Back when my career took me from being a brick-and-mortar business owner to a wage slave back to being a business owner, I honestly believed that the only way to earn money was to put work first.
This belief led me to miss a lot of my children lives, let me tell you. I was always at work-frequently 7 days a week. Forget about a date night with my wife or tucking the kids into bed. I had to earn money to support my family, and I honestly believed that the only way to do that was to sacrifice being a husband and a father to make it happen.
It’s funny, though, the ways that life will turn around and teach you a lesson. Because after I lost part of one of my legs in a work-related accident, I had to work from home.
Even then, though, I was earning money by working myself into the ground. I just did it from home, but that did mean that I could at least say “Hi!” to my wife and kids on a regular basis.
And then this Great Recession hit. Suddenly that business wasn’t earning money anymore,and I still had to find a way to support my family.
But this time, I knew I was fed up with missing out on family time. And I wanted more time for myself, too.
So instead of jumping at the first opportunity to earn money that I found, I did a little bit of research. I experimented, too. First, I tried traditional network marketing, but that was a bust.
Then my research showed me all the ways that the Internet makes it possible to earn money online. After a lot of reading and talking to people, I chose to open my own online business.
Today, earning money is no longer a problem for me. With my Internet business, I don’t trade my time directly for money anymore.
My website is making money for me 24/7, including when I’m spending time with my family.
Now my family comes first. I go on dates with my wife. I go to my kids’ activities, whether it’s something that happens in the evening or an event in the middle of the day. Today I am my own boss, and I’m earning money my way.
In fact, the ability to work your own hours is one of the biggest advantages an online business has over a brick-and-mortar business. I know: I’ve owned both.
With a brick-and-mortar business, you need to be available when your customers or clients want you to be there. And you don’t just have to earn enough money to support yourself-you’ve got bills ranging from rent to utilities to keep your shop going, too.
But the thing is, I’m already paying my mortgage and utilities to live at home. Why would I want to spend even more money on a business that’s supposed to be supporting me?
With today’s Great Recession you could well be feeling pretty cheated right now. After all the family time you’ve sacrificed, you’ve probably learned the hard way that corporate America doesn’t appreciate you one bit. Your CEO doesn’t care about you or your family-she or he just cares about seeing more money in the next bonus check.
So why should you keep making those sacrifices when you’re not getting anything back? Instead, do what I’m doing-earning money with my own online business. You and your family deserve it.