Forum Moderators: buckworks
I am enjoying relative success with my website, and am wondering how many people on here do it 'Full time'. That is, have no other job as well. Currently I work full time in my job, and run the website as a sideline out of my bedroom (very hard for storing stock)
I'm wondering, when it makes sense to leave your job and take on the website full time. Most of you are probably thinking 'When your making more than you earn' maybe. But what about Job securit and socializing. I work in a shop and enjoy the company of the peopl I wok with and the customers. I don't want to become some recluse who sits at home, answering the phone, and going to the Post Office twice a day. Obviously I have friends outside of work, but most are at university (I'm only a teenager you see).
I can see the Obvious advantages to going full time on the website, but the disadvantages as well. I'm wondering how many people do it full time, when you made the plunge and what its like.
Just thought I'd ask,
Craig
Yeah, I'm in the same boat as you, and I think that lots of people are here.
I find it's very much a chicken-and-egg situation. I'm not making enough money to run my site full-time, and I've not got enough time to make my site make more money!
To be honest, your situation sounds a lot better than mine. We've got a young baby and a mortgage to worry about, so I'm assuming that you've got a lot less responsibility. If I didn't have these responsibilities, I'd be very tempted to take the risk and just go for it - but this is just me.
I very much dislike my day job, but the people there are great. That is about the only disadvantage I can see. I can see more advantages for working for myself, like being my own boss etc...
You really want to be looking at whether you're business is continually growing and whether you have plans to grow it further in the future.
Feel free to sticky me if you want to talk more (you're in the UK, right?)
Good luck either way!
Jonathan.
As far as socializing, well, that's a personal preference. I kind of find it funny that so many people worry about that aspect. How do you think stay at home parents entertain themselves? You can get your socializing other ways. Joining groups, volunteering, church going even if you even slightly religious.
when you have six months "pay" saved up and a significant portion of your debt paid off.
I think that's good advice hannah. I would add "at least" in the appropriate place though.
Internet business can be very very fickle.
TJ
I do.
>...work full time in my job, and run the website as a sideline
Same here (until one year ago).
> I'm wondering, when it makes sense to leave your job and take on the website full time.
Simple. When you feel that it will sustain you. By knowing if your product is seasonal or fairly regular, this will help make the decision. Don't forget: If you work on your site and packing and posting FULL-TIME, SALES WILL IMPROVE. Customers will probably get goods faster, it is easier to be in when deliveries arrive and customers get a better first impression and are more likely to return.
> I don't want to become some recluse who sits at home, answering the phone...
You will become a recluse. The Post Office is not a social life! You need to ensure that you get out on weekends. But perhaps you could follow my lead again - plan to take on an employee or a few. It costs money, but there will be people (that you know) who are capable of working one day a week. Maybe you can save up non-urgent jobs for them over the week (accounts for example). That gives you even more time to get products packed and can therefore process more sales - hopefully enough more to pay their wages!
>...when you made the plunge and what its like.
I made the plunge a year ago - I would not go back to working for someone else if I can ever help it!
A further note - the internet can cause ecommerce problems and fears: imagine being dropped from Google, could you cope? You need to have a variety of advertising opportunities that are working BEFORE you make the jump. You need to know that the sales will continue should one advertising method that worked, suddenly begins to fail.
The thing is, why don't you try looking at it more as a business? If you're worried about spending all your time at home with the computer, consider in what ways you could expand it into the rest of the world. Before I was injured and forced to shift my business entirely to internet/mail order, we would sell at shows and events. Other business types expand in very different ways, of course. However, I'd think only the most webcentric of them might not be able to come up with ways to utilize their current knowledge and resources to expand beyond the computer.
It's just one way to look at it, but I've always built my business around my own needs and interests.
