I'd love for you to explore the top item on this hierarchy further (replacing salary). While it makes sense to put in place revenue levers that you're confident you can scale with more time, the idea of matching one's salary seems more like one of the BS milestones/gates you describe in the rest of the post. Matching salary before one has left their job seems highly unlikely - so how much is "enough"?
Great point, Justin! I honestly struggled with that part of the framework the most when I was putting this together. I started with putting %s in there (50-70% of salary replaced) but when I really think about it comes down to two things.
1. Having momentum on the income side (so anything more than $0 coming in). This is just as much psychological as it is about the actual dollars, knowing you're making money can reduce some of the stress involved.
2. Having enough income to cover your base costs every month. I was an over-saver for years and my Aha moment was realizing that I had saved enough and had enough side-income to break even every month.
I'll definitely spend more time on this one in the future. Really appreciate you taking the time to read this and leave a thoughtful comment.
Great post, Nick.
I'd love for you to explore the top item on this hierarchy further (replacing salary). While it makes sense to put in place revenue levers that you're confident you can scale with more time, the idea of matching one's salary seems more like one of the BS milestones/gates you describe in the rest of the post. Matching salary before one has left their job seems highly unlikely - so how much is "enough"?
Great point, Justin! I honestly struggled with that part of the framework the most when I was putting this together. I started with putting %s in there (50-70% of salary replaced) but when I really think about it comes down to two things.
1. Having momentum on the income side (so anything more than $0 coming in). This is just as much psychological as it is about the actual dollars, knowing you're making money can reduce some of the stress involved.
2. Having enough income to cover your base costs every month. I was an over-saver for years and my Aha moment was realizing that I had saved enough and had enough side-income to break even every month.
I'll definitely spend more time on this one in the future. Really appreciate you taking the time to read this and leave a thoughtful comment.