maximus

I've been thinking about this for a while but finally made the move to join the land of the living and quit my day job. Yesterday was my first day of deriving full time income online.

I've had decent online income for the last year, but wanted to wait until I had 3 steady months of making more from affiliate marketing than my day job, and that has recently happened. It's a little scary given the volatility in online income especially when monthly expenses are huge, but the upside is unlimited. We all have to make the move at some point right.

For those of you who working for yourselves full time, do you have any suggestions on how you structure your day? Things I should be aware of as I work full time solely on growing site revenues? All revenue comes from affiliate marketing, so I'd love to hear from anyone in the same boat, preferably others who have goals similar to mine - 6 figure / month income.

Thanks.

Phre0nBurn

Stay away from forums and AIM... haha
They take half my days sometimes...

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xecutech

I recently sold my pc repair business to focus on web projects that I develop myself and for other people and it has been the best thing I could have done! I do not make alot yet from affiliate programs, but I do well doing web design and I take home more since I don't have the overhead.

Just keep doing what your doing and you will be fine. I would suggest, if you can, doing some freelance work for others. That will supplement your income during slow times. I understand that everyone can't do this.

springer

Quitting the J-O-B is certainly an incentive, isn't it? I'm retired from a long-time career and was working for another outfit, just to have something to do. The boss was such a moron I couldn't resist telling him on a regular schedule what I thought of him. I guess he finally got tired of it.

Now, I work at this (if you want to call doing something you love work) pretty much all the time. I put in longer hours than I ever have, but it doesn't feel bad because it's all for me.

Good luck with hitting the 6 figure a month mark, if that's what you're shooting for. I hit it some months, if you don't count the decimal point.

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Mahzkrieg

Awesome, man. Exciting move.

The internet isn't volatile in an unwieldy way. You just have to treat it like any other investment and diversify your portfolio. For instance, if you made all your money from MFA websites, Google's Adsense click hit-box shrink might have reduced your income 50%! Just like you wouldn't rely on the same few affiliate offers if the company ever decided to yank it spontaneously.

Good luck.

EDIT: By the way, I sit on a computer all day in a cubicle working on some LOLSEO for a local company. I am paid to browse WF and work on my own affiliate endeavors. My supervisor thinks SEO is an arduous process, but I spend about 30 - 45 minutes on it when I get into work and then the next 6 hours I work on my own affairs. That's another bright end of the spectrum.

barman

FTW! When you don't have a steady income from a job, the work you put into your own business is exactly what you'll get out of it. Don't get caught up in the bullshit!

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Trademark

Good for you, Maximus!

I have been doing this full-time for years. And the most important
thing to me is time management.

Being by yourself, working from home is everything you hear. But,
you will likely find yourself wishing there were more hours in each
day. When I worked in Corporate America, I could not wait for the
days to end. Today, I would buy hours if I could.

Set up a work schedule (after you enjoy some celebratory time).

Stick to it no matter what.

Visit forums, blogs, etc. but try to keep it in your schedule. Play time,
if you will. Being alone in your home makes it easy to waste hours in
forums "hanging out" with friends.

"To Do" lists. I live by them. They are not right for everyone, but that
is how I run my life.

Breaks. If you are working long hours without breaks, you will likely
become much less productive. Take breaks every hour to "reboot"
yourself.

This is what has worked well for me. Everyone is different.

argh01

Put on real clothes in the morning. Take a shower. "Go to the office." Get in the work mindset.

xecutech

I like to work in my jammies!

SurferJoe

I go to a local internet cafe, helps me focus more. When I am at home I tend to get distracted way easier

beejeebers

Make a list of things to do daily. Don't have "leisure time" until that list is done and you've made the next day's list. Now if I could just follow this myself...LOL

chris22

You saved some of that income, right? You should have atleast 6 months of living expenses saved before you quit your 'real' job. Those offers that are doing well for you now, can be pulled at any time.

Set daily income goals, rather than monthly. It'll light a fire under your ass. You'll reach your goals much faster. Come up with a specific number and make a specific plan on how to get there, rather than just saying "I want to make six figures per month." Six figures per month is your ultimate goal, but for now you should set lower, feasible goals, and work your way up. Achieve a goal, then set a higher one. $300/day, $500/day, $1,000/day, $2,500/day, etc.

MyOwnDemon

Congratulations, Max! It's awesome to see more and more people take this leap. I went fulltime online a while back and I haven't looked back since. It is such a great feeling to know you're a self-made man w/o a boss and job to hold you down! No longer will you have to wake up in the morning and drag yourself to a job... you'll be doing what you love every day - day in and day out. Good luck my friend! I'll hit you up on AIM later if you're not too busy working... hehe

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maximus

Yes I did save 6 months of living expenses, and setting daily goals are def the way to go. I've been keeping track on a daily basis for a while now.

Thanks for the great feedback.

aim

You probably have this going already, but don't forget to expense anything and everything. Every drop of gas you put in your car, every meal you eat, a portion of your mortgage, utilities applicable to your business (perhaps cell phone and internet bills) will all help in reducing your taxable income.

Also, don't forget to get out of the house. Meet up for lunch or happy hour with friends. Continue to be social.

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emp

It was mentioned sometime ago, I guess there is the possibility to deduct Adwords and other Marketing expenses as well.

Tax deductions FTW!!

As to working on your own : Congrats!

As to me: I suck. Still working for the man.

::emp::

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geoman11

making money online is the way to go

Demon

Too bad you don't make jack shit, otherwise you wouldn't be promoting crap like the shit in your sig.

MisterX

Wow, you're banned! That's what 12 retarded posts & crappy sig will do to you...

Trademark

One more tip if you are working by yourself at home.

This is going to sound silly to a lot of people...

Take a break right in the middle of the day and call
your parents (if you are able) once or twice a week.
Even if your mother drives you nuts and your father
doesn't have much to say. It takes just a few minutes.

This does 2 things for me. First, it actually makes me
more productive. After a few minutes saying "hey" to
the folks, I'm ready to get back to work. I have not
figured out why, but it happens and it is consistent.

Second, it is a pretty good reminder of family. I love my
parents a lot. But, I never made time for them in years
past while building my business. These days, they are
like friends.

I realize that sounds a bit lame. But, it works for me.
Both from a business and personal perspective.

Demon

Not lame at all Trademark, its a good attitude to have. I need to call my parents more often too :/

placebo_

Very cool man.