Leaving Your W2 Job to Pursue RE Full Time

[Account Closed]

Hey Guys. Long time lurker, first time poster. This is defiantly going to vary from person to person, but when did you all feel it was the right time to pursue real estate investing full time, and leave your salaried job income behind? Just looking for some insight on how others have approached it. 

[Ronan Donnelly]

Hi @Account Closed, I recently left full time W2 employment to focus on real estate full time so with that for context, here are some thoughts to share:

1) Recognize that any issues that you might have with 9-5 employment are likely down to you. You will need to do some soul searching to understand how you can recognize what you need to focus on in order to succeed in your next role

2) You should plan to invest a lot of time up front on understanding your "Why?" and only when you understand this should you map it to a strategy that is in line with your unique skills and motivations

3) You will need discipline and an execution plan - being your own boss is great but you also need to figure out how to be your own best employee

4) Define a plan and set interim milestones - being an entrepreneur can be a lonely profession and success is not a straight line so plan for getting yourself some small wins and maintain a long term perspective to help get you past short term challenges.

5) Understand what constraints leaving full time employment will eliminate e.g. more time to focus on real estate, and what constraints it will introduce e.g. less income and ability to get credit

6) Understand that you will need a team to succeed so make sure that the people in your life on whom you depend on for support are fully behind you

Here is an article that I wrote that might be of additional help - https://www.biggerpockets.com/member-blogs/11782/88425-want-success-here-are-ten-things-you-must-give-up

Good luck, going on your own has got enormous upside potential but it is not pain free.