For example, right now, 24 million Americans want to be self-employed in 2021. But according to a recent report from Freshbooks, the desire to quit isn't enough to do so:
“Tens of millions of Americans have told us that their dream job is to work for themselves, but this is a terrifying proposition for most because the world, in many ways, is not ready for them.”
The reasons seem to be quite obvious : not all of us can afford to stop earning money because we have several responsibilities to attend to, such as children. On the other hand, many companies take years to start making significant profits. And it is even true that not having a job could help you earn more money with the motivation and desire to grow, although this is not always the case.
In this article I want to share some ideas for venturing down this path of starting a business without leaving your current job, although… sooner or later, you will have to take the leap.
How to start a business without quitting your job—at least at first.
Look at your current situation to set realistic expectations.
When I started freelancing, the first thing I did was see how much I was able to make with my job at that time and what the company expected from me. This way, I was able to find out what time I actually had available to start a new business.
It wasn't easy, because I worked in a software development company, a Great Place To Work , with an incredible environment and culture, but highly demanding.
At this stage, knowing how much free time I had was also very important. Knowing my availability very well, it became clearer to me what I could sacrifice to have time for my “ side hustles .”
I always say that expectations kill happiness. One of the main areas in which people fail and which causes disappointment is having very high expectations, without knowing their potential and real situation.
You can't expect to get up at 5:00 am to work on a project for 3 hours and then spend 8 hours straight at your formal job - that's unlikely to happen, especially if you're not trained. All you're going to achieve is burnout. This is an endurance activity, not a speed activity. It's better to focus on what you can accomplish today and see when you can fit it in on your schedule.
Stop doing things that don't bring you results.
If there is one thing that becomes valuable when you are in the transition and then in the new stage, it is: Your time. This will be key to achieving your goals. If you are doing something that does not give you any benefit, eliminate it immediately. It is not worth trying something that does not take you anywhere.
Barry Davret once said: “ Productivity matters, sure, but not how you think about it. Before you worry about how much you’re doing, you should focus on what you’re doing. Do more work, but focus on fewer tasks .”
In my case, optimizing meeting time at formal work worked. Setting a maximum limit of 30 minutes meant an increase in available time to be more productive and also have more hours available for the new project.
Plan your activities in advance.
Personally, I have always been a person who makes to-do lists. Some people don't like this method. But I learned it when I was very young, when we were in scouts and we had to organize excursions and camps on a regular basis. That's why I have a list for almost everything in life. At Mauna, we use Asana to manage the projects we have with clients and new ideas.
If you have a formal job and want to start a business, planning can be a key aspect. I used to plan all the activities for the following week on a Saturday or Sunday night. Usually at an indecent hour. But, doing it earlier and not on a Monday can relieve you and help you better see what you have ahead of you. There is a subtle balance that you must maintain, not to oversaturate yourself with “to-dos” to do in a week. Prioritize the ones you can do and discard the others for the moment, so you can see progress. And when you have to do an activity for your formal job or your new project, get on with it, without further delay.
Block your work time.
In an ideal world, we would all be able to multitask. However, this is not the case and multitasking is highly overrated. According to some research , humans are not meant to multitask.
In fact, there is only a small percentage of people who are good at this. Dividing attention across multiple activities is an extra strain on the brain, and can often come at the cost of actual productivity.
So, what worked best for me to be able to do two jobs at the same time is to block my work hours. This means concentration. Focusing only on solving one problem and then taking a break to answer chats and emails.
The more you ignore the distractions that take you away from productive activity, the sooner you may realize that they are not as important as they seem.
That random call with your boss, that email that just came in, or that message asking you for a task can really wait. And the more you focus on finishing what you need to do now, the better the results will be.
Rest. It's as important as the work you're doing.
Jim Rohn said, “ Work hard at your job and you can make gambling data mexico a living. Work hard on yourself and you can make a fortune.” Benjamin P. wrote, “Spend 20% of your energy on your job and 80% of your energy on recovery and self-improvement .”
You might think that remote work , where you control your hours and have greater flexibility, is much more relaxing than typical office work. But that's not always the case. Freelancing requires Samurai discipline, much more self-control than you might imagine.
If you don't manage your hours well, there will come a time when you won't be able to do anything no matter how hard you try. That's why you need to respect your rest hours. After more than 10 years of working remotely on projects in different countries, I can assure you that not doing so doesn't make you more productive, and on the contrary, you'll find yourself in front of the screen for endless days of 14 or 16 hours of work. Not to mention the impact this can have on your family. Starting a business also means that you're healthy for the new challenges to come.
Respect your time to rest, nothing will be more important than your mental and physical health.
Learn to automate repetitive tasks.
As a web designer, I am constantly looking for ways to automate all the repetitive tasks I have. Thanks to technology, many of them can be automated.
For example, some of the things I have already automated are:
On my social media, I have the content I'm going to publish automated. This way, I don't have to go every day to publish content.
I have pre-designed emails for the different messages I'm normally used to receiving, so I don't have to write an email for each client.
The more automated tasks you have in your day, the better you can focus your energies on what really matters.
Lower your goals.
Goals give us a purpose. Most people set too many goals, which after a while become too diluted and don't achieve anything.
According to expectancy motivation theory , you need a clear and compelling outcome, as well as a clear path to achieve that outcome. Without these, you will lack motivation and thus procrastinate.
Hope theory holds the same point: to have hope, you need a goal and a path to achieve that goal. So too many goals only distract you from what really matters, which is achieving ONE goal.
When you focus on a main goal, you don't need a big to-do list; you just need a plan. If you want to write down tasks, try putting down one to three items each day. Observe the results. Make significant progress. Focus on the most important action, not the easiest. You'll be closer to starting a business.
Now it's your turn.
You don't have to quit your job—not right away—to start a business. Although it's a difficult and demanding road of self-control and sacrifice, it is possible to achieve it with the right mindset. These points can help you manage your time (it's always about time) to be able to achieve it.
Look at your current situation to set realistic expectations. The best way to start is to know how you are going to do it.
Stop doing things that don't bring you results . You'll achieve better things when you focus on what really matters.
Plan ahead, but don't overdo it ( Mr. Miyagi said: "Lesson not just in Karate. Lesson for life! All life has a balance, everything will be better." ). Start with the main things in your day, not the easy ones. Remember that it is better to achieve your goal, even if it is just one, than to finish many useless tasks.
Blocking your time allows you to finish faster than multitasking. Please, not every email needs an instant response.
Rest is just as important as the work you're doing. You're working to live, not living to work. Manage your rest hours wisely to avoid burnout.
Automating repetitive tasks helps you focus on more important things that require your attention.
The fewer goals you have , the better you can achieve them. Focus on achieving the main one and then move on to the secondary goals. Not the other way around.
