One of the CarolRoth.com community members reached out with the following conundrum. It’s one that I have heard many times before:
[Paraphrasing from note & conversation]: I left my job two years ago (it was making me unhappy- I hated the yearly reviews, etc.). I reinvented myself as a writer and expert, which I love, but I am not making enough money to pay my mortgage, support my family obligations, etc. My old company wants to hire me back. My spouse really wants me to go back to work, but I am conflicted because I love my new focus area (making little money aside). What do I do?
Here’s my take: Passions are great, but they don’t pay the bills. If you can’t survive on your current passion (and don’t have enough “runway” or financial bandwidth to take the time to make a profitable business from it) and you don’t want to change your lifestyle, you have to compromise somewhere. Consider going back to work and building your passion-based business on nights and weekends. Or, if the old company makes you cringe, find another position to bring in some income- perhaps a temp job or something with flexibility that allows you to take time to also pursue the passion while bringing in the “Benjamins”. The key is that you need to talk to your spouse and figure out how much income you need to bring in from a day job and how much time you will give to your passion business to see if you can earn an income from it (you need at least six months to two years for a foundation). Then, have the drop dead date and if your passion isn’t cutting it, make it a hobby or a “jobbie”.
Our community member wanted more input, so what would you advise? Please weigh in with your two cents in the comments section below and help me help out one of our own!
