How to Build a Business While Working a 9-to-5
You can keep the job and still build the business. Six ways to make progress without risking your financial safety net.
So you’re at work — tray on your shoulder, or folding clothes, or typing at a desk. Whatever 9-to-5 it is, you’re good at it, sure, but it’s not something you’re excited about, especially when you wake up the next morning to do it all over again.
What truly excites you is the thought of being your own boss, of using your talents to create and build something that matters. What gets you through your shifts is thinking about your business idea and imagining if you could fully devote your time to it instead of answering phone calls or customer questions but… doing work like that is the reason your lights are on.
So, what do you do? Throw caution to the wind and screw your finances by diving fully into your business idea, or keep fantasizing?
Well, what if you got to keep your 9-to-5 and could still build your business? We’re here to say it’s possible, and show you how.
Make Good Use of Your Free Time
Before and after your shift, or during breaks and weekends, utilize these pockets of time to make some progress. Whether that’s strategizing, planning, or content creation, use the free time you have to devote to your dream.
You can try creating a schedule of when you’ll use free time to build.
Use AI Tools to Take Some Weight Off
AI and other online tools can be used to help make the process of building a business less time consuming. They can take care of the bulk of smaller or more tedious tasks, so you can focus on the more vital parts of building.
Keep Your Day Job Separate
First, look at your contracts with your place of work and review the non-compete clauses or intellectual property agreements. Also, make sure you don’t work on your business using company issued tech, supplies, or software. By doing both of these things, you can avoid your place of work taking any legal ownership over your business and ideas.
Second, make sure you keep your day job and your business completely separate, so you can keep your financial safety net for as long as you need it. Never build on company time or brag about what you’re working on to superiors.
Quick Market Tests
Once you have identified your target customer base and have a product designed or created, you can quickly validate your idea by putting out a limited batch of your product, or offering a part of the service you’re providing. You can also secure pre-orders.
Both of these suggestions will keep you from burnout, and you’ll get an idea of how much you need to invest in inventory.
Know When to Quit
If your business has taken off and you’re seeing consistent profit from it that can cover over half of your paycheck, that’s when you can consider quitting your day job.
Never quit too soon, as you don’t want to lose the financial support you need to keep building.
Protect Both, and Put In the Effort
Whoever says that you can’t chase your dream while having a full time job has simply never really tried it. It may not be the easiest, but it’s possible and entrepreneurs do it all the time.
Just be sure to protect your dream and your job equally, put in the effort, and we’re sure you’ll do great. If you’d like help with getting your business off the ground, definitely download the SideKix app. We’d love to see you succeed.
Frequently asked questions
Can you start a business while working full time?
Yes, and it is the common path rather than the exception. The article treats the day job as the thing funding the attempt, which changes how you use the hours around it.
How many hours a week do you need to start a side business?
The article is more concerned with how the free time is used than with a target number, since a focused stretch tends to beat scattered hours.
How do I keep my business separate from my job?
Keeping the two apart is its own section, covering separate equipment, separate time and an awareness of what your employment agreement says.
When should I quit my job to go full time?
The article covers this as a question of evidence rather than nerve, with quick market tests as the way to gather that evidence before the decision.
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