When it comes to starting an online business, most people prefer to start it as a part time business as they are not sure whether the business will work out for them.
However, not everyone can easily balance their full time 9 to 5 job with their part time business, either the full time job or the business is going to lose out somewhere along the way.
I first started out by running Jumix Design as a part time business, and eventually venture into a full time business.
Before that I was working in a company as a full timer as well. It’s really a chicken and egg question when it comes to this situation, because it’s not easy to grow your business when you don’t commit it as a full time. However you may also need to fund the business by using the money you get from your current full time job. So let me share with you how to balance your part time business with your full time job when you are just starting out.
1. Schedule Your Time Properly
When you are working in a 9 to 5 full time job, time really isn’t the advantage you have. In order to squeeze out more time from your daily schedule, make sure you work efficiently and get back from work on time. Staying in the office until your manager leaves or until you finish the job isn’t really the norm anymore, you will be seen as an inefficient worker instead (on modern culture company though).
If you know you are going to stuck in the traffic, try getting to some places nearby your office where you can sit down and work on your part time business . Stay until the traffic is clear, so you don’t have to waste time in travelling alone.
Plan what you want to do days ahead. Use calendar and task list to keep yourself organized.
2. Be Honest
If you are not going to commit to your business full time, be upfront and honest to your customers. Let people know you are running this business as a part time so when they didn’t get any reply during office hours, they won’t spam your Facebook wall with complaints or breaking your phone with 100 miss calls.
Don’t try to work too much on your business during office hours when you are in the office either. If your boss is not happy when you’re doing it, you might lose your full time job while your part time business is still on its infancy stage. Let your boss know (if he/she is open minded) that you have a part time business and may need to answer a few calls from time to time, if he/she is not having problem with it then you can do so.
3. Sleep Lesser
This isn’t really a healthy choice of action, but I figured some people sleep more than 8 hours in a day. If your sleep is a quality one, a 6-7 hours of sleep should be sufficient to energize you through the day.
Waking up earlier in the morning can contributes a lot to your business as most people are more energetic in the morning than night.
Do some warm up exercise after you’ve awaken, drink a cup of coffee if you need it and start striving on your part time business before it’s time to get back to your full time job.
When you’re still young, you will definitely need to make some compromises such as sacrificing your time for money, and hopefully it will pay off in the near future.
4. Listen to Mentors
Find a mentor if you can, especially those who run a startup business or someone who already have a well established business. They are the people with real life experience and can really provide good insights and tips to you when it comes to running your own business.
Read blogs (Jumix Design!) to get guides and learn about new strategies that can help your business or help you to run your business better.
Above are just a few tips to help you balance on your part time business and full time job. If you are in the same situation, why not share some of your own tips with us in the comments below?
Sanz Teoh
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