Millions of people in the UK have plans to start their own small business — 3.2 million, to be exact.
That’s 10% of the country’s working population; a big chunk of the current employment crop. The problem is, most individuals can’t quit their full-time job and start a business. According to BalanceSMB, it takes anywhere from six months to several years for a business to turn its first profit. With that thought weighing many people down, you may have reservations about starting your own business.
But don’t let your dreams be dreams. It is entirely possible to start your own business while managing the commitments of a full-time job. Many entrepreneurs do this successfully. Often referred to as a “side business”, you can start to develop a business idea over time while still working your full-time job and maintaining that all-important financial safety net.
The big question, then, is how?
How do you start your own business while working full time? In this blog, Mint Formations offer tips on setting up your side business and making sure your new company is as successful as it can be without jeopardising your current job.
Pick Your Moment
Starting a business while in full-time employment is going to be challenging and time-consuming; that’s a simple fact. Your side business is going to absorb a lot of the free time you used to have for activities with friends and hobbies.
The last thing you want to do is replace these things you love with a new business that, while potentially profitable, creates a lifestyle you hate.
This is not sustainable and will mean you take every opportunity to not engage in business ideas and avoid trying to develop your enterprise. You need to find the motivation and initiative to push yourself to do more work after you’ve spent your day working. Any entrepreneur, even with the best intentions, is going to struggle to discipline themselves if they don’t like their side project.
The answer is simple: focus on a business concept that you are passionate about. Build a company that you love and that you are driven to work on not because of a commitment to success but because it’s as important to you as water.
If you don’t have any passions or interests like this at the moment, you may find managing a company difficult. Instead, you should consider waiting for the right direction for your self-employment to become available.
On the subject of picking your moment, you will also want to think about starting a company at a time when you have fewer responsibilities outside of work. Big personal side-projects like moving house or starting a family can absorb a lot of time and make it hard for you to find a balance that doesn’t negatively impact your work as a business owner, your personal life or your day job.
Establish Your Business Launch Plan and Schedule
When you start a business while still working a day job, you’re going to need to think carefully about your business plan. Make sure you map out everything in as much detail as possible, accounting for the fact that you’re afforded less freedom than people who aren’t also tied to an employment contract.
You want to be thinking about your priorities and how to utilise your available time effectively. Since you have limited scheduling space to achieve your goals, the time you have must be used efficiently to take advantage of all opportunities available.
The trick to supercharging performance is planning. Understand your schedule and devote time to planning out what you will be doing when you have free hours to develop your business. Planning ahead can actually save many hours in execution. If you know exactly what you need to be doing when your schedule allows you to focus on your new business, you’ll be more productive and get more done.
Unknown factors create risks to your momentum and can result in failure.
If you find yourself with free time but don’t have a plan, or know what to do, you’ll waste what time you do have trying to make decisions on what to do. There is a reason the biggest successes in entrepreneurship work to very strict schedules. It is these schedules that allow them to boost productivity and get stuff done. Endeavour to use every spare second you have to build the perfect foundation for your new business and you’ll find it much easier to progress your startup’s vision.