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Who quit a good-paying Slowlane job and is now a Fastlaner?

Vigilante

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By the way, use your industry expertise.

I have had several short term consulting gigs. All of them came to me from LinkedIn. Some as short as a few hours worth of research and interviews with analysts.

And, last year, I had some side consulting money that paid me nearly six figures (not bad for a side gig with very little time investment).

I just sent out this morning a proposal to a company that asked for it. If all goes well, it will bring in $200k+ over the next 12 months. On the side.

The criteria for these gigs are that they are buying expertise, not time. I'll agree to specific deliverable, but not specific hours. My time is not for sale. My expertise is.

Point being, this doesn't have to be an ALL OR NOTHING game. You should be able to cash in on what you know.

If I were a former FBI guy, I would do security consulting.

If I were a former HR executive, I would do company restructuring consulting.

If I were an MBA, I would do business strategy stuff.

If I were a former accountant, I would straighten out people's hard core IRS tax issues for huge premiums.

Milk it while you can, as the more separation there is between you and the corporate world, the less valuable or relevant your skill set is.
 
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MJ DeMarco

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I joined this forum a long time ago. But it took a couple years of hanging out here, and quite a few years prior to arriving here, before I stopped being a wantrepreneur.

I took the plunge and quit my day job and started my business at about the same time. Sink or swim. It was quite liberating.

My day job was one that would have paid North of 100k/yr within 1-2 more years. The job itself had a lot of enjoyable moments, and I do miss it from time to time. But I've never regretted the decision to jump.

I've had a lot of ups and downs in the years since. But things are growing strong. And with our projections for this year, we'll overtake some of our largest competitors.

We're in a very capital intensive business, but have never had to take on any investors. My wife and I are sole owners. And we became self-made millionaires at 28.

From the book, I have a number in mind that I'm trying to hit. It's 8 figures. While we won't have that net worth for probably a few more years, if we hit our projections this year, we will have an asset that produces the same income as my number would at a 5% return.

If we hit that goal this year, I'll write a more in depth storey about my journey for the benefit of those here.

I've now worked for myself since 2010, when I was 24 years old.

Wow, congrats man. I've featured your post to randomize on the front page. Awesome sauce!
 

Justin Gesso

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I joined this forum a long time ago. But it took a couple years of hanging out here, and quite a few years prior to arriving here, before I stopped being a wa My wife and I are sole owners. And we became self-made millionaires at 28.

From the book, I have a number in mind that I'm trying to hit. It's 8 figures.

Outstanding. Great stuff!
 

SparksCW

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OK well this happened yesterday so I guess I've just quit a well paying slow lane job to go fast lane. Something I had wanted to do for years but never actually done it until I read TMFL, joined the forum and realised that this is the life I want to lead, successful or not.

Hopefully my story will be as successful as the original posters!

Sink or swim!
 
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GPM

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The FREEDOM DATE is the date where your passive income exceeds your regular income

Wow, that is powerful! That really clicked with me.

I make too much money in my normal job, so I am adjusting that to "when I make half as much passively than what I make now" is when I quit. There are layoffs going on right now and I actually want to try and volunteer for one if I can. If I can be packaged off with a pro-rated bonus for what I have worked for the year, and 3-5 months salary, I will do that.

I don't know how to volunteer to be packaged off when they are laying people off, but if anyone has advice in this please let me know!!!
 

SteveO

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Wow, that is powerful! That really clicked with me.

I make too much money in my normal job, so I am adjusting that to "when I make half as much passively than what I make now" is when I quit. There are layoffs going on right now and I actually want to try and volunteer for one if I can. If I can be packaged off with a pro-rated bonus for what I have worked for the year, and 3-5 months salary, I will do that.

I don't know how to volunteer to be packaged off when they are laying people off, but if anyone has advice in this please let me know!!!
Another way to look at it is to quit when your income meets your needs to live. We sold our beach house and moved to Arizona to give us the freedom.

I waited for a while and talked to superiors to try and get a package to leave. Didn't get one though. They began offering them shortly after I quit. Oh well. Did not need it anyway.
 

xmartel

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Wow, congrats man. I've featured your post to randomize on the front page. Awesome sauce!

