anyone successfully escape the 9 to 5 life?

[covance]

Anyone ever sell cars on the side? I remember this one Youtuber (stradman) who had a lambo at 26 years old saying that is how he made the monthly payments. buying cars off craigslist, cleaning them up and marketing them better, then selling them back on craigslist for more.

[bee-jay]

My brother got out of the 8-5 architecture thing and bought a Market/Store. Now he works 80 hours a week and we never get to do the things we used to do together.
8-5 can be a drag sometimes, but I'm salary and can come and go as I please. more or less. In reality I rarely do 40 hrs. I Get health ins, bennies, 5 weeks vaca. Hard to beat sometimes

I also help run a Animal Shelter at board level (volunteer) so I'm ducking out for a few hours here and there during the day, upon occasion.
fortunately the Owners are very supportive.


But I often wish I could drop the 8-5 thing too. The tech world is burning me out.
but retirements not far off.....

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by covance

Anyone ever sell cars on the side? I remember this one Youtuber (stradman) who had a lambo at 26 years old saying that is how he made the monthly payments. buying cars off craigslist, cleaning them up and marketing them better, then selling them back on craigslist for more.

Not going to say it is impossible but it certainly is improbable. If this was a viable way to make money then every used car dealer in the country would be a multi millionaire. They aren't.
If it seems too easy to be real it probably is. Skip the get rich quick schemes. They usually end up costing you more money than you save.

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by covance

anyone successfully escape the 9 to 5 life office drone life for something else? this could mean switching to a drastically different career that went well, starting a business that took off, etc. just looking for stories from people's own experiences

Yes, I did - I retired -

Regardless of what career path you choose, if you are married and have a family, I strongly recommend that either you or your spouse, maintain a steady (read 8-5) job to somewhat stabilize your income stream.


humfrz

[covance]

Yea I have been good about avoiding get rich schemes. I have put a lot of effort into different ecommerce things, but figure with the amount of effort I am putting into moving things that make me maybe $5-$10 sale I might as well put that same effort into things that make $500-$1000 / sale (what I have heard is the margin for cars bought at auction that sell retail in the $4,000-$6,000 range)

[covance]

Originally Posted by humfrz

Yes, I did - I retired -

Regardless of what career path you choose, if you are married and have a family, I strongly recommend that either you or your spouse, maintain a steady (read 8-5) job to somewhat stabilize your income stream.


humfrz

this is the plan my wife and I have if I can figure out something viable to try that makes real progress - she would be the steady income.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by covance

Yea I have been good about avoiding get rich schemes. I have put a lot of effort into different ecommerce things, but figure with the amount of effort I am putting into moving things that make me maybe $5-$10 sale I might as well put that same effort into things that make $500-$1000 / sale (what I have heard is the margin for cars bought at auction that sell retail in the $4,000-$6,000 range)

Any profit you can make moving a car for $500 - $1,000 margin can be eaten up in just one bad buy. You get one you can't move for a few months or one that sucks up too much money in repairs and the profit is gone. Think it trough. If a car is worth $1,000 more just because you cleaned it up a bit why didn't it sell at the lower price and somebody just clean it up? Flipping cars can be a loss in a hurry. Used car dealerships go out of business every day because somebody thought that it would be an easy way to make money.

[shiumai]

I think it takes a certain personality to be an entrepreneur/business owner. I'm a better employee than my own boss, so I like the M-F, 5am-2:30pm routine I've had for the past 26 years. I show up to work, do my work, have a 401k, pension, health benefits, and don't have to worry about drumming up business. Less stress for me than if I were out on my own. My wife is a consultant, and only brings in what she goes after. A lot more flexibility in schedule, but can also be more stressful.

[HaXx]

6:30 to 3:30 crew checking in. Cutting down trees, paid hourly. Mon-sat. Go on vaca whenever! Last year went dirtbiking in Greece for a week for the hell of it. Wouldn't change a thing. Single life baby! \m/

[Takumi788]

I usually work 7-3:30. But most days i am in early and out late. Does that count?

I used to flip craigslist cars on the side. I would go through the 5 I can legally title a year without being a dealer. It's kinda fun when all you do is fix some minor thing, detail and flip it for 500 but they aren't all that way and people are incredibly annoying to deal with. I couldn't imagine doing it full time. Don't forget, its the boring sedans and crossovers that make the money. Not fun cars. Lesson learned.

[covance]

I should clarify the $500-$1,000 margin I heard from someone who has a auction license - so they buy cars at auction then sell. I don't think they do much in the way of repairs.

The craigslist buy/clean/sell I don't know what the margin is supposed to be there.

Yea Maryland only lets you do 3 a year without being a registered dealer

[TommyW]

I've never had a structured job. Started a business at 16 and never looked back. There are always pro's and con's with your own business however I could never see myself taking orders from someone else. The corporate world just seems so soul destroying.

[Trust86]

Normal working day for me 07:30 to 15:30, field tech. But right now I’m in charge of a certain place that I can go in whenever I want. As long as I log my 8 hours in that day. Usually try to start my day before 0700. I like it though, won’t be here forever but the freedom is nice, basically my own boss. Don’t have to work with anyone but myself and that’s my dream job lol. Oh well, I’ll enjoy it while it lasts.

[Gunman]

I was in the aerospace industry for awhile, pretty standard 8 hour days, and I got paid for OT when it was available, but it was a job. Got into the racing industry, I work 9-10 hours a day, with no paid OT, and I'm a lot happier.