Whether you’re fed up with your day job or just hungry for a change, it may be time to consider working for yourself instead of someone else. Launching your own start-up is a difficult endeavor, even for the most prepared businesswoman.
For many, maintaining a full-time job while branching into an independent enterprise can seem daunting. On top of that, women entrepreneurs face many unique struggles finding the balance in their lives. However, with proper planning and balance, your dreams are within reach. We’ve compiled a list of helpful advice to tackle some of the biggest issues.
Balance Avoids Burnout
If you’re already working fulltime, it can be difficult to figure out how many hours you should be putting into your entrepreneurial endeavor. You can’t maintain a breakneck speed indefinitely. If your primarily job takes 40-50 hours a week, you’ll struggle far more trying to match that with your start-up. Besides, some jobs simply take more or less time commitment than others. Finding out how much time you should be spending with your start-up is an important part of the process.
You need a plan for time management, marketing, and strategy. This is especially important if you want to avoid burnout. Take time for yourself and your needs.
Set Boundaries at your Day Job
If you’re serious about your start-up, it’s time to make some changes at your full-time job. When or if possible, balance projects at work and try to avoid taking on too much. Time management at your fulltime job is just as important as time management in growing your start-up. Try to manage your workload in a way that allows you to work normal hours. Stop staying late just because the boss does!
In reality, this may not be possible for some, so rely on other strategies here for balance and productivity.
Take Advantage of Your Benefits
You may or may not have benefits associated with your full-time job. If you’re employed by many companies, you will have paid time off. If you are fortunate enough to be in that position, take advantage! You can use that paid time off, sprinkling it through the first months of working both jobs, to focus on your start-up. While it may cut into your possible vacation time, it’s also worth it to avoid the constant seven-day work week.
Be Careful of Empty Promises
Be wary of coaches and “mentors” that come with large fees paid in advance. You may find yourself putting money into their start-ups instead of your own. This isn’t the say that there aren’t fields where coaches aren’t helpful. Building relationships with other professionals in your field is never a bad thing and can benefit you more often than not. However, if your networking opportunities require payment, you may want to consider exactly how they are going to benefit you beyond what they promise. Make sure you’re getting the right mentor for your needs.
Value Consistency over Expediency
Don’t get overwhelmed or discouraged if you aren’t meeting your goals as quickly as you want. Great things take time and hard work. Are you seeing progress? Great! If you aren’t, it may be time to re- evaluate your goals and your plan of action.
Don’t use other people (especially not on social media) as your guideposts, either. Everyone comes into this from different situations and you don’t necessarily know how well someone is doing based on likes and comments.
Even the busiest woman entrepreneur needs a boost every now and again. As long as you’re making progress towards your goals, keep at it! You’ve got this!