Thanks MJ. Appreciate it.

Was wondering what happened. My alerts suddenly blew up for this thread.


By the way, use your industry expertise.

I have had several short term consulting gigs. All of them came to me from LinkedIn. Some as short as a few hours worth of research and interviews with analysts.

And, last year, I had some side consulting money that paid me nearly six figures (not bad for a side gig with very little time investment).

I just sent out this morning a proposal to a company that asked for it. If all goes well, it will bring in $200k+ over the next 12 months. On the side.

The criteria for these gigs are that they are buying expertise, not time. I'll agree to specific deliverable, but not specific hours. My time is not for sale. My expertise is.

Point being, this doesn't have to be an ALL OR NOTHING game. You should be able to cash in on what you know.

If I were a former FBI guy, I would do security consulting.

If I were a former HR executive, I would do company restructuring consulting.

If I were an MBA, I would do business strategy stuff.

If I were a former accountant, I would straighten out people's hard core IRS tax issues for huge premiums.

Milk it while you can, as the more separation there is between you and the corporate world, the less valuable or relevant your skill set is.

I joinied LinkedIn a couple months back. Haven't really used it yet. But is there a specific way you go about getting these gigs? A way that you get your name out to those in your industry of expertise that you have wisdom to share with?

I'd imagine it goes beyond just friending people in your industry and waiting for them to view you profile and assuming you can help them?

I'm probably one of the youngest owners in my industry that isn't financed by investors. I'm not sure if I've much to teach, but I'm also beating a lot of the old guys at the game. So maybe I do. Would be a nice side income gig.
 
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GMJimmy

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Very inspiring thread,

I have a good paying job, £100k+ and I only work 3 days a week. I love what I do, no stress, no overhours, etc. So it is just not bad enough to make me quit at the moment. And I have huge responsibilities, I have six children so I am not taking any risks that would put their security in danger.

However I'm somewhere halfway towards fastlane. My wife has not worked in the past 8 years. I am making some side businesses, nowhere near my salary yet, but it would be enough to provide a very modest lifestyle in case I quit or lost my job.

About a year ago I have started some online businesses, selling downloadable digital materials. I have sales, but that business is not that excites me too much anymore. I keep it going but I am thinking of scaling and outsourcing most of the activities.

A lot more exciting side income for me is real estates. I am more or less involved in RE since I was about 16 (I'm 35 now), via my stepfather and I still enjoy it, so I take it as a sign. In the past few years I could afford investing more in RE business than before (I used to be dead broke). Also, my salary makes it possible to invest about 1500 pounds monthly, which I am spending mostly on purchases, repairs and refurbishing. I am doing both flipping and long time renting, depending on the opportunity. The good thing with RE is that you are moving larger sums of money at once, instead of dealing with 1-digit sales. I have 6 RE at the moment, 4 of which are fully paid, one has a mortgage ending in 2 years, and another one I am paying monthly to the owner, ending in 3 years. I am buying another plot of land right next to a lake, and I will build a camping site and children's recreation centre there.

Also, I have found a good product (health&beauty), and I have a meeting with the manufacturer soon. I plan to get exclusivity for a few western european countries, then I could plan a robust strategy to grow, instead of being just one distributor amond many others. I have experience in this.

So I still have my job because of the benefits that I can invest that money in my side businesses, and that all other incomes can stay within those businesses instead of buying bread. But I am planning to move to a consultant role that would give me a lot more freedom and money (talking about 10-20k per week), I think I will be ready in a few years, as I need to have a solid track record to have enough clients.

Thank you for the thread!
 

JustAskBenWhy

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So - saw a FB Ad by @Justin Gesso for his book. There was a link to take a quiz - I did. According to Justin's quiz, I am a shitty entrepreneur, should quit RE, should quit IM, should not even think about sundicating apartments, and should instead go get a job...!

Well, crap -- I thought to myself.
Justin, as always, it's all your damn fault...LOL
 
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Last edited:

Justin Gesso

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I was a tax lawyer a big law firm and quit my job after 3 years. In my third year I read more than 20 books like TGR, Anthony Robbins...and took the plunge, once I did it I´ve never looked back

Outstanding. Those books are dangerous. ;-)
 

Justin Gesso

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OK well this happened yesterday so I guess I've just quit a well paying slow lane job to go fast lane. Something I had wanted to do for years but never actually done it until I read TMFL, joined the forum and realised that this is the life I want to lead, successful or not.

