Going from part-time to full-time: the numbers to have before you quit the day job

"When should I go full time?" gets asked every week. The honest answer is a set of numbers, not a feeling.

Three months of consistent production part time. Not one great month. If you've written 3 to 4 policies a month for three months working evenings and Saturdays, you've proven the skill. If your best month was 6 and the other two were 1, you've proven variance.

Six months of expenses in cash. Personal expenses plus the business costs: leads, CRM, phone, E&O, fuel. Commissions on a new full-time book take 60 to 90 days to become steady even with advances, and chargebacks start arriving around month 9.

A lead budget you can fund for 90 days without income. Full time means 5 to 8 times the leads you were buying part time. If that number scares you, you're not ready, and that's fine; it's information.

Health insurance figured out. The job's plan ends. Price the marketplace or a spouse's plan before you resign, not after.

A written weekly plan. Full-time agents who fail usually fail because 40 hours with no structure turns into 15 hours of work. The schedule in the month-one thread is the starting point.

A rough model. Full time, 400 dials a day or 30 knocks, 3 to 5 apps a week, average premium $60 a month, advance at 75 percent: gross advance around $2,000 to $3,500 a week before leads and chargebacks. Net after leads and a 20 percent reserve is what you'll actually live on. Run your own version of this with your carriers' comp.

The tell that you're ready. You're turning down appointments because you're at work. That's when the day job is costing more than it pays.

What number did you need to see before you went full time?