If you are a yachtie and haven’t said you are leaving yachting FOR GOOD at least three times, are you even a yachtie…?
We all know by now the amazing lifestyle that the yachting industry allows us to have during our time working on boats.
And we also know that going land based after experiencing THAT lifestyle, is not easy, to say the least.
It is actually one of the most difficult decisions that you will probably have to face in your life.
Obviously, depending on:
- Where you come from
- The possibilities that exist in your country jobs wise
- The salaries
- The cost of living
As well as many other crucial factors, you will relate to this post on different levels.
As I always say, all of my posts are based on my personal experience, and the context in which I live.
I don’t think I have ever met a yachtie that told me that he/she would be happy leaving yachting to have a “normal job”.
Monday to Friday, 09:00 – 17:00 kind of thing…
At least for me, the only thought of being stuck in one place for the whole year, working for an average salary, doing the same exact thing every single day of my life gives me goosebumps.
Literally.
So, if you want to leave yachting, but you do not want a “normal job”, what’s the option then?
Porbably, the first thing that comes to your mind is setting your own business up.
Which, for me, was THE ONLY option.
I have never even contemplated to leave yachting to go look for a “normal job”.
Just, NO.
However, I was not up for investing all of my hard earned savings on a business that required a large initial investment.
I have always tended to be a bit conservative with my money.
Taking huge risks is not my thing.
It took me many years to get to a comfortable financial position.
Working endless hours, sacrificing my health in many ocassions, and I am just not willing to jeopardise that.
Therefore, if you do want to set your own business, but you are not willing (or are not in a financial position) to make a huge initial investment, what are your options then?
Most people would think about an online business.
At least, I did.
As many of you know, I have been running www.starfishcrew.com since November 2016.
Not going to lie: I have had my ups and downs.
However, overall, I feel incredibly fortunate for being able to support myself through something I created.
All by myself.
Knowing absolutely NOTHING about online businesses.
So hopefully this posts helps!
MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT ONLINE BUSINESSES:
IT DOESN’T COST YOU ANYTHING:
If you know about a business that has 0 expenses, please let me know.
Even if you are offering services, not products, you will ALWAYS have to invest a bit of money.
Especially at the beginning.
Setting an online business up means that you will need AT LEAST a website.
If, like me, you are not able to create a professional website by yourself, you will need a web designer.
And let me tell you: THEY ARE NOT CHEAP.
This is just the very basic.
Counting on you not to have to buy any other equiment to create the content you are planning on selling…
Aside from this initial investment, which, let’s face it, you will have to make, like it or not, you need to count on all the monthly expenses that you will have.
Because you will.
Just to keep your business running, you will need to pay for things like:
- Annual hosting
- Mailing platforms (let’s say Mailchimp) monthly fees
And many other expenses that did not even occur to me while I was starting to create my online business.
If you are not computer savy, and need to hire somebody everytime you want to change something in your web, add that to the list too.
As of today, 1st of October, my business expenses for 2020 have been 3,600 pounds.
And this year I haven’t had any big expense on equimpent, web design, or anything like that.
I have just had to pay for general little monthly expenses that end up adding up.
Obvioulsy, every business is different, so your monthly expenses may be close to 0, or may be much highler than mine.
But my objective with this post is giving you a real example of what running an actual online business looks like.
I just wish I had found something like this when I was completely lost trying to figure everything out by myself…
IT GIVES YOU TOTAL FREEDOM:
This depends on what you see as “freedom”.
Yeah, sure, you can take your laptop with you and work from anywhere.
If you do want to work.
If you do not want to work, you don’t have to, obviously.
You are your own boss. Which is amazing.
However, if you do not work, you do not get paid.
Since I started in November 2016, it’s safe to say that I have not taken a whole holiday without doing any work.
None.
Not even during my honeymoon.
When you work for yourself, and you know that if you do not reply to a certain email, that potential client might be lost, you will probably end up replying to that email.
Whatever the time of the day.
Almost on a daily basis I find myself working until VERY LATE at night.
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday…
I just do, which I know is very bad.
But, if I need to reply to an email at 22:00 to help a client complete his payment, I will.
Online business or not, when you are your own boss, you always feel this “pressure”, not knowing how that month is going to go finantially.
So:
- You either have to have multiple sources of income
- Savings to back you up just in case
- Or be 100% sure that you will be able to make enough money to support yourself and pay the high monthly bills that everyone with a “normal life” has.
To be completely honest with you, this is something I truly struggle with.
Despite being in a comfortable financial position aside from my online business, I have always tried to cover all my expenses with the money that www.starfishcrew.com generates.
Without having to use my savings, or my other income sources.
I am quite strict with myself on this point.
The first day of every month, I always feel this huge cloud of uncertainty over my head, wondering how that month will go, if it will cover my expenses and if I will be able to save any money for my next luxury handbag purchase 😉
PASSIVE INCOME:
The idea that you will set your business up and it will just run itself, providing you with an amazing passive income is just not true.
At least, in my experience.
I just don’t even think that “passive income” exists.
An online business is HARD WORK.
If you are not willing to:
- Spend endless hours in front of your computer
- Invest on mail marketing, design, SEO etc etc courses
This might not be for you.
LOTS OF MONEY:
I am sure there are tons of 7 figures online businesses out there.
It’s just not my case, unfortunately…
In my experience, an online business requires time before it starts making enough money for you to start thinking about it as a “real” source of income.
You will have:
- Great months: when you will feel like a rockstar
- Average months: when you will feel like your business is in a bit of a slump
- And bad months: when you will literally want to quit
And you have to be prepared for it.
But, in my experience, making money online is not that easy.
I told you on Instagram that I would be completely transparent on this post, so here it is.
I am writing this post on the 1st of October, just after doing my accounts for the past month.
In September, I earned 4,001.26 pounds through www.starfishcrew.com
CAN YOU REALLY LIVE FROM AN ONLINE BUSINESS?
That’s entirely up to you, and your circumstances, to decide.
Could you live with 4.000 pounds where you are from?
If I lived in an expensive city like London, for example, I do not think that 4.000 pounds would be enough for me to live the way I like to live, in all honesty.
However, I live in Spain.
An “average” salary here won’t be over 1.500 euros.
If you earn 2.000 euros a month, you are doing really well.
The cost of living in Galicia, where we live, is close to nothing if you compare it with other places.
Here, with 1.000 euros a month you can actually pay a mortgage and enjoy a few meals out every month without having to worry much about money.
Therefore, the income www.starfishcrew.com generates is more than enough to support myself.
But, again, that’s just my reality.
You will need to calculate how much money you will need a month to live comfortably wherever it is you want to relocate when you quit yachting.
WHERE TO START:
Just, START.
Believe me, I know the feeling.
However, most of the times we don’t start things that we want to do because we overthink them to much.
Just, start! One thing at a time.
And before you know it, you will have all the basics covered.
I say this quote the other day that really resonate with me:
“What if it were easy”
Just think about what you would be doing (in this case, business wise) if it was easy.
I know very well what I would be doing. If I achieve it, or not, only time will tell 😉
WHEN TO GIVE UP:
I see myself as quite a stubborn and persistent person.
If there is something that I really want, I won’t be giving up that easily.
Having your own business will mean that you most likely will want to give up 1.000 times.
Specially for us, that know that we can just get another job on a yacht quite easily.
Continue getting a great salary for it, and not worrying about all of the “real life struggles”.
I am all up for fighting for your dreams and try to make them work.
In fact, I have myself wanted to quit www.starfishcrew.com a million times, but I never have.
Because when I put in a balance the satisfactions that it gives me, with the struggles, the positives always win.
However, I do believe there are times where you need to accept the reality, and give that initial idea that you haven’t been able to make work up.
Not saying TO QUIT, just re think your business idea if it’s gotten to a point where you have been trying for months and it just hasn’t worked.
There is obvioulsy a reason why it is not working.
- Re-think your niche
- Target a different audience
- Maybe invest on a professional to help your design a business strategy
- Re-define your short and long-term objectives
There are a million of things that could be stopping your business to work.
The sooner you face them, the sooner you will make it work.
And this will be me for today!
Thank you so much for reading.
Say “hi” on Instagram!
Also, I would be delighted to have you with us on the Crew Library.
If you haven’t checked it out yet, what are you waiting for?!
It’s the most amazing platform to get mentored by some of the most recognised industry professionals.
Reader Interactions