Hopefully my story will be as successful as the original posters!

Sink or swim!
This is outstanding! What a cool way to share. Best of luck.
 

Crossroads

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I would love to hear some quick stories from people who left their good-paying Slowlane/corporate/whatever job and became a thoroughbred Fastlaner.

I find these stories very motivating and interesting.

It's tough to leave a solid, consistent, and secure job...especially if you have a family to support. But man, we know what's possible. Many of us dream of doing it. Some of us go for it.

A few examples:
  • @GiroudJD - "Quit my day job as an attorney when I consistently started earning more every single month just by self-publishing." thread
  • @JustAskBenWhy - Left the life of a professional musician and instructor to be in real estate and internet marketing and "jobless for a long while now." intro
  • @oldkevx - Left CMO job to flip a "common service business" on its head.
  • @G_Alexander - Quit 6-figure banking job to launch e-commerce business. thread
  • Me - Left a strong 6-figure telecom strategy, product, and operations role to pursue real estate investing and various internet marketing/ecommerce ventures. Enjoying much more (scalable) income and much easier life now.
So what's your story?!
Wanted to say thanks for asking the question. Very encouraging for a newbie here to read about those who've done it, or are in the process!
 

Justin Gesso

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TDIN

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I left a job that paid me way too much to ride around in helicopters and dodge mortars..not a forever job but a well paying one if I took different contracts with the company.

I'm no thoroughbred but my revenue is approaching my old salary now.
Sounds like me, I did the same, now working back in the states on night shift making close to 6 figures. I go in at 11 pm and get off at 7 am, during the day, I concentrate on building my businesses
 

thiccsucc

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I wouldn't consider it "good" pay but I was on $55k before quitting my 9-5 banking job to open my own cleaning biz (family has lots of exp in this field so it was a no brainer to start off with). Working 18 hours a week I was already making more than the 9-5 on a weekly basis. Started this biz July this year but have slowed down toward the end of the year, I intend to automate the biz in 2017 and move on to a bigger project(s).
 

MJ DeMarco

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Happens often.

Heck, I just got this via Twitter DM not more than 24 hours ago...

screenshot-twitter.com 2017-01-02 11-43-53.png
 
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Bearcorp

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I quit my slowlane career in September to go full time in my fastlane business, I'm not a big contributor here, mainly because the information more experienced members add surpasses what I can contribute, a big thanks to MJ, reading his book and being a member of this forum made me believe it was possible.
 

CPisHere

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By the way, use your industry expertise.

I have had several short term consulting gigs. All of them came to me from LinkedIn. Some as short as a few hours worth of research and interviews with analysts.

And, last year, I had some side consulting money that paid me nearly six figures (not bad for a side gig with very little time investment).

I just sent out this morning a proposal to a company that asked for it. If all goes well, it will bring in $200k+ over the next 12 months. On the side.

The criteria for these gigs are that they are buying expertise, not time. I'll agree to specific deliverable, but not specific hours. My time is not for sale. My expertise is.

Point being, this doesn't have to be an ALL OR NOTHING game. You should be able to cash in on what you know.

If I were a former FBI guy, I would do security consulting.

If I were a former HR executive, I would do company restructuring consulting.

If I were an MBA, I would do business strategy stuff.

If I were a former accountant, I would straighten out people's hard core IRS tax issues for huge premiums.

Milk it while you can, as the more separation there is between you and the corporate world, the less valuable or relevant your skill set is.
@Vigilante, I tried to send you a message but it wouldn't go. I would love to know more about how you get consulting gigs via LinkedIn.

I have improved profitability for my employer by raising utilization rates/implementing pricing initiatives, as well as raised customer service levels. I feel like these are very valuable but have no idea how I would use them to get consulting work. I'd love to hear your input!
 
