I’ve been goal mapping in the past day or two, and I’ve generated two really plausible options to reach the goal of acquiring $2 million in liquid assets within 2 years, and with the constraint that I need at least $3,000 per month income to support my family.

The first is employment at a company that I’m not prepared to make public yet. The job pays substantially less than what I made at Ideal, but it’s a telecommuting position, and I plan during an upcoming negotiation to ask for a 4 day work week. That will keep me afloat and leave me almost half the week to build other projects.

The product or suite of products I’m researching the market for right now is in the medical services industry, possibly targeting veterinary practices. I’ll talk in much more detail about that later if it turns out to be worthwhile. I might also do a post about where to start with this sort of market research.

My other option is real estate. I am qualified (although not licensed at this time) to be a general contractor. I have the skills to build a complete and functional home using my hands and the tools I own (with a couple of rented pieces), including structure, plumbing, electric, and finish work. I also have two wealthy people in my network who are both self-made real estate millionaires. I have no substantial assets, but I could put in perhaps $40,000 to a project. My plan– whether I decide to accept employment with the company I mentioned before or not– is to call both of these people and ask them, based on their expertise: Where is the money in this market? If you were my age, in my situation, what you would be doing?

The answers I get will determine where I focus my strategic efforts. Based on their feedback, I’ll come up with a plan, lay the ground work, then go back to one or both of them, and pitch them to fund whatever project I create.

As an aside, I have a few contracts coming up to fill in the gaps. I’m doing security consulting for a component vendor whose licensing scheme is weak, and I’ll be building a neato little web application.

I’ve really enjoyed this past week or so, it’s been relaxing to do some work around the house, research, program my side projects, and spend time with my wife. What a world we live in– I’m lucky to be here, and I’ll try not to waste that.