Another 'Quit the Day Job' Scenario

[Heartlander]

A friend of mine that dabbles with Adsense on his multitude of websites let me know that he is about to get somewhere in the vicinity of half a million smackers from a family member that did very well for reasons not important here.
This friend works as a laborer with outstanding union medical insurance and a decent wage around $30 an hour.
Naturally, he is not enthused about doing this kind of work for the rest of his working life. Hates his job, but the wife and 3 kids need to eat and these jobs are hard to come by.
His websites don't currently make any revenue to boast about- but he is seriously considering the option of quitting his day job and focusing hard on his sites, while creating more.

What advice would you give him?

[LisaWeber]

I would definitely quit in that scenario. I would invest a portion of the money, and then make up a budget where if I'm not making x amount of money in x amount of time, I'll go back to work. In the meantime, live on the rest of the money. Even if he couldn't make it work he could still come out ahead. If he could make it work he's way, way ahead.

[Heartlander]

Well here's something that he's been chewing on-
whether to pursue something in the "online work at home" scenario, or a brick and mortar type endeavor.
He is looking for a home, as he recently sold his- so we should assume that will take half of the money- a fine investment, but one that will always be on paper as one moves from home to home.
What kind of further investments would be smart other than that if he decides to hang his hat on Google for his shot?
It is an interesting problem to have!

[edited by: Heartlander at 9:09 pm (utc) on April 10, 2006]

[Opera14]

If I was in his place, unless I was 110% confident of making a living out of Adsense I would not quit my job, because family comes first, and if you screw it up it won't be just you suffering, it would be your family too.

[jomaxx]

Sounds like it would be quite foolhardy, given that he only dabbles in this business and has no track record of success.

My guess would be that most people who successfully make this transition work the equivalent of TWO jobs for a period of time until it's clear they are onto a winning idea.

[Rosalind]

Something that I have found is that success often has something to do with having a series of lucky breaks. Of course the more you study the market, the luckier you get.

But you also need, first of all, to get lucky by finding a profitable niche or three. Then you need to get exposure through some cheap publicity, and again this can be a lottery. Thirdly, you need the good fortune of riding on the crest of an idea that becomes popular for a time. We all know how search phrases can go in and out of fashion according to the news headlines.

Your friend should be careful, perhaps working part-time for a while, or taking just a month or two off from his regular job, before really committing himself.

[Heartlander]

Of course the more you study the market, the luckier you get.

Very wise words indeed.
Haven't we all found that reading until our eyes bleed sometimes pays off at the most unexpected moments?
I've been driving down the road, and would have a sudden brainstorm. Perhaps subconciously something is said on the radio that triggers our memory of something we read?
Who knows.

Catching lightning in a bottle happens sometimes.
Of course hard work hastens the process. ; )

[LisaWeber]

Wow, if a person can't take a chance on themself when they have half a million to fall back on .. then when can they?

[BigDave]

Wow, if a person can't take a chance on themself when they have half a million to fall back on .. then when can they?

A half million isn't a whole lot of money, unless you are smart about it.

If you think you have half a million to fall back on, you won't have half a million for long. A half a million invested wisely gives you $25K/year to spend while allowing your capital to grow. Anything beyond that $25K that you spend or use to "fall back on" is stealing from your future.

If you had a windfall of half a million, wouldn't it be tempting to go out and buy a few of those toys you've always wanted? Because, after all, you have half a million dollars. It is hard to live on a budget when you think of that money as accessible. Trust me on this, I've done it and I regret it.

The best use of that half million would be to use it as a reason to put more effort into his sites. $25k/year is a big portion of the way towards that 60k that he is making now. Prove to himself that he can do what it takes to start bringing in a decent amount, then quit the job, because he is still about $35k short if he doesn't want to dip into the capital. Not to mention insurance costs for the whole family, ya gotta take that into account as well.

[Jane_Doe]

Wow, if a person can't take a chance on themself when they have half a million to fall back on .. then when can they?

I'd normally agree with this if he had sites that were making at least some kind of income, but not everyone succeeds in this field. If he isn't even making a part time income and has been working on his sites at least a few hours a week, that's not a great sign that that making a living from Adsense is going to work out for him.

None of my friends who had big plans for web sites ever made a nickel. They got bored, lost interest and quit long before they made any money.

[txbakers]

Does the guy know ANYTHING about websites? Or will he have to hire everything out.

I'm so sick of people thinking the web is a get rich quick place.

Keep his job, or go part time while LEARNING something else to do.