How to Handle a Full-Time Job and Side Hustle

Nov 4

If you’re tired of spinning your wheels in a job that you don’t love, and would like to start growing your own small business or online business, here’s a look at seven ways to manage a full-time job (or, in the case of all of you busy moms out there, a full-time family!) and a side hustle.

We all know that working full-time and growing your dream business can be something of a challenge.

Still, many entrepreneurs find that this is the best approach.

It’s an affordable way to get started. Plus, it allows you to test the waters, to validate an unproven idea –all while ensuring that you still have a steady income at the same time that can cover your day-to-day expenses. Once the concept’s been validated, and your business starts to cover what you’re earning at your day job, that’s your cue to step back and focus full-time on growing your company.

Whew! If this approach sounds absolutely manic, that’s because it is! But for the right person, it can be a game-changer, a way to get your foot in the door of entrepreneurial freedom and your ticket to getting out of the rut and away from that 9-5 soul-destroying job that so many of us feel trapped in.

The secret to making sure it’s worth it, though, is ensuring that you’re scaling the right way; and not just building yourself another job.

When I first started my agency, I was taking every project under the sun to make ends meet. This made for a lot of learning as you go, like studying Facebook and Google Ads as I was doing the work. The days were long and blurred together.

The 10-hour days turned into 15-hour days, and soon I was working 6-7 days a week. Although I was swamped and slowly seeing progress, deep down, I knew I was doing the busy work and not the focused work that would actually move the needle.

Suddenly it hit me. I’d basically built myself another job –in addition to my normal 9-5. I was working in my business, instead of on it. This is not what I’d envisioned or what I wanted long-term. Eventually, balance would come, and I slowly began to work toward only saying yes to the most fulfilling projects, but it didn’t happen quickly; certainly not as fast as I had envisioned.

If you’re first starting out, you might find that this quickly becomes the case for you as well. As entrepreneurs, we’re used to taking things on ourselves, and the thought of outsourcing often makes us feel uneasy. But it’s vital that you’re taking the right approach, and scaling your business in a way that it isn’t dependent on you being present 24/7.

Tips for Launching Your Side Hustle (While Working a Full-Time Job!)

Yes, it can be done! Just make sure you’re doing it for the right reasons, then buckle up and prepare for the wild ride.

Here’s how you can ensure that you’re making the most of your time and getting yourself and your business on track for success.

1 - Focus Forward

“The trouble with not having a goal is that you can spend your life running up and down the field and never score.” –Bill Copeland

First up, let’s address the burning question that we all have when we’re first starting out: “Where do I turn now?” As an entrepreneur or small business owner, there are plenty of circles that you can get caught up in, but save yourself from distractions. Instead, make sure you’re working toward your goals. Each action should take you a step closer to them.

With the Focus Forward™ approach, ask yourself, “What are three (and only three) things that I should be focusing on daily that will actually move the needle in some way?” That is, things that will make a real difference to your bottom line or grow your business.

You’ll find that the things that will make the most difference will typically fall within the following categories:

People: For example, working to build a great team, doing things that will help to grow your customer base, working to connect with your target audience.
Revenue: Revenue is another big one. This should, ideally, be the result of you working smarter, not necessarily harder, and finding ways to scale without having to do all of the heavy lifting yourself.
Executing Your Vision: Putting a plan and steps into place that will help you to reach your goals.

Work to establish weekly and daily tasks that will contribute to your bigger goal. You’ll find that they will generally fall within these pillars.

2- Create Financial Projections

I know what you’re thinking: *snore.* But don’t worry, there’s nothing boring about financial projections. Instead, it’s simply about assigning a dollar figure to your goals to make them more tangible and concrete.

All you need to start is Google Docs and a year-long plan. Start by indicating what you want to earn in 12-months. Outline a good/better/best approach, and work backward each month to see what you need to do to reach your monthly revenue projections. How can you scale? What percent growth do you need to achieve consistently in order to reach your goal? What marketing practices will you need to do to create that income? Working backward is the best approach, as it’ll give you something tangible that you can work toward. Instead of having a vague idea that you want to “make more money,” for example, you’ll be able to get more specific with your goals and therefore, more intentional with your actions, putting you on track for success.

When I first started We Wild Women, I paid for the financial modelling tool LivePlan. It helped me to better understand what I can earn and the monthly breakdown to achieve it. Now you don’t need to spend a single dime on this, but if you have the means and want something a little more accurate, this is a great tool.

