The walls of our break area were lined with a dull gray fabric, just like each of our cubicles. Government-issued posters and company bulletins were thumbtacked around the room. Sugary sodas and snacks filled the row of vending machines. The sound of ringing phones and office chatter wafted in through the open-concept floor plan. It’s exactly what you would expect from your average mid-western call center.
We had gathered that day to celebrate a coworker’s 40th anniversary at the company. My brain struggled to process that amount of time — 40 years. I had been there for a little over 1 year. My mind wondered, “Could I devote another 39 years of my life to this work?” As those gray modular walls started closing in around me I knew at that moment that the answer was a hard no. I couldn’t imagine working there another 10 years, let alone giving 40 years of my life to work that wasn’t fulfilling to me. And if I didn’t want to be there in 10 years it only made sense to start figuring out what I could do about it.
By this point in our story, we had just paid off all our debt (except the mortgage). We were in the process of saving up our emergency fund (Baby Step 3 for fellow Dave Ramsey fans) and I was pregnant with our 2nd child. I knew that I didn’t want to just find another place to work. What I really wanted was more time with my family, more freedom and flexibility to control my own schedule. I wanted to work for myself.
The first thing I did was analyze my salary and our household expenses. I had to research the cost of health insurance plans, which I can tell you is an absolutely ridiculous amount of money each month, but that’s a story for a different day. For a more risk-averse person such as myself, I needed to know as many of the numbers as possible. Once I knew how much of my income I needed to replace I could start figuring out ways to replace it.
It was around this time that I first learned about selling physical products on Amazon. My husband had already been running a fulltime business selling antiques and collectible on eBay, so this wasn’t a farfetched idea, as far as possible business ideas go. The concept at its simplest was to buy profitable clearance items at big box stores and offer them for sale using Amazon’s fulfillment program to process the orders. There’s a LOT more to it than that, but that is the core of what we did.
We worked together for months, at first during my (mostly unpaid) maternity leave but we continued even after I returned to work. From February through July of that year, Amazon FBA was our side hustle. Mike would drive from clearance aisle to clearance aisle, while I prepped, packed and shipped everything he brought home. We replaced my income within 2 months of working together selling products on Amazon. By August that year, I resigned from my cubicle and clocked out from the corporate world for the last time.
Paying off our debt and building our safety net made it possible. The internet providing exciting new opportunities to make money and create businesses made it possible. And if it was possible for me, living in small-town, rural Ohio, it’s possible for you too.
Do you feel unfulfilled with your day job?
Do you crave freedom and a flexible schedule?
Do you know you want to do something else, but haven’t figured out what that is yet?
Download this handy-dandy resource to help get those ideas rolling → 21 Ways to Make $100
And if you’re super interested in this whole Amazon FBA thing, check out this resource page for my best recommendations on how to start and run a profitable Amazon business.