Was I crazy for giving this thing up? Some would say yes.
But what I want to share in this article is what my reasoning was, my rationale for giving up truly a passive income source. After all, isn’t that what millions of people are trying to have?
I want to share my thought process in this article, in case you may be facing a similar decision.
It’s not an uncommon position to be in. If you’re employed, you may be agonizing over whether or not to take a new job, or even move into a whole new career.
If you’re an entrepreneur, you may be struggling with the decision to cut off one income source in favor of adding another.
What makes it such a tough decision is that you’re voluntarily giving up an income source. That’s almost the very definition of insanity. After all, isn’t adding additional income sources the goal for millions of people?
I guess you can say this falls under the category of being a good problem. Maybe that’s true, but it’s still a problem, if you know what I mean.
This was not an easy decision, and not just from the monetary aspect. This was my career. It was something I had spent over 16 years growing. My financial planning practice was my baby, even my first baby. I started this before I had my first son. For me to walk away – to give it up – was incredibly difficult.
It was a ton of prayer, asking God to let me know if this was the right decision.
Read below to find out more about my journey, or you can check out the audio on the Good Financial Cents podcast here:
My Thought Process on Selling My “Career Baby”
If you’ve ever built a business from the ground up, and enjoyed good success with it, then you know it can be emotionally hard to let go of. But when I moved from Illinois to the Nashville area, I knew it was time for a change. It wasn’t just the geographic move either.
I was developing other income sources that were forcing me to choose where to spend the majority of my time and creative juices.
My first attempt was a partial sale. That was something I tried before we even moved to Nashville. That was followed by an attempted sale to my former partner, which he initially declined.
These early failures at selling the practice didn’t zap the idea from my mind. But since it was a difficult decision from the start, it did make an already complicated process, well, more complicated.
And when things get more complicated, that’s when second-guessing enters the picture. Once again, I began asking myself, is this really the right thing? Is this the best move?
It finally got to a point where I recognized that, yes, this is what I need to do. And even though I knew it, it still wasn’t easy.
So, what was my final reasoning? What was my final rationale for getting rid of this business? There are several reasons, which I’ll break down below.
1. The $400,000 Passive Income Business was a Distraction
That’s definitely weird to say – totally weird. How could making $400,000 a year passively be a distraction?
You have to realize that while I’m running this business – even though I’m running it remotely – I had my online business. And that was thriving.
My online business included Good Financial Cents, my YouTube channel, and also brand deals I was doing as well as sponsorship-type deals. I also had a mastermind group that people were paying to be a part of.
That’s a lot of other things going on. And that’s where the brick-and-mortar business that I spent 16+ years growing was a distraction.
You see, not only were the online business ventures earning me a lot of money, but I really enjoy doing them. They were tapping into what I referred to as my unique ability.
A lot of people spend their entire lives trying to find their unique ability. Once you find it, it’s a real game changer. That’s the point I was at. It was the stuff I was making a ton of money at and just thriving, enjoying every single minute of doing it.
But I no longer had that passion with the with the financial planning practice, and that’s how it became a distraction.
An Example of the Distractions I was Dealing With
One day, I was in the middle of recording a video for the online business, and I got a call that a client had an issue with a check. It was about a $500 check she wanted for a deposit into her checking account. That was an issue my office manager could have easily handled. My client didn’t need me to take care of this, but it was what she was accustomed to.
I had to stop what I was doing and take care of this client’s need, and it totally derailed me. It was a complete interruption of my day.
If you get being creative and creating something – whether you’re working on a project, a video, a podcast, writing a book, or whatever that is – you know that when you get interrupted it’s hard to pick back up where you left off.
Maybe you’re wired differently, but that’s how my brain is wired. I can just remember going to my wife and saying, I know it’s not a big deal, but it just totally derailed me. And my wife at that time finally said, “Wow, I get it, it’s time. It’s time to move on”. I was blown away, maybe because I knew deep inside she was completely right.
Then there’s the Opportunity Cost
Another aspect of the distraction factor was financial. Yes, my brick-and-mortar financial planning practice was humming along, almost passively. But my online ventures were bringing in about three times the revenue the financial planning practice was. It took a lot of effort and concentration to make that happen.
This might be a better example of good problem. Yes, I had the financial planning business up and running, largely on automatic pilot. But my online business was humming – the bigger, better long-term play, you might say. I couldn’t keep having to stop my day to work on a business that’s bringing in so much less.
That was really the big epiphany for me. I knew it was time, time to walk away, so I could pour 100% of my focus into the online business.
That brings us to Reason Number 2…
2. It Was Time
Simply put, it was time to move on. It was time to start focusing on putting more effort into what I was doing online. I enjoy creating content and writing blog posts. I enjoy publishing YouTube videos and podcasts.
And at the end of the day, I knew I was putting out information online that would help people. Hundreds, thousands, maybe even millions of people – I don’t know.
I moved to the Nashville area where I live super close to Dave Ramsey and his brand-new office. Love him or hate him, he has impacted millions of people with his radio show and his book and all his different programs.
I had similar ambitions of wanting to help as many people as I could. And to also make really good money and take care of my family while I’m helping others. That’s such an amazing gift that you can’t really fully comprehend it.
Either way, though, it was time to start focusing more of my online efforts. required minimum distributions and 529 college savings plans. I was in it to win it, and to help my clients win it at the same time.
YouTube channel here:
Sometimes Taking Big Risks Doesn’t = Exponential Growth
I’ve had several different instances in my life where taking a risk didn’t quite work out the way I thought or hoped it would. Translated, Good Financial Cents, and author of the personal finance book Soldier of Finance. He was a financial planner for 16+ years having founded, Alliance Wealth Management, a SEC Registered Investment Advisory firm, before selling it to focus on his passion – educating the masses on the importance of financial freedom through this blog, his podcast, and YouTube channel.
Jeff holds a Bachelors in Science in Finance and minor in Accounting from Southern Illinois University – Carbondale. In addition to his CFP® designation, he also earned the marks of AAMS® – Accredited Asset Management Specialist – and CRPC® – Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor.
While a practicing financial advisor, Jeff was named to Investopedia’s distinguished list of Top 100 advisors (as high as #6) multiple times and CNBC’s Digital Advisory Council.
Jeff is an Iraqi combat veteran and served 9 years in the Army National Guard. His work is regularly featured in Forbes, Business Insider, Inc.com and Entrepreneur.