How are you supposed to start and grow your own business while working full-time to support someone else’s?

That’s the question for those of us who have ever had a dream plus a job. Being an entrepreneur is one thing, with its own set of challenges and time commitments. But running your own company while being employed by another is a completely different level of hustle. The demands on your time, energy, and mental capacity can be overwhelming.

But dreams don’t always come at opportune times.

And they rarely come to fruition overnight.

Sometimes, we have to work the dream while working a day job. Employment and entrepreneurship sometimes happen concurrently until your business can support you on a full-time basis and you can leave the job behind. For now, you need that paycheck to finance your passion, and that’s OK! It can take time to transition from full-time employment to full-time entrepreneurship.

In the meantime, you need a way to manage being the owner of one company and an employee of another. You have to find a way to thrive in the hustle. Otherwise, the hustle will burn you out, wear you out, and make you wonder if it’s all worth it. Trust me, it is.

I’m so thankful to be on the other side of my transition and living the full-time entrepreneur’s life. But it wasn’t always that way, and it was never easy. My pivot into coaching came during a time of racial unrest and social injustice, a global pandemic, receiving scary health news, and being knee-deep in my role as Vice President of a consulting firm. I had no time or energy! So, I know what it’s like to get that entrepreneurial calling at what seems to be the worst time. I also know it’s possible to successfully grow your business while you’re still employed.

So, if that’s your journey right now, I’d like to share some tips from my experience that might help you thrive in the midst of your hustle as an entrepreneur and employee.

• Set your targets. If you ultimately want to do business full-time and leave employment behind, you’ll need to know when to make that jump. That’s a decision only you can make, but it would be wise to establish some metrics to help you decide if and when to make it. Some targets to consider:
  • Do you need a certain number of new clients?
  • How much would your business need to consistently pay you per month (which is different than your monthly gross revenue)? Does that amount need to account for any medical benefits your employer currently covers?
  • How many months of operating expenses would you like to have saved up?
  • Are there any important dates or events on the horizon – personally or professionally – that might affect your timing?
• These are just some of the considerations to think through. Setting targets will help identify your ideal circumstances, keep your mind focused on the end goal, and remind you that this level of hustle is only temporary.
• Use your PTO & holidays. Use paid time off for your business purposes. I used to bank all my hours so I could take a more extended break or have vacation time carryover to the following year. For what? You’ve earned that time, so use it up! Instead of saving your PTO for some undetermined reason, take a day or week off to get caught up on business activities, do some planning, or simply rest. And get paid for it!
• Leverage your lunch hour. Similar to using your PTO, but on a smaller scale. If you get a 60-minute lunch break, use it. Leave the office and find an off-site spot to eat your lunch. An hour can be just enough time to catch up on business emails, calls, or other administrative tasks that don’t require heavy brain work.
• Make your website work for you. Your website is a big part of your business. If you set it up right, your website can manage your business for you by providing details about your services, answering FAQs, scheduling your appointments, accepting online payments, and digitizing your onboarding forms. Take it a step further by automating these repeat tasks. There are so many options available to streamline these processes so your business can run on autopilot. I’ve personally used Dubsado and Hubspot for myself and my clients. Find a system that will integrate with your website and lessen your workload.
• Lengthen your day. When working a full-time job, you’re committed to more than just 8 hours a day. There’s also commute time and mental transition time (especially if you’re working remotely). If we round that up to a modest 10 hours of your day, that leaves just 14 for everything else. Making small adjustments to your day or routines can create more time and mental space to focus on business. Some examples: wake up an hour earlier or stay up an hour later. Meal prep on the weekend, so cooking or packing lunch doesn’t take as much time. Take inventory of all your commitments and see where you can scale back. Little adjustments can add a lot of time back to your week.
• Set up a business phone number with voicemail so you can maintain a professional presence and be responsive to your clients while you’re at work and unable to answer business calls. Again, there are so many options out there (some better than others, so if you have questions, shoot me an email).
• Reset your expectations. Understand you’re one person. Even with automatons or hiring a virtual assistant, there’s only so much you can do without burning yourself out. Review your business goals and ask yourself if they are realistic or too aggressive, given your current circumstances. Allow yourself grace and space to be human – success will come as long as you’re diligent.
• Take care of yourself. Juggling entrepreneurship and a full-time job is a lot. And yes, it requires a certain amount of hustle until you’re ready to do business full-time. But the hustle can also be a beast – wearing you down because you’re always on the go and barely making time for yourself. You’ve only got one body, one mind, one life. In your pursuit of success, make time to feed your soul, eat well (slow down and enjoy your meals), sleep, and practice self-care. You can’t pour from an empty cup, so fill your life with the essentials of well-being.

Being an entrepreneur while being a full-time employee is no easy feat. But with faith, perseverance, and some practical strategies like the ones above, you can make it. You can thrive until you’re on the other side of your transition.

Are you juggling a job and business? Do you know someone who is? Share this article with them! And drop a comment below to let me know if you’re surviving or thriving in the hustle.