Thanks for your encouraging words. I'm glad you found my sharing insightful.

As for starting a side business, if time and energy are your current constraints but you have extra cash, you can always hire vendors or freelancers to get the work done for you. For example, with RM15k–30k as startup capital, you could consider working with the right marketer or agency to help you package your expertise (e.g. live classes, recorded courses, info products), promote them (via social media, email lists, and paid ads), and sell them (through funnels, landing pages, webinars, etc.). There are one-stop solutions like this for trainers, coaches, and speakers to sell high-ticket courses or coaching programmes, often priced at RM2k–10k per person.

Or, if you want to earn from YouTube, you can simply pay video creators and editors to produce content for you. If you're interested in earning from writing, hire ghostwriters. With money, almost everything can be outsourced. You just need to cover the upfront production costs (especially if you don’t want to pay the opportunity cost of waiting). The beauty of digital asset is that they can make money, be repurposed in different formats, and be used in different channels with different audience. & The earlier you start, the better because audience (numbers of followers, subscribers, email lists) take time to grow organically. The shortcut is to run ads, but ads burn money if your offer is yet to be tested or optimised.

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Just to further share: I passed the interview with the NASDAQ-listed company yesterday. It's a B2B marketing role with a consultancy firm. The interviewer (who’s also the hiring manager) asked how I would manage if I started working full-time. I explained that my online courses are fully automated, and I only need to respond to students’ questions at night since they’re working adults during the day too. Any training, group classes or webinars I conduct can be scheduled in the evenings or on weekends. It’s entirely up to me how I want to manage my time. The interviewer was okay with my answer.

I expect to continue working in the corporate world until it's time to semi-retire. I still enjoy working for others because it allows me to learn new things, meet new people, and enjoy various perks. I've been "unemployed full-time" for five years (accumulated, 1-2 years of career break each time), so yes, I do get very bored with too much free time. Although I travelled, had fun at events, gyms, beauty salons, attended courses, etc... I eventually found myself getting tired of being too relaxed during what should be my prime years (now, in my mid-thirties). My online biz does keep me occupied at times, but after several years, the novelty wears off and it becomes routine.

Ah well, that's how my life is. Not sure what will unfold next, but yeah, definitely interesting. Glad to have shared some with you here. ^^

If you and your wife earn enough, then the risk is worth taking.

Just plan accordingly with clear plans on markers to exit. If your pay is currently good, it must mean your skill set is sufficiently unique and desirable. So even if your venture fails, you can still apply for a job and get hired like Ralna has. You're at the age where you can take some risk and benefit greatly from it, and also have time to recover if things go south.