One of my major struggles is juggling my 9-5 job with my businesses and its tough to be honest. A lot of long nights, a lot of hilarious stories that were not as funny when they were playing out and a lot of sacrifices. I’ve had my fair share of failed business ventures, I’ve been successful in most, not quite where I want to be but I get better each passing day. My job allows me experiment with different business ideas without jeopardising my steady source of income. I love my job, I love trying out new business ideas, why do I have to choose? It is difficult to juggle both, but it’s been a pretty interesting journey so far.
Entrepreneurship is the rave right now, owning your startup is the new cool. A significant number of young, professional Nigerians I’ve met have a side hustle apart from their 9-5 jobs. For some, side-hustling is a way of fulfilling their passions, for others, it’s an extra stream of income, for most, it’s a bid to survive the dreadful Nigerian economy and supplement low wages in an economy with high inflation (Thanks Buhari!).
In my journey so far, I have come across some fundamental principles that have helped me manage the complexity of my situation. Here are some pointers on how to build your business, deepen your knowledge and better your chances of success while juggling paid employment with entrepreneurship.
Don’t Quit Your Day Job
In today’s world of apps created less than 10 years ago declaring higher profits than conglomerates built over 50 years ago, the clamour to be an entrepreneur is understandable. Entrepreneurship has been incredibly glamourised, that some entrepreneurs mock those in paid employment, let me be the one to tell you not to kill yourself joining the bandwagon. For those looking to make the switch, your 9-5 job is the vehicle that you would use to drive that your entrepreneurial dream. It may make you too comfortable to set up your own business, however it gives you experience, skills and insight on how to run your own business. Your day job will fund your dreams, even your dreams can’t fund your dreams.
Set SMART goals to enable you plan better and achieve more in both your business and career.
Manage Your Time
Running a side business while working 9 to 5 allows you test your ideas without putting your income flow at too much risk. A side hustle is a stepping stone to creating an additional income stream and a great way to test your business idea without the risk of losing your current income stream. The 5 to 9 life is probably more tasking than the 9 to 5 life, being that you would use your free time for hobbies, socialising, resting, chopping life etc., to work on your business.
You don’t need a prophet to tell you the major crux of working while building a business is time management. You have to be principled and incredibly disciplined to manage your time effectively to be productive at your job and run your business successfully. Do not under any circumstance skimp on your job for your business, if you cannot manage both at once, its best you focus on just one. There are a ton of time management apps that help with managing your schedule and achieving your goals, check some of them here.
Share your work
Whether on social media or a website or youtube channel or a podcast, find a way to share your work. It helps you build a community, and also establish yourself as an authority in your field. There is absolutely no point of building a business or a brand without also building a platform to showcase it, you don’t necessarily have to be the face of your brand, you can build a brand without the public knowing you’re the brain behind it. Also, sharing your work, essentially is a marketing strategy, so it’s a win-win situation.
Learn from Experts
Learn from other people’s experience, you don’t have to suffer, Nigerians love to glamourise sufferhead. Avoid falling into the entrapment of doing things the hard way just to have a rag-to-riches story, do things the smart way by learning from those who have experienced what you are going through. Ask for help from those who have gone before you, there is no shame in reaching out to someone who is the same field as you for guidance.
Collaborate
Because you have limited time, you would most likely progress faster when collaborate with people who share your vision. You have to be careful not to pick a business partner solely because you are both alike and the person “gets it”. You have to pick a co-founder that complements you, that has qualities you don’t have that is required to make your business a success. Learning to delegate tasks based on strengths from the early days will go a long way in creating structure for your business that allows you have time to do more and lays the ground work for business continuity.
Prioritise Customer Satisfaction
The fact that you’re working for someone while running a business does not excuse you from putting not out the best service and product with great customer service. I have come across several business owners that expect you to understand that their service is subpar because they are busy with their day jobs, this is utterly unacceptable. Your business should be properly structured and run efficiently for you to deliver top notch service. Your customers do not need to know the details of your struggles, save that for your Forbes interview. Do the needful and deliver the best service you can, whether in paid employment or in business.