How Jeffrey Calderon Leveraged Blogging and Experience to Escape His 9-5 and Achieve Financial Freedom

Before we get into my current working situation, we should first see where I came from.  

I was a hard-working consultant giving professional advice in the construction industry for over 16 years. 

The Corporate Grind

I’ve worked in architecture firms and consulting offices throughout my 20s and 30s. My typical Zoom and phone calls were with contractors, architects, and engineers.

I’ve collaborated on projects ranging from new hotels to new residential seventy-story towers.  

Throughout the years, I’ve developed proficiency in navigating the construction permitting process in NYC.  Needless to say, there’s more red tape than lawyers in this big city.From the outside looking in, I was pretty lucky compared to most.    

Unveiling My Decision to Quit

Quitting is not something you should do lightly.  

There are many reasons why it’s time to move on, but you should know what you’re getting yourself into.  

I decided to quit and never work for someone ever again. This can be nerve-wracking to most people, not knowing when they’ll receive their next check.On the bright side, no one can tell you payday is only two times a month.   

The Breaking Point

People can only be pushed so far, and that last moment when someone simply rubs you the wrong way, people usually describe this as the breaking point.  

I like to view it as a moment of complete clarity.  

I saw myself on the road laid out for me by others and felt there was no way I would stay on that painfully slow but steady route.   

Many people feel this way, but then it fades away, and they continue being a typical good worker. They essentially talk themselves out of it.  

The catalyst happened when my supervisor had ZERO to say about an email I was about to send, so he pointed out the font size and said it was “too small to read.”  

My eyeballs wiggled when he said this to me as it made no sense; it was the same font size he used and the same as our big boss's.  I now understood I had to get as far away from this toxic supervisor as possible.

Signs of Burnout

The most challenging aspect of work life is admitting you’re burnt out.  

The signs don’t always pop out vividly, but from my experience, they permeate your daily routines in subtle, damaging ways.

My signs were weight gain, fatigue when I got home to my family, and a steady order of a beer or drink at lunch “to unwind.”    

Contemplating Change

I thought about my new work life all the time.What time would I wake up?  How many days would I work, and for how many hours?  Some may call this fantasy, but I call this visualization.  Each day I thought about this, I felt more confident that it could be done.      

Weighing Pros and Cons

When you’re closer to leaving your job, you’ll find yourself making a list.  The pros are easy to define as you can define your pay, work hours, and how you interact with clients.  

The cons, however, are not cons! 

The cons only highlight skills you’re not good at or have no idea you need to break free on your own.  

These include bookkeeping, lead generation, website creation, client management, and corporate taxes. 

Everyone believes you have to be perfect at the above to run a business.  

Nothing could be further from the truth. 

I started with invoices I filled out and printed individually, with no software.  

Once the invoice was paid, I shredded the copy I kept on my person.  

You don’t have to do everything perfectly; you just have to start and decide to improve every day.  

Financial Considerations

This section is by far the most crucial part of the journey.  

The more financial responsibility you have, the more likely you are to stay precisely where you are.

Responsibilities like family, sustaining a home for yourself or others, and eating quality food, all matter.  

Here people will tell you to have a six month emergency fund, but I disagree.  

All you need is a two month head start and then hit the ground running to collect revenue on day one being on your own.

You no longer live for the weekend. 

You’re creating a life full of purpose and fulfillment. 

Remember this specifically as you run into hard times, it will happen, don’t let it deter you.  

Crafting the Exit

Ok, so you’re ready to go through with quitting your job, now, how will you do it?

This is a lot easier if you plan it, step by step, within the week you want to quit.  

Yes, you should give your employer two weeks' notice, but don’t feel obligated to give them another minute beyond this.

Different employers will have varying reactions to your decision to move on.  

I recommend if there are any files you want or need, download everything before you quit.  

An employer may lock you out of their computer systems for precautions.    

Embracing Freedom

Today my life consists of a lot more than simply going to work.  

I’m an avid Dad. I’m an awesome husband.  

I take my family out often and am always around to help pick up/ drop off, even on random days to help out more.  

I never noticed how much life I was missing when I simply went to work, did what I thought I was supposed to, then came home.

That loss of time with my family always seemed like a necessary cost, but in the long run, it’s an awful choice many men feel they’re obligated to make.

Once you go all in on what you want to do all the time, you’ll find yourself exploring new opportunities.  

Lessons Learned

Being an expert in your field is not enough. I believe the education system has led everyone to have a false sense of accomplishment by being great at their chosen field.  Winners have to be good at their chosen business and know how to do the following:

• Make your own website
• Write SEO articles for your audience/customers
• Know how to create content that serves your customers
• Lead others
• Create business systems that enable a company to grow

The decision I made to leave my job back in April 2023 had the exact impact I knew it would. That fear and doubt that kept me at a job longer than I should have?  It melted away and is gone forever. 

Blueprint To Start Your Business

Want to know the exact steps I took in order to create my business blog?

Step 1

I got serious about my goals. I saw my mentor Adam Enfroy on YouTube and felt he was legit. I grabbed Adam's course Blog Growth Engine and studied it for six months. The course took me six months because I had zero time during the day or night. I cut out two hours of sleep and woke up at 4 am every weekday to study the course. Afterward, I went to my office job.    

Step 2

I made a website where I could speak authoritatively about a topic I know well, construction.

This required me to learn WordPress. The learning curve here was steep as I was used to drag-and-drop website builders like Wix or Squarespace. WordPress is the best option here and is used by 43% of all websites. I chose Bluehost as my hosting provider.   

Step 3

I learned to use AI Tools such as Content at Scale, Chatgpt, and other SEO software.  To optimize my articles, I use Surfer SEO, and to do keyword research, I use Ahrefs.      

Step 4

I started writing and publishing articles. These were my first articles, and they were not easy to write. It took time to develop writing muscles, and that’s perfectly OK. That’s the beauty of a blog; it’s a living, breathing asset that can be infinitely updated. 

My Results

Leveraging my expertise in construction consulting was a good move as this allowed me to charge top dollar right away to new clients who found me online. You can see my early wins and proof of concept; a blog is the way to go:

This was my first online lead; the total was $1,500.00. Once I completed my task for the customer, another $500.00 was paid three months later. Total time taken was less than 2 hours.  

This was two months after I started blogging. A Hotel called me at 8 am and paid me $2,750.00 for services by 4 pm the same day. This day was extra special as it was my last day in the office.  I finished out the next day working remotely, then never looked back.

This was a simple email I wrote to a city agency; easy $500.00 win.

This win was probably the most significant for $500.00 to register a contractor with DOT.  

In my business, if you want recurring revenue, you need a contractor to put you on jobs for years.  

The contractor has a Parks Department contract that will last one year. DOT Permits are required to be renewed every three months.   

The same contractor obtained permits after DOT registration for a win of $1,617.41.  

He will pay another $2,000.00 to maintain these permits through September 2024. This ongoing contract will take me minutes to complete; all the hard work is done. That one client will net 4,117.41 for their project, with less than 4 hours of my time used. 

To be clear, yes, I did have a business way before I started blogging.  The highlighted numbers above are from my online leads, all the rest are current clients. 

The only way I previously obtained clients was by meeting people in the field or word of mouth.  

Today I’ve expanded my digital footprint to where I receive 2-3 new leads monthly with only 400+ website visitors. These leads are worth an average of $1,000.00/each, and I don’t have to do any selling. 

This number has recently increased by 20% and will continue to rise as I write more articles. I have published 40 articles since February 2023 to publish another 50-60 articles by the beginning of summer 2024.  

Final Thoughts

It seems like forever ago, I decided to go on this journey, but it’s not even a year ago.    

People can go a lifetime without reflecting on a different path, a different lifestyle, or different people to be around.  

Life is here right now, and you can change it ANY DAY you feel like it.  

I encourage you to work harder on yourself than at your job; the world is waiting for you.