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CPisHere

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I wouldn't consider it "good" pay but I was on $55k before quitting my 9-5 banking job to open my own cleaning biz (family has lots of exp in this field so it was a no brainer to start off with). Working 18 hours a week I was already making more than the 9-5 on a weekly basis. Started this biz July this year but have slowed down toward the end of the year, I intend to automate the biz in 2017 and move on to a bigger project(s).
What kind of cleaning business?
 

Vigilante

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@Vigilante, I tried to send you a message but it wouldn't go. I would love to know more about how you get consulting gigs via LinkedIn.

I have improved profitability for my employer by raising utilization rates/implementing pricing initiatives, as well as raised customer service levels. I feel like these are very valuable but have no idea how I would use them to get consulting work. I'd love to hear your input!

They find me. For me it is only due to my pedigree of working for the worlds largest retailers. They find me on LinkedIn.
 

GMSI7D

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I would love to hear some quick stories from people who left their good-paying Slowlane/corporate/whatever job and became a thoroughbred Fastlaner.

!


stories are part of numbers

what interests me is the actual numbers. not isolated stories


the news are filled with isolated stories :

the guy who won the lottery, the guy who do this or that.


but the news are not reality of the everyday life







what is the conversion rate of the fastlane philosophy ?


what are the numbers of the dashboard ?





quick calculation :

conversion rate = ( numbers of fastlane milionaires / numbers of readers of MJ DeMarco's books and forum ) X 100


let's say there are 100,000 readers ( forum and books ) . i don't know the number. anyway

let's say there are 1000 millionaires here

(1000 / 100,000 ) X 100 = 1 %


1 % of fastlane millionaires and 99 % of people wishing to reach the summit

the conversion rate is not that interesting


so the main question : how to get that conversion rate to 10 % ?
 
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MrYoshi

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I had an awesome business development role at a huge tech company and it was the definition of a comfy slow lane job. I did very well there but realized how miserable I was after 7 months. I was making around 80k, which is pretty good for a 24-year-old out of college. I also read the Millionaire Fastlane and realized that it's now or never to jump into this. I actually plan on creating a progress thread this weekend to go over everything.
 

BrooklynHustle

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I would love to hear some quick stories from people who left their good-paying Slowlane/corporate/whatever job and became a thoroughbred Fastlaner.

I find these stories very motivating and interesting.

It's tough to leave a solid, consistent, and secure job...especially if you have a family to support. But man, we know what's possible. Many of us dream of doing it. Some of us go for it.

A few examples:
  • @GiroudJD - "Quit my day job as an attorney when I consistently started earning more every single month just by self-publishing." thread
  • @JustAskBenWhy - Left the life of a professional musician and instructor to be in real estate and internet marketing and "jobless for a long while now." intro
  • @oldkevx - Left CMO job to flip a "common service business" on its head.
  • @G_Alexander - Quit 6-figure banking job to launch e-commerce business. thread
  • Me - Left a strong 6-figure telecom strategy, product, and operations role to pursue real estate investing and various internet marketing/ecommerce ventures. Enjoying much more (scalable) income and much easier life now.
So what's your story?!

Left a six figure job at Microsoft in 2013 to pursue the app business. Definitely don't miss a thing.

How Apps Set Me Free From the 9 to 5 (And How the Game has Changed) | HuffPost
 

Jav100

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Left a six figure job at Microsoft in 2013 to pursue the app business. Definitely don't miss a thing.

How Apps Set Me Free From the 9 to 5 (And How the Game has Changed) | HuffPost

Just curios - how much funds did you have in the bank to cover your expenses during the transition?

Or did you work in the app while working. As MSFT?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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GuitarManDan

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I'll be joining this list very shortly!

Background: quitting my 6 figure investment banking job in two weeks and moving from NYC to Arizona to pursue a fastlane venture.

I've been working on my fastlane business for approx. 3 months now and have been putting in hours every single night after work and on weekends.

The work culture is absolutely miserable and when I decided Id had enough, fortunately I stumbled upon MJ's book and the forum here. I am a pretty frugal person so I have a nice safety net as I get started.

The fastlane business is involving personalized coaching for an industry I've been heavily involved with for the last 5-6 years.
 

Raaa

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Not me but I know @458 has

I'm sure there are numerous other members who have left "high paying slow lane jobs" to pursue the fastlane lifestyle.
 

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