Living A Dual Life: Managing A Business While Working Full-Time
In today’s world, it is very common for people to work full-time and have a side hustle.
However, it is one thing to work a few hours here and there on top of a full-time gig and another to manage a small team as well as look after each and every single thing in your business.
Add to it your own personal life, friends and family – it can get overwhelmingly stressful.
You practically have two personalities: One at work (as an employee), one at home (as a boss).
Even though it sounds exhausting, it is much better that way than to take a leap and go full-time with your side hustle unless you have enough capital to survive the few months without a single client. The pressure is real when you don’t have a steady income. Hence, having a full-time job is as important for me as the success of my business.
One of the biggest struggles for me was getting my business up and running while working a very demanding job. I started at the early age of 22 – as if it was not enough to move continents, getting married and adjusting to a brand new Australian lifestyle all while working 9-5.
Basically sacrificing your personal life.
Why would someone in their right mind want that? Well, there are thousands of enthusiastic entrepreneurs out there including me who would rather attend a networking event in the middle of the night than go to a club and party with friends. Why do you ask? Because it’s totally worth it.
Wonderfully explained in the below quote:
“Entrepreneurship is living a few years of your life like most people won’t, so that you can spend the rest of your life like most people can’t.” ~ Anonymous
The reward is worth it but it is not easy, the biggest risk for me is making sure I do not mess up in my full-time job.
One thing that helped me the most was the support of my husband, not in terms of my work or helping me with household chores (even though he did lend a hand sometimes), but he was more of a mentor to me due to his past experiences and failures. He encouraged me to always take everything in a positive direction.
- Can’t get that logo on point – no worries, try again
- Couldn’t make it to that meeting – no worries, schedule another one
- Can’t complete the website design – no worries, you’ll get there
- Lost a client – no worries, it was for the best in the long run
Having a positive mindset and always smiling is the worst part of running a business while working. When I initially founded Marketing Hues, I used to get frustrated, angry, sad and sometimes even cry because there is only so much you can do.
After several months of struggle, self-doubting and lack of patience, I finally put my bossbabe face on and went into an execution mode and it paid off. Today, I can’t be more proud of myself.
I am managing a wonderful team of 6 while empowering them to grow and become their best version and also managing marketing for two of the biggest hotel chains in Australia as my full-time job.
Some of the things that I keep in mind are:
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If you do not take care of your health – you won’t be able to work or run a business.
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Relationships are important
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Financial stability is a must (always have a fixed stream of income)
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Establish a work routine and follow it
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Seek feedbacks
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Know when is the right time to hire
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Always have a plan
I can’t relate enough to this wonderful quote by Swedish entrepreneur Niklas Zennström ~
If you want to be an entrepreneur, its not a job, it’s a lifestyle. It defines you. Forget about vacations, about going home at 6 pm – last thing at night you’ll send emails, first thing in the morning you’ll read emails, and you’ll wake up in the middle of the night. But it’s hugely rewarding as you’re fulfilling something for yourself.
There are a million different ways to start your entrepreneurial journey but take into consideration your wellbeing, finances and relationships along the way to become your own boss. Just imagine that feeling is worth every sweat and tear but not at the expense of your health and relationships.
