So you’ve decided to start a business (or maybe you’re calling it a side hustle, passion project- other income generating activity), and now you realize it takes A LOT more work than you’d expected. You’ve found yourself wondering how in the world you are suppose to manage your full time job, your new business and your social/personal life without burning out?!
Honestly, I’m not going to sugar coat it, the struggle is real!
This is something I’ve had to grapple with since I started my blog in 2018, and even more so once it morphed into a small business at the start of 2020. At first I completely overwhelmed myself with unending to-do lists, self-inflicting pressure, and unnerving anxiety about the future. I asked myself, “What if all this work is for nothing?” or “What if I’m not doing enough?” or “How much do other entrepreneurs do?” It was just a constant stream of questions that only added to my stress and burnout.
Over the last year, I’ve tried a bunch of different techniques to reduce my workload and increase my productivity. Everything from batching content to hiring an assistant, I’ve tried it all. I quickly learned there really aren’t any shortcuts- if you want results, you have to put in the work- but, there are definitely ways to reduce stress and work more efficiently.
How to get it all done
Let someone else do it
The number one thing I recommend is to delegate! Get someone else to do the nitty gritty or the things you aren’t particularly good at and don’t have the time/desire to learn. Things like social media posts, email copy, and marketing ads can all be handed to someone else who would probably get better results than you anyways (if that’s not your thing). I tried this method for a couple of months and was absolutely thrilled with the results.
Considerations
If you go this route you do need to invest money and time (but not as much time as doing it yourself). When I hired a social media assistant, I met with them every week to make sure we were on the same page about the content strategy. During these meetings I worked closely with my assistant to make sure they understood my niche and my messaging. I also spent time reviewing all the content and adding notes to help them understand why certain things wouldn’t work for my audience. Essentially, an outside source can only learn your niche and your personal preferences overtime, so make sure you have the budget and the longterm mindset before signing anyone on.
Find the right time
Whether you’ve hired help or not, you need to have solid time management skills in order to be successful at juggling your full time job and your business. To maximize my time, I first figured out when I had the most energy and enthusiasm to work on my business, and then set my schedule around that time. Before this, I thought I’d work on my business after my 9–5, thinking there were more waking hours after work than before work. This ended up backfiring when I realized I was too tired to get anything done after work. Things drastically change when I switched to working before my 9–5. Even though I only had an hour and a half to two hours to get work done, I found myself getting so much more done because I was alert and energized.
Considerations
If you aren’t sure when you have the most energy, try working at different times around your 9–5 and see when you feel most energized and how much you can get done in that time. One very important note is to remember to prioritize your 9–5 job and be fully committed to getting work done for your employer. This is super important because (perhaps temporarily) your 9–5 is your main source of income and you don’t want to jeopardize your main source of income before you are ready to fully transition into your business full time or without having something else lined up.
Set longer deadlines
It’s so tempting to look at someone else’s business and think, “How are they so far ahead of me?!” Believe me, I’ve been there, done that, but honestly, no two people have the same situation and no two businesses have the same trajectory. It’s really important to manage expectations in any case, but especially if you are juggling a full time job and a side business. A good rule of thumb is to give yourself twice as much time than you would like to complete your goals. For example, if you’d like to start profiting $100/day in the next 6 months, give yourself a year to reach that goal. The reason why I recommend this is because you are essentially running your business on a part-time basis so it will likely take you twice as long to reach your goal.
Considerations
You don’t always have to push back your deadlines and prolong your goals, but you do need to be realistic and understand your capacity so that you do not burnout trying to accomplish unrealistic goals. One way to speed up the process is to delegate. Hiring professionals to help you market, for example, will help you achieve your goals with more efficiency. Another way to speed up the process is by hiring a business coach. A coach can help you set SMART goals and keep you accountable every week so that you don’t fall off the deep end one week and lose weeks and weeks of progress.
Get the right things done
I firmly believe it is possible to get all the things done- just not all at once. When you are working full time and trying to build a profitable business on the side, time is of the essence. I am not going to go in depth on this point because I wrote an entire blog post on this topic which you can find here: 3 Tips for getting EVERYTHING done on your To-Do list. In summary though, you have to make a decision on what is absolutely necessary to get done and what will move your business forward.
The Bottom Line
There are notable success stories from people who work full time jobs and have profitable side businesses. With the right set up, you can eventually transition from your full time job to a full time business owner, like Jade from WeSideHustle and countless others, OR you can continue to grow your side business and keep your full time job, like Leo from @Leo.jeanloius and countless others. There are so many ways you can leverage multi income streams, but FIRST, use these tips to set up your foundation and master the art of juggling your job and your side business.
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Cat Marte is a Small Business Coach + Social Media Strategist who helps success driven people launch and grow their small businesses using social media marketing strategies. Book your free introductory call today.
Originally published at https://itsthegoodlifeco.com on September 5, 2021.
