How to start a company while working full-time

Multiple statistics have shown that more and more people want to start their own businesses. However, only a small percentage of small businesses survive past the first five years. Full-time employment provides a safety net for employees, and it is the perfect window to try running or starting a business. This presents a unique problem of its own, pulling the herculean task of working full-time and running a business. Nonetheless, this feat is still achievable.

For this work and side-business combination to be possible, there should be a strong innate desire to want to do it. The desire should not be something as weak as ‘because everyone is talking about’ or, ‘my friends are doing it’. The reason why a strong desire is a core ingredient to successfully starting a business while working is that the path is not for the faint-hearted. There will be a lot of reasons for one to give up, a lot of excuses to stop along the way. Having a strong why is key to overcoming these challenges down the road.

For an employee looking to start a business full-time, fear is a factor that needs to be dealt with. Fear lets one take lazy steps that impede success. Fear and anxiety equally manifest itself in that endless thought of weighing which idea to go with. A singular idea that has just one value proposition is a good starting point. Complicated business models is a recipe for failure more so for employees looking to combine full-time with their side hustle.

There should be a well-laid go-to-market strategy and launch plan. The detail on how to reach and acquire customers should be laid out before launching the business to the market. This includes laying aside some budget for the production and promotion of the company product or service.

To cope with working and running a side business, there is need for outsourcing where ever necessary. This can be legal processes, repetitive task, content development, web development, logo design, etc. The focus of such an entrepreneur should be on only performing key tasks that actually move the business forward.

While growing the side business is also a priority. However, there should be a balance between regular work and side hustle work. None should suffer for the sake of the other, especially the employee’s regular job. This is because the full-time job provides a fallback strategy in the event that the side business does not fly.

One of the biggest trap to starting a business while working full-time is the trap of easily giving up on the business to focus on full-time employment, or the urge to go full-time on the side business before the business fully matures. Give it time for better analysis to make a more informed decision.

Attempting to run a business while working full-time is no small feat to achieve, but it is one that has a win-win outcome for the employee. Success means the opportunity at having a flourishing business. Failure brings with it a wealth of knowledge, this hardcore knowledge has helped many employees speedily rise to or perform better in managerial roles at their respective companies.