This is the second part of the 4-series article about business foundation while having a demanding job. Go to Part 1, Part 3 or Part 4.
If you can relate to any of the two groups of people who want to start a business while having a demanding job, I would like to suggest more solutions on what to do in each case.
GROUP I: When in doubt, I will secure my job
Context
You work hard every single day on your day job, doing something that you slightly enjoy or actually dislike, but it is still vital to you. There are bills to pay at the end of the month, and your family depends on you.
Nevertheless, there is this project that will give you the chance to earn more income which will improve the quality of life for your family.
Also, it will ultimately provide you the opportunity to do something you love, to end the daily commuting and grinding, and to manage your time as you please.
During the week, you arrive home extremely exhausted because you won’t relax at your day job. Then you have to cook the dinner or attend to your children needs, and there’s no time left to advance with your side project; you’re even afraid that it will eventually be left aside forever.
So, what should you do?
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Share your plans with your closest ones
The first thing you need to do is to talk openly with your family and let them know that there is this project that is exciting you more than anything.
You want them to know that you won’t leave your job because there are bills to pay. Also, you will keep working hard at your job to avoid any penalty of some kind from your supervisors. But, in return, you will need to work on weekends.
It is important that your family understands that you won’t be able to have so much time on weekends as you used to, at least for some months.
In fact, you will have to dedicate the whole weekend to the new business. Otherwise, it simply won’t be possible, unless you pay someone to develop the business for you.
It is critical that you earn their encouragement. Your family support will be crucial to keep your moral high when you’re investing extra hours into the project.
If you do not receive your family’s support, I’m afraid it might be a show stopper right there.
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Prioritize finding a business partner
If you’re already considering a partner to start a business, this might not be useful to you.
In this scenario, I’m specifically addressing people who don’t feel the need to find a partner, whether because the business is too simple for more than one, or requires a high degree of expertise, or because they’re afraid of working with someone that will entangle them instead of helping.
If any of these cases seem familiar to you, I completely understand your anticipated concerns. But because you decided that you’d only work at weekends, it is important to comprehend that you’ll have around 20 hours max per week.
It is possibly an excellent idea to find a partner right from the start, so you can share with him half of the tasks and enhance the number of hours at least by two. There’s even a chance he will have more time than you, which would definitely be helpful.
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Outsource everything you can
Outsourcing is not the same thing as finding a partner to help you.
Ultimately, if you have the resources, you could pay to have someone to work for you. It would only be a matter of finding the right guy.
But here we won’t be assuming that you have that type of resourcefulness.
My advice is that you look rigorously at your entire business plan – no, I don’t mean you need to create a 30-page document – and select specific areas that at a very low cost will profoundly impact your project’s pace.
Be incisive and smart: do not pay for everything
Pay only for what you clearly see that will take you five or ten times more to get accomplished when you can cash-out a small amount of money and see it done in one day.
Maximize investment efficiency at all cost.
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Accept the fact that it might take longer
No matter how much I want to add value and share a couple of secret sauces that will do the work for you, nothing worthwhile in life comes easily.
And I truly think the best way to help you is by letting you know, transparently, that it is OK if the project takes a little bit more time than you wanted and expected.
It doesn’t mean you will be giving up in the middle. It doesn’t mean you will be slow
It means you’ll be taking things in a sustained and consistent manner because you profoundly understand that momentum is everything and that a step each day is how things get done.
Regarding this matter, I think it makes a perfect sense to share with you this fantastic lesson from John C. Maxwell: “The rule of 5”.
Go ahead and watch the video and if you don’t have time right now, make sure you save it to another occasion, as it can definitely change your life.
That was all about the first group. If you are the part of the second group, that are the ones that take some risk and are determined to start a business, you should definitely check the third part of the article series. I promise you will not regret waiting!
In the meantime, let me know how you find the advice for the first group. Have you been in a similar situation before? Let me know in the comment section below.
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