Running a home based business is hard enough as it is. Throw in a full-time corporate job, a kid or two and all the responsibilities of being a wife/mom and things really start to get interesting.
In 2016, shortly before my first born turned one, I set a goal to leave my corporate job and start a home-based business. It wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy my HR job. Quite the contrary actually. I truly loved Recruiting and working with Employees one-on-one and had a great relationship with both my boss & coworkers.
What I needed however was something almost completely void in my life at the time: A health plan, flexible schedule, and most importantly, more time with my kids.
My desire to accomplish this goal turned into an obsession. At the time, I had no clue what it was I was going to do. I had no ideas, no special talents, and more importantly, no extra cash to spare for a business venture.
I decided that I was going to go with the flow and find what it was I enjoyed through trial and error. I also made the decision to use the resources I had available to me at the time rather than focusing on the things I was greatly lacking. To do this, I began finding simple ways to make extra money while still working 9-5.
My side gigs
I freelanced online through sites like UpWork and Fiverr, sold home-made skincare products and coconut oil, and began to ghost write several books on Amazon as well.
The money through my side gigs was being used to fund my blog Project Life Wellness including any related training, photography resources/props, site maintenance/security/hosting, and even a new camera. I also utilized free resources in the process as well.
My blog quickly became a platform to showcase my love for wellness, healthy recipes and self-growth and eventually allowed me to make a part-time income through ads, affiliate marketing, and brand sponsorships.
I was exhausted
Towards the end of 2016, I was spending close to 20 hours a week working on blog campaigns as well as growing my blog and social media accounts organically. I was doing all of this while working 40 hours at my full time job and taking care of my toddler.
Needless to say, things were quite hectic and I found myself exhausted most days. I knew this was not how I wanted things to continue and I needed to figure out quickly what I wanted to do.