Side Hustle to Full-Time: When Did You Make the Jump?21543
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 Owner,Managing Editor and Publisher of WGAN Forum and WGAN-TV Podcast Fairfield, California |
TomSparks private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Every photographer in this community started somewhere. Maybe it was a single Matterport camera and a weekend gig for a local agent. Maybe it was a friend who asked you to scan their listing. Whatever the origin story, at some point you had to decide: do I keep this as a side hustle, or do I go all in? A lot of WGAN members are right at that crossroads. You have a full-time job, a growing client list on the side, and a gut feeling that the scanning business could replace your salary if you committed to it. But the leap is terrifying. Health insurance, steady income, the safety net of a paycheck, those are real concerns, not small ones. For those of you who made the jump: what was the tipping point? Was it a revenue number? A client count? A moment where you realized you were turning down more work than you were accepting? And for those still running this as a side hustle — what would it take for you to go full-time? I'd also love to hear from members who intentionally keep this as a side business. Not everyone wants to go full-time, and there's nothing wrong with that. What does your setup look like, and how do you manage client expectations with limited availability? Topics covered in this discussion include: 3D scanning business, real estate photography career, side hustle, full-time photographer, Matterport business, virtual tour business, entrepreneurship, work-life balance Share your story below — whether you jumped, are thinking about jumping, or decided to stay put. Your experience could help someone else make the decision. |
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Coeur d'Alene, Idaho |
lilnitsch private msg quote post Address this user | |
| I was an in-house photographer for a brokerage. I set off on my own when the ownership changed hands I spent a number of years in real estate brokerage with Sotheby’s, C21 & Coldwell Banker under 1 ownership group serving around 800 agents across 3 states ~ so, I developed a pretty solid understanding of all facets of the industry from input of the listing onwards |
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Owner, Managing Editor and Publisher of WGAN Forum and WGAN-TV Podcast Fairfield, California |
TomSparks private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @lilnitsch that's great... was it just you serving all 800 agents? or did you have a team? just curious what your weekly workload was looking like that that time? seems like a lot! tom |
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Coeur d'Alene, Idaho |
lilnitsch private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @TomSparks So the in-house photography portion was just me spread across 3 offices in Northern Idaho & Eastern Washington with an original plan to expand it across the companies different brokerages. My original role was building backend systems for processes for both administrative staff & agents for the 800 agents at the time covering the 3 states 3rd being Oregon at the time |
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Coeur d'Alene, Idaho |
lilnitsch private msg quote post Address this user | |
| This April has been going gangbusters so far with 25 bookings for April | ||
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