Most people dream of starting a business and being their own boss; but for many, this dream seems out of reach, especially if you find yourself working 12-hour days or more. Is it even possible to launch a business when you’re working full time in addition to the weight of personal and family responsibilities? How to start a business while under the load of so many demands is a pretty daunting question, right?
The good news is that it is possible.
The “bad” news, is that you’ll need to be a bit more resourceful with your time and energy, and get creative so that you can achieve your career and financial goals—which actually isn’t such a bad thing after all since this develops invaluable skills like creative thinking and a growth mindset. You also need to double-check your employer’s policies on secondary employment, especially if your business idea will be a potential competitor, or if you plan to work on your business during work hours, which is usually frowned on.
If you find yourself tied up due to working for an employer and contributing to their dream, but have little time to devote to building your own dream, here are some helpful pointers so that you can still start your business and even consider leaving your job after a while:
1. Start With Baby Steps
Once you have identified a business idea, it’s always critical to start small. Otherwise, you risk overwhelming yourself and taking on too much in one go. Starting small allows you to test the waters to decide if such a business idea is right for you or not.
By starting small, this could mean different things, such as building your web presence on Google and ranking highly for your content, or increasing engagement, before deciding to sell a product or service. In this way, you don’t take too much on, but at the same time, you’re happy because you’re able to see progress.
2. Prioritize Using The 80/20 Rule
Using the 80/20 rule, maximize the little time you do have by spending 20% of your time in executing the tasks that will bring in the largest yields—80% of the results. This is where you’ve got to be single-minded and obtain clarity about your goals, because if you don’t, you’ll easily get distracted and your journey to starting your business will be an unnecessarily protracted process. So if you only have an hour that you can allocate to working on your business, ask yourself these questions:
- What single task can I complete right now that will have the greatest impact on my business growth?
- What tasks I can delegate or automate to free up more time for high-priority work?
- What is one thing I can do today to validate my business idea or attract my first client?
- Am I focusing on activities that directly contribute to making money or landing contracts/clients?
- What might be holding me back right now and how can I address these obstacles?
- Is this task aligned with my long-term goals or is it just another distraction?
3. Focus On These Essentials
If you need help aligning your priorities so you concentrate your limited time on high-value activities only, here are the essentials you should be working on and fitting around your evening and weekend schedule:
- Defining your business idea and goals for the next three, six, and 12 months
- Conducting market research and surveys
- Establishing a personal brand or business brand
- Creating a professional website, LinkedIn, and social media presence where applicable
- Upskilling and learning more about industry trends
- Building relationships with potential customers
- Tracking progress
- Creating proposals, making sales, and creating the product or service
Now here’s what you should not focus your attention on:
- Potential clients who will waste your time requesting free work or in endless delays in decision-making
- Perfectionism and obsessing over tiny details
- Analysis paralysis—excessive research without taking action
- Networking and attending events with people and entities that cannot deliver any tangible value to your business goals
- Following shiny objects just because they’re trendy
The overall message here is clear: stay laser-focused. When you’re working full-time and juggling the responsibilities of your job alongside your new business idea, every moment of time is precious and can make or break your initial success. How to start a business while working full-time? Start small, be strategic, and leverage everything so you can grow.