The other day, one of my friends texted me asking me to write a blog post about how to continue working after a full-day of work. My friend (Maddie) wants to start a business but needs to keep her full-time job so she needs advice on how to work on her side business when she gets home because even though she has a separate room as an office, she can’t seem to concentrate and get work done. So here I am, the “expert” on running a side business, writing about it – I told her, it was all about willpower. Here’s what I mean:
I do the “” because I’m really not an expert and I struggle with this everyday but, I have been doing it for some time now (officially started blogging on 2016!) so I should know something… right?? Let’s see.
The first thing I will tell you is that you have got to have passion for your business. I know this is cliche and everyone says it but if there’s no passion, you will not get thru 2+ years of doing it while working full-time. Think about the big picture; what do you want to accomplish? What is the end goal? If your only goal is money… you are starting the wrong way. Plain and simple. A good business, an honest business takes time – sure, you can have investors and start receiving a paycheck immediately BUT if you are doing this because eventually you want it to be your full-time job, it will take time.
This takes me to my second point, don’t do it for the money. Money my friends, comes and goes. I’ve lived and learned this I promise you. Of course every business wants to be profitable but a lot of times I see people starting businesses and ending them because it was too hard to make money. You have to invest time to get somewhere – you have to give to get – plain and simple, again! Give quality, put in time, be patient, and you will get somewhere. Do not lose track of your big picture and keep working at it every night.
Working a full-time job is a lot. Then, you get home, you need to clean, cook, have some sort of a social life and then work on your side business? How is that achievable? Only with passion. 
I don’t have a secret sauce and frankly, I don’t think anyone does. If you want to start a side business while working full time, all I have to say is: Be 100% certain of what you want to do, be determined on your big picture, create a schedule for yourself during the week in which you give yourself time to be with friends and family, get enough sleep, take care of your body and when you get home from your day job, do something that makes you feel alive before jumping into your next shift of work.
This is what I do and works well:
I finish my day job at different times but normally around 5:30 – 6pm. I shut off my work computer, make myself some coffee, step outside, turn on the music (typically my love Ricardo Arjona), relax, eat something, go back inside, turn on my a Hint of Life computer and get to work. I work for 2-3 hours everyday and then I shut it off. Time for family, friends, boyfriend, a movie or a book. The next day, I do it all over again.
I’m sorry I don’t have a clear answer for you (sorry, Maddie!) but I’m certain that anyone who has a set mind on what they want to do, can achieve it. Don’t second guess yourself, just go for it. Don’t compare yourself, everyone goes at their own pace. Don’t get discouraged, when things get hard – just find the passion, be disciplined and have the willpower to sacrifice sometime for your greater vision.
I wrote this piece for Elarie Consulting about managing a side hustle – make sure to read it for some tips.
Lastly, some lyrics to brighten your day and get your juices flowing! by Mr. Bon Jovi <3
Every day it’s the same when they say that it might be the end
In the end when it ends then I’ll listen to them
You wake up, go to work, go to sleep
Then you do it, you do it, if you’re lucky then you do it again
Yeah, we walk through a world that we don’t understand
When I look in your eyes I’m just happy I can
Yeah, we’ll laugh and we’ll cry and we’ll lose and we’ll win
We’ll get through it and to prove it yeah we’ll do it again
Thank you for reading!! Leave me your thoughts below or if you have the secret sauce to running a side business, I’d love to hear it! xo Belen
