When To Go Full Time With Your Blog And Influencer Business

Have you been dedicating your evenings and weekends to building your blog and influencer business? Maybe you’ve even started to see some income from it. But at what point should you take the plunge and turn your side hustle into a full-time blogging career?

I personally made the switch back in 2015. I was working a day job while putting in the work for my blog (an indigo day) and The Blog Societies on nights and weekends. It was A LOT. But I loved it. However, there was a breaking point. And it was time to think about leaving my day job to pursue this full time.

After evaluating my financial situation, analyzing my blog numbers, and setting a timeline for myself, I was ready to go full time and see how it would go. Since then, my business has grown year over year and I can’t believe we get to call this our full time jobs.

Making the transition can be daunting, but with careful planning and consideration, it’s possible to turn your passion into a sustainable income. And yes, quit your day job! In this post, we’ll explore the factors you should consider before making the leap.

From assessing your financial situation to evaluating your blog’s potential and setting a goal and timeline for success, we’ll take you through the steps to plan for a successful transition from side hustle to full time influencing.

When To Go Full Time With Your Blog And Influencer Business

We’ll dive into each topic you should assess before making the switch. But I think it’s important to realize WHAT is happening that may make you think it’s time to quit your day job and go full time influencer mode. I think there are TWO major factors of when you may know WHEN it’s time.

• When you start saying no to partnerships because you don’t have the time to handle them due to your day job
• When your blog is starting to pay for your main living expenses. Since you’ll of course earn more when you can focus more time on the business, this is a good baseline. If it can pretty much pay most of your bills, it could be time.
• When you are starting to make more money from your blog than your day job

This is personal, if you can do your day job and your blog and earn dual income, great! This can really set you up for financial success until you’re ready to go full time. I would encourage you to try to do this as long as possible especially as we dive into the tips below.

But there usually is some sort of breaking point. Like having to say no to partnerships, or starting to lose any free time you may have. We want a good work/life balance and if you’re being pulled in too many directions and things are starting to fall to the wayside, it may be time.

From Side Hustle to Full-Time: When to Make the Transition with Your Blog

Assess Your Financial Situation

Before you put in your resignation, you have to sit down and assess your financial situation. You need to make sure that you have the financial means to support yourself once you say goodbye to your salary. This includes looking at your current income from your blog, any potential income streams, and your overall budget.

Understanding your financial situation will help you determine if you’re ready to make the leap or if you need to wait a bit longer. After all, you don’t want to put yourself in a precarious financial position that creates added stress. Because trust me, running your own business is stressful enough on its own.

Have An Emergency Fund

The number one thing I can suggest to make sure you feel more confident in this big life change is to have an emergency fund. Set aside 3 months of essential costs (think rent, utilities, groceries) so that you have a buffer. This is a general rule of thumb for everyone, but even more so important when quitting your day job to pursue influencing full time.

Consider A Part Time Job

Something that I did in the interim of quitting my job and seeing my blog grow to its full potential, was getting a part time job. I worked at a bar on the weekends to support myself just in case things didn’t work out. It didn’t really cut into the time I spent on my blog which was important to me. The great thing about doing this is it allowed me to feel more confident financially in making this big decision.

As influencers, you may want to try getting a part time job somewhere that can actually HELP your business. If you’re a beauty blogger, try getting a job at Sephora where you have access to a store discount and new products. If you’re a fashion blogger, maybe a job at a department store could actually help your business!

Don’t overlook a part time job just because you think you’re too good for it now. It is also a really nice way to still have co-workers which you will quickly learn as an influencer, is something you will likely miss now that you’re working for yourself.

Evaluate Your Blog’s Earning Potential

Before making the transition from side hustle to full-time blogger, it’s important to evaluate your blog’s potential. This means taking a critical look at your content, audience, and overall reach.

Ask yourself: Is your blog providing value to your readers? Are you consistently producing high-quality content? Are you actively growing your social media presence and engaging with your audience? These factors will all play a role in determining whether or not your blog has the potential to sustain a full-time career.

Evaluate Your Blog’s Current Income

First, you’ll want to evaluate your blog and influencer businesses’ current income. It’s safe to say, when you go full time blogger mode, you’ll have more time to focus on the business which by default, will make you more money. That’s a safe assumption we can make. It can just take time though, hence why we suggest a bit of an emergency fund and a possible part time job.

You’ll want to evaluate what you currently are earning each month with your blog. Take a look at the past few months and years and see what you’re averaging each month. Have you finally hit a point where your blog income is starting to pay for your living expenses? Is it finally starting to creep up and meet your salary income? This is when you know it’s time to quit your job.

