Bill Bartmann’s Business Advice: Starting out Part-Time

Many people feel that it would be too risky to quit their job and start a new business. If you fall into this category, you might consider starting a business that only requires you to work at it part-time. You will need to learn how to balance your time and commitments with your current employer and your family while you reduce financial risks by starting out part-time.

Advantages of Starting a Part-Time Business

You get a trial time, to see if business ownership is right for you and you are right for business ownership. If you should find it really is not for you, then you still have your job, which may not look so bad once you have experienced the other side of the coin.

Running a small business, part-time, reduces the amount of risk involved. Starting out small and making mistakes early in the game, will result in a much smaller loss if the business should fail.

You still have your income from your job to pay the mortgage, car loan, groceries, child care, etc…while the business is being established. Once you begin to show profit, you will be able to leave the profits in the business to grow the business. The more money you are able to keep in the business, the faster the business can grow

Drawbacks to Running a Business Part-Time

When you’re only working part time, it takes longer to grow a self-sustaining business. You are also at risk of experiencing “burn-out,” as you are working even more hours than you were before. What ever leisure time you used to enjoy with friends and family is being taken up by the new part-time business. Now, you work full time, run a business part-time and you still need to sleep.

Don’t forget, you still have an obligation to your employer to perform your job, to be productive, to show up every day, on time and to put in a full 8 hours. You also have an obligation to your business to keep it operating.

You might lose your focus on the job, the business, or both if you continue too long at this pace. Eventually, you will become physically and mentally exhausted. A time will come that you will have to make a decision; work full time, or give up the job and run your business.

Time Management and Self-Discipline

If you should decide to turn to run your business full time, then you will need to have great time management skills. Your time off will be limited at first; plan to accomplish as much as possible as you stay focused on your business.

You will need to develop great self-discipline; your boss will no longer be holding you accountable; you will have to hold yourself accountable. You will have to make yourself work hard to accomplish what you need to.

Lifestyle – Family and Friends

Strong support from family and friends is critical to your decision to go into business for yourself. Have a conversation with them; make them aware that your time will be committed to developing a business while you continue to work full time. Explain what you will need from them in terms of support and understanding. Assure them that this is only going to be temporary and they will likely be less resistant of the change in your routine and more tolerant of the fact that there will be no more “after-work drinks” or extra curricular activities with the family for a while.

Being skilled at managing yours and other people’s expectations is important in your success in life and in business. Managing the expectations of your friends and family will help you with the support system you need to begin your journey to business ownership.

Bill Bartmann offers online business courses so people can develop the necessary basic business management skills to be successful. Bill Bartmann’s Billionaire Business Systems has helped thousands of entrepreneurs reach their goals by showing them how to strengthen their business even during times of economic uncertainty.