“You should quit your job and follow your passions. Everything will be okay. Don’t mind the lack of food on your table.” — clueless entrepreneurs online.
Many questions will pop up when you first start freelancing or getting into this whole crazy world where you make your own money. Whenever I speak to a friend about the idea of freelancing they get all sorts of crazy ideas. The questions are fairly common:
- Should you quit your job?
- Should you follow your passions?
- Should you keep your job and not worry about anything else?
- Why would you leave a stable job?
- Should you work your way up the ranks at your job?
There are so many questions when it comes to making money on this planet. I was with a friend at lunch last week and a bunch of these questions came up. This person is fed up with work and wants something more. They want to know what’s next.
I have a solution to all of these concerns.
Do you want to make more money?
Do you want to finally go after that crazy idea that has been on your mind?
You likely answered yes because you’re here. You just don’t want to quit your job because you have bills, debt, and life to deal with. It’s INSANELY CARELESS to suggest to someone that they quit a job. Why would anyone throw money away? It’s also foolish to not go after your interests.
This is why…
I must introduce you guys to the hybrid approach to making a living on this planet.
How does the hybrid approach to earning a living work?
You freelance for money and you keep a part-time gig.
You don’t quit work altogether. You don’t rely on your freelancing 100%. You freelance and you maintain a part-time job. You can ask to scale back the hours at your current job or you can find a new side gig.
This part-time work allows you to have money coming in while you ruthlessly test out your freelancing ideas. The trick is to start freelancing while you’re already working full-time and to slowly transition to part-time work. I don’t want you guys to be tweeting me up to say that you’re starving.
Ideally, you also maintain some sort of investment or passive income sources. You can put money aside into a savings account, investment, rental property or anything else.
What are the benefits of this approach?
Hmm there are many…
“Our parents and grandparents believed you should stay at a job for five years, 10 years or even your whole life. But in a world where companies come and go — where they grow from nothing to the Fortune 500 and then disappear, all in a few years — that’s just not possible.” — Seth Godin
- You don’t rely on one source of income. Nothing is guaranteed. Times have changed. You just can’t rely on one source of income for the rest of your life.
- You’re social. You actually get to be around people. I love working because I get to meet new characters at the job and whoever else you interact with.
- You’re far more flexible. They say that he who cares least always wins. A freelancer with another job has many options. You don’t have to cling on to crappy clients. Nor do you have to put up with crap at your job.
- You can move on. The ability to move on in life is amazing. Your freelancing idea not working out? Move on. Sick of your job? Move on.
There are many benefits to having multiple sources of income. I firmly believe that it’s worth giving a shot.
I personally always see myself holding down a side job. I could never go all in or focus on just one job. Maybe that’s just me. I realize that times are tough. I don’t want anyone reading this to go without an income. I would feel horrible.
Is diversification dangerous?
The obvious rebuttal to a hybrid approach is that you’re diluting focus. This is very true. If you plan on becoming a lawyer or something highly specific, you shouldn’t dilute your focus at all. You should go all in. With freelancing you can afford work because you’re going to have lots of downtime throughout the week.
The other issue is your full-time job. This one isn’t easy. One of my friends did this recently and he lined up a weekend job before he quit. He now has a ton of time to work on his business and only a weekend gig to worry about.
Long story short: diversification is dangerous if you plan on getting into a highly specific field. As a freelancer, you can afford to work a job on the side.
Would you be willing to give the hybrid income approach a try?
Go after your freelancing or business ideas, while you still have some money coming in to cover the basics.
I would never ever tell you to quit a job without a backup plan. That’s just careless and embarrassing. We all have bills to pay. I don’t even know how someone could possibly sleep without any income coming in or a guaranteed plan. That’s just too stressful for me.
This is the ultimate approach for happiness, income, and balance in life. You can still plan trips and create your own schedule. You only have to worry about performing less than 20 hours of work per week.
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