Sure if you can maintain both your day job and side hustle, great! The longer you can sustain them both the better. But if you’re starting to feel like you’re drowning and you’re having to say no to partnerships because of your day job, that’s when you know it’s time!

When I knew it was time to quit my day job…

I knew it was time to quit my day job when I was asked to start traveling 3 weeks out of the month versus my usual 3-5 days. This amount of travel was going to impact my blog business where I wouldn’t be able to work on my side hustle on nights and weekends like I want to. And I’d have to start saying no to partnerships because I wouldn’t be home to work on them.

With that, and assessing my financial situation, and having a part-time job, I knew it was time to put in my resignation.

Are You Utilizing ALL Income Streams For Your Influencer Business?

Additionally, it’s important to evaluate all potential income streams. If you’re only focusing on one stream of revenue, it’s time to diversify. There will be slow months and it’s important to not rely on just one platform and one revenue stream.

Make sure you are setting yourself up for success by focusing on ALL income streams like affiliate revenue, sponsored content, ad revenue and maybe even selling a digital product. And also focusing on other platforms, not just Instagram.

Make sure your blog is set up as this can really be a great source of revenue in addition to social media. If you are exclusively working on Instagram and nothing else, you better get a website and newsletter off the ground if you want to sustain a career.

When thinking about transitioning your blog from a side hustle to a full-time career, it’s essential to consider your personal goals. What do you want to achieve with your blog? Is it financial stability, creative fulfillment, or a combination of both? It’s important to have a clear understanding of your goals and what you want to get out of your blogging career.

Once you have a clear idea of your personal goals, you can start to plan how to achieve them. This may involve setting specific income targets, establishing a content strategy, or identifying opportunities for growth and expansion. By planning for the transition, you can ensure that you have a solid foundation for your full-time blogging and influencing career and can avoid potential pitfalls along the way.

Planning for the transition involves more than just financial considerations. It’s essential to prepare yourself mentally and emotionally for the shift. This may involve developing a routine, setting boundaries, or finding sources of support to help you stay focused and motivated.

Plan For Your Transition

Planning for the transition from a side hustle to a full-time blogger requires careful consideration and preparation. One of the most important aspects of this planning is anticipating the mental and emotional challenges that come with making such a big change in your life.

Set Up Systems For Your Business

This may be something you work on as you quit your day job, but if you don’t have systems set up for your business, now’s the time. Creating systems really just means having a method to the madness of blogging.

We don’t want you quitting your day job and not knowing what to do with all this free time. Make sure your blog has systems set up like what to do when you write a blog post (both during, and after it goes live), what’s your system for your newsletter and what is your affiliate strategy. Having all of this set up and ready to go will help you to develop a routine, and also create a more successful business.

Plus, if you’re ready to start hiring some help once you go full-time and realize things are going GREAT, your systems are in place so you can easily pass off tasks with ease.

Develop A Routine

Developing a routine is a crucial step in preparing for the transition. When you’re working for yourself, it can be easy to let your work bleed into your personal life. Setting clear boundaries for when and where you will work can help you maintain a healthy work-life balance. It can also help you stay on track and avoid burnout.

I’d suggest creating a workspace that you work at. And setting up your Asana tasks to keep you moving the ball forward. These things will positively affect your business at the end of the day.

Set A Goal And A Timeline For Success

I think it’s important to set a goal for yourself to try out full-time blogging. I gave myself six months to see if it was worth it. If I wasn’t earning as much or more than my day job by the 6-month mark, then I told myself I’d find a day job again.

A financial goal and timeline are important to make sure you are evaluating the success of this transition. How will you know if it’s worthwhile if you’re not keeping track and having a goal in mind? Put it on your calendar for 6 months to evaluate the business and see where you are.

Join A Community Of Bloggers

Another important aspect of planning for the transition is finding sources of support. Being a full-time blogger can be a lonely endeavor, but it doesn’t have to be. Building a community of fellow bloggers and other creatives can help you stay motivated and connected.

Above all, it’s important to set realistic goals and expectations for yourself. Making the transition to full-time blogging and influencing is a big undertaking, and it’s unlikely that everything will go perfectly according to plan. But by being prepared and focusing on your vision, you can set yourself up for success.

So, now you know when to go full time with your blog. When the time is right, take action and start turning your vision into reality. With careful planning and a strong support system, you can successfully transition from a side hustle to a full-time blogger and influencer.