By Cheval John

Society says that in order to be successful, you must go to college, get a degree and land a full time job.

Then if you’re lucky, find the right one, get married and go on a honeymoon before you settle in your new home and start a family.

Though Josh and Jill Stanton got married, their “honeymoon” is still going on.

They have built their affiliate websites that has generated revenue which allows them to live the lifestyle they have dreamed off.

In the process, they have started a blog called, “ScrewTheNineToFive,” which helps people who are looking to strike out on their own and live the life they have always wanted.

Recently, I caught up with the Stantons, who are currently in Thailand to get their insight on running a business and the motivation to strike out on their own.

You can visit at www.screwtheninetofive.com

Cheval John: How did you get into affiliate marketing

Jill Stanton: Josh actually got started with affiliate marketing about 6 years ago or so, but it was always just a side hustle he had going on…until we teamed up together 2 years ago.

These days affiliate marketing is our main income earner. We manage a network of over 20 affiliate sites, ranging from small sites of 4 pages to sites of over 250 pages.

We love affiliate marketing because it is essentially the lowest barrier to making money online one could ever get involved with. You don’t have to deal with order fulfillment, shipping, returns, customer service, branding, or payment processing—it’s the most hands-off model there is online.

Cheval: How did the “Screw The Nine to Five Blog” came about

Jill: We actually came up with the idea for Screw the Nine to Five on our wedding week in Costa Rica while sitting on our balcony—a time when we shouldn’t have been thinking of work! Ha ha

But the minute we had the idea we registered the domain and started planning what we would do with the site.

Cheval: Did y’all face any adversity in achieving your goals

Jill: Of course! It’s never easy when you run your own business because everything relies on you. We also have to contend with Google when trying to reach our goals, as a big part of our business is at the mercy of Google and their constant updates.

However we’re big believers in setting goals for ourselves…and so far we’ve reached all our big goals, but we’ve stepped it up for 2014 so fingers crossed we make those happen too! Ha ha

Cheval: You both achieved success in your home country, Canada, why did y’all moved to Thailand?

Jill: Well Josh is actually Australian and both of us pretty much hate any and all cold weather, so moving to Thailand was an easy sell.

We also wanted to make it a point to live in a cheaper country where our money could go further and we could use our savings from our day-to-day life to re-invest back into our business and hire more people to help scale our efforts.

On top of that, South East Asia is a HUGE hotspot for online entrepreneurs and we really wanted to surround ourselves with likeminded people. After all, there really isn’t an online marketing scene in Toronto and we never really met anyone who was doing what we were doing.

We’ve now been here for a year and it is hands down the best thing we’ve ever done for ourselves personally and professionally.

Cheval: What are the ins and out of running a business

Jill: I guess it varies for each and every person, depending on what kind of business you are running.

For us, our biggest struggle is to take ourselves out of our business, allow our team run the day-to-day side of things so we can focus ON our business and not work IN it.

I think the biggest thing to remember for anyone wanting to run a business online is that you have to comfortable with the uncomfortable, because online business is ALWAYS changing. Nothing is ever the same.

And the minute you get too comfortable with it, you’re doomed.

Cheval: Can you share an example how you helped someone be successful

Jill: I think in 2013 we were helping people through our one-on-one coaching services. We had quite a few happy clients that put our strategies to use and saw great improvements in their businesses, which was so exciting to see!

This year we have gotten rid of those in an effort to help more people on a bigger level.

We recently kicked off our public case study where we are being fully transparent and building and monetizing a site publicly so our readers can copy exactly what we’re doing.

So far the feedback has been amazing and we have quite a few people joining the challenge of building their own site over the next 3 months.

Cheval: Why is networking important

Jill: I think relationship building is absolutely crucial to your business’ success. After all, it’s those relationships that you can then lean on when things get tough, bounce ideas off each other, or help each other out with different ventures.

It’s really the key to getting your business out there and taking it to the next level.

I do think there is a way to do it though. I personally cringe when someone asks to pick someone’s brain. I mean think about it, who wants to give away all the tips and strategies that they had to figure out for themselves, just to give them away to someone who wants to fast-track their progress?

No one, that’s who.

However, if you frame it in a give-and-take situation then it’s much easier to connect with entrepreneurs you look up to and gain insights. Just don’t be a selfish networker and you should be golden.

Cheval: What are the quote/s y’all live by

Jill: We truly live by the quote “Get comfortable with the uncomfortable”, although I couldn’t tell you who said it first. It’s just something that resonates with us.

I also love the quote “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone”.

I just think that it is essential to your success to stay slightly uncomfortable in your business at all times because that means you will always try new things, test new strategies and put yourself out there in a way you wouldn’t if you just kept everything copacetic.

All our biggest successes have come out of intense periods of fear and self-doubt, but the key was we kept pushing through those periods. I think that is what separates successful entrepreneurs from the “wantrepreneurs”.

Cheval: Any parting words?

Jill: Stop thinking about it and just start taking action. That’s the key. That’s all you have to do: Start with step 1….and stop stressing out about step 20. You’ll figure it out. Just start.