we want.
I did it. I’m my own boss, I work when I want, from where I want, and I’m on track to make six figures this year.
And don’t get me wrong – I’m very proud of myself and extremely grateful for being able to do this.
But what I failed to define in that giant, bold, statement is how I wanted to FEEL along the way – which left me totally vulnerable to these things I wish I would have known before I quit my day job.
#1 – I’d be a total freak about money.
Leaving the security of a steady paycheck uncovered some deep issues I didn’t know I had about money, security, independence and my self-worth.
The anxiety of whether I could meet my income goal every month.
The shame when I’d tell my husband I’d be depositing my paycheck late.
The shame and anxiety of having to cancel contracts and services that I was able to afford when I wasn’t paying myself a paycheck, and waiting too long to do it.
The drive to prove to myself that I made the right decision to leave my job so I’d do whatever it took to replace that income every single month – even if it meant working 70 hour weeks for months on end.
The non-stop content-creation, daily podcast production, program selling, launching, and webinars that overwhelmed not just me, but also YOU.
“There’s no way I can be successful if I have to do THAT MUCH” – is something I heard from so many of you in the survey I sent out recently.
I want you to know that I heard you.
Here’s the good news – you don’t have to do that much to be successful.
You only have to do that much if you’re trying to not leave space in your brain think about how scared you are.
My advice to you?
You’re probably going to be scared too when you quit.
But knowing that, you can expect it.
And when you expect it, you can ask yourself, “Am I doing this because I’m scared or because it’s what my customers really want/need? Am I buying this because I’m scared or because I know deep down it’s what I need?”
You do not need to create as much content as I was creating to be successful. In fact, creating that much content was hindering my success and causing confusion with my audience.
Focus and doing just a couple of things really well are what will help you reach your goals.
And if you’re curious about how much money I made in August of this year, you can check out my latest income report here. https://shannonmattern.com/august-income-report/
#2 – Healthy habits wouldn’t magically appear the day I didn’t have to drive to the office.
I had this dream that when I worked from home as my own boss that I’d finally have the time to put into losing weight and getting healthy.
I could work out in the mornings, even go back to Crossfit! I’d have time to plan, shop and prepare healthy meals, and suddenly none of my size 14 jeans would fit anymore and I’d have to go buy all new size 10s. Maybe even 8s (neither of which I’ve never worn before in my life).
As it turns out, having time isn’t the problem!
Shocking, right?
I have the luxury of deciding what I do every day, and I still didn’t decide to put any effort toward that goal.
In fact, I filled up all that time with work, and used work as an excuse to not have TIME to focus on my health.
Time has never been the problem.
The problem is my belief in my ability to accomplish that goal.
I never doubted for a second that I’d be able to quit my day job and run my own business.
I’ve doubted for my whole life in my ability to lose weight, and I’m probably scared of solving that problem for reasons I’ve yet to understand.
I tell you this because if there’s something you really want, but you use not having time as the reason you don’t have it, ask yourself if you really believe that it’s possible. Maybe it’s time, maybe it’s not.
And maybe you just need someone to believe in you more than you believe in you to help you accomplish that goal.
#3 – My perfect day wouldn’t just happen to me.
We’ve all done one of those perfect day exercises where we daydream in detail about what our perfect day looks like… however, I discovered that more than daydreaming is required to make it happen.
Until I created a schedule that blocked time for those things I said would be important to me on a perfect day – and guarded that time – I let every single day get away from me.
To the point where I’d work 7AM to 7PM without a break (or a shower).
Why? See #1 – fear and anxiety.
And what would happen is that I’d want to escape from all of it – and if you follow me on social media at all you can exactly when this happens – you can see it play out. I’d feel overwhelmed by all the messages in the Facebook group and social media notifications and emails piling up in my inbox, so I just put them off. I’ll stop livestreaming and posting. And if it gets really bad, I’ll even stop sending my newsletter – because it all feels so forced and inauthentic.
Because I can’t tell you I’M TIRED AND OVERWHELMED. I don’t want you to think you can’t do it too!!
But you CAN do it. Just like I can do it – with ease – when I take the time to plan my perfect day, and then I honor my plan and don’t give away my time. Because I do have the choice. I always have the choice.
It’s taken several months for me to get consistent with my schedule, to block off time for self care, to not open my laptop too early in the day until all my stuff for ME is done.
THIS is the #1 most important thing I can do to feel the way I want to feel every single day.
#4 – I don’t have to do this all on my own.
I’ve said it a million times that my business coach has been integral to my success – but even with her help, I’ve been doing this on my own.
Every day, just me and my dog Scarlett in my office, hammering away at my keyboard.
And I didn’t realize how lonely I had gotten and how much I missed being around other people until I went away for a weekend with 5 other online business owners for a weekend mastermind retreat.
I had briefly met the girl that invited me, but the 4 others were total strangers – and we had THE BEST WEEKEND! We talked, we laughed, we cried, and we made big plans for our businesses.
One of the conversations that really stuck with me is when one of the girls said, “Don’t take this the wrong way, but do you have friends in your town? Like, that you talk to and ask for help?”
And I was like, “Yes, of course I have friends…” But then it dawned on me that I don’t reach out to them when I feel like escaping, or when I’m scared or when it’s getting hard.
I don’t want to burden them, and I don’t want them to think I’m complaining because I have the dream life of not having to go to an office every day.
Now I have friends that understand what I’m going through with owning my own business. And they hold me accountable to working less, building a team, taking better care of myself and finding more local business friends. And we ask for help, support and encourage each other – and most importantly, make each other laugh – every single day.
You don’t have to do this on your own. Please create a support system, whether it’s a local entrepreneur or blogger group or an informal mastermind of like-minded business owners.
You can learn more about masterminds here.
What you should know before you quit your day job
The reason I shared with you these things I wish I would have known before I quit my day job is because if I had gone a bit deeper with my goal and asked myself WHY I wanted it, I would have gotten down to the core feeling I was after.
“I want to be my own boss. I want to work when I want, from wherever I want, and make six figures.”
The real reason I want that is because I want peace, calm and security in my life. And knowing that, I can bake that into my goal instead of wondering why life still feels crazy and stressful like it did at my day job and while I was side hustling.
What you should know before you quit your day job for your business is the deep down WHY.
Think about your big goal, your big dream, and then ask yourself: WHY?
Why do you want that? And keep asking yourself WHY until you get to the core feeling you’re seeking, and then bake that into your big dream.
“I want the security of being my own boss. I want to calmly work when I want, from wherever I want, and peacefully make six figures.”
See how different that feels? How less urgent, less stressful? Knowing exactly how you want to feel will help you make decisions that will get you the outcomes AND the feeling.
Today’s pep talk is brought to you by Bluehost. Go to www.shannonmattern.com/bluehost and get 36 months of web hosting for just $2.95 a month. That’s less than one trip to Starbucks a month – and if you’re anything like me, you’re at Starbucks more than that! Then you can sign up for my Free 5 Day Website Challenge at www.shannonmattern.com/5day and I’ll show you step by step how to get started building your new website for your side hustle.