3 - Schedule Everything

I always ask my coaching clients, “If I took over your calendar right now and scheduled only silly tasks where there is free time now, how much of your week would be silly?” Most of the time I find that this ends up being anywhere between 70-90%. Yikes! That’s 90% of your week that’s gone, just like that!

If you are already committed to a 9-5 and want to start or grow your online business or side hustle, then you need to be extremely diligent about what you’re scheduling and when. Anything that could be considered a time-waster should be eliminated altogether or relegated to your free time. Schedule your Focus Forward tasks every week. What day time will that be?

4 - Leverage Your Downtime

A muscle won’t grow if you don’t rest it. The repair from working out is just as important as lifting the weight. This concept also rings true when it comes to learning a new skill or growing your business. If you’re always caught up in the day-to-day tasks, your creative brain won’t have the time to recuperate. As a result, you’ll end up stretched too thin and risking burnout.

I recommend resting at least one day per week and using that time for activities that aren’t related to your business or job in any way. You’ll find that this is exactly what you need to recharge your batteries, and as a result, some of your best ideas will come outside of business hours or when you have the mental capacity to just think.

Just because you’re seemingly doing ‘nothing’ it doesn’t mean you aren’t being productive. Our culture has a serious productivity addiction which often has an adverse effect. Be ok with taking a break!

5 - Outsource Your Weaknesses

Your side hustle is just that, a hustle. And while you may not be generating solid returns yet, you do need to allocate some of your cash flow to outsourcing.

As entrepreneurs, we’re always talking about leveling up our skills and trying to improve our weaknesses, but sometimes, this approach just represents energy wasted. While there’s nothing wrong with brushing up on skills that are essential for our growth or even honing in on areas that we’re interested in –sometimes, the skills that are needed for those dreaded tasks (think: admin, taxes, and other things you really don’t enjoy) just aren’t worth that much time and energy. Instead, harness your superpowers –those skills that you have, and refine them, outsourcing the rest. There’s a reason they say that you should hire people smarter than yourself. Enlisting the help of experts as and when they’re needed will help you grow your business, allowing you to save your crucial time and energy for other, more high-level tasks.

6 - Prepare Yourself Mentally for Some Bad Days

Being an entrepreneur is tough.

Days will be long, sh*t will go sideways, and people will take advantage of you. But if your days are aligned with your big picture goals, then there will always be a silver lining.

Have you ever heard of the entrepreneur roller coaster? Even if you’re just dabbling with an Etsy shop or taking on project work that has significant meaning, you need to be mentally prepared for the hard days, the difficult conversations, and the unexpected. It’ll be hard, but if your tasks are aligned with your big picture goals, you’ll find that it’s worth slogging through the tough times to make things happen. The payoffs will be worth it.

I have been through it all - a founder that got up and left without warning leaving me with all the client work and managing a team, legal issues with a toxic employee, having to lay off great people, scaling issues, sheer exhaustion and so much more. And while these things didn’t define me, they certainly made me worry and get down on myself. But I learned my lesson and with every ‘failure’ I learned a better way NOT to do something.

7 - Banish the Pre-Momentum Doubt

Here’s another biggie. Along with the other mindset issues, you’ll also need to prepare for what I call the pre-momentum slump. This is the phase where you’re going all in, consistently showing up, and asking the rights questions, but things aren’t moving fast enough, or at all, for you.

If this sounds familiar, don’t sweat. Just bear in mind that this is a part of the process and that if you keep at it, the ball will start rolling. It’s only temporary, so don’t let that doubt drive your decisions. Instead, view it for what it is, a temporary setback. You’ll be able to overcome that obstacle. This too shall pass.

Have you ever heard the expression ‘the sale is made on the 7th call’? Most people give up on the 6th one, so if that’s any indication on what possibility lies ahead, KEEP GOING!

When you’re working so hard, and putting that many hours in, you’ll want to make sure it’ll be worth it. That’s why it’s important to make sure you have a goal-oriented strategy and a plan to scale in a sustainable way –that’s not dependent on you having to work around the clock.

Sure, working your day job while launching a business will require short-term sacrifices, but make no mistake: with the right approach, these will all be short-lived. Clarify your big-picture goals, remember your reason for doing this in the first place, and outline the steps that you need to take to make things happen. Don’t waste time on tasks that aren’t contributing to the growth of your business.

Then get to work with the confidence that you’re building an investment. It might be taking up your time now, but soon you’ll find that the scales will start to tilt slowly in your favor, and you’ll be able to step back and enjoy spending more time with those you love, doing things that you enjoy, and living life on your own terms. No more ruts!

Header image photo credit: Humphrey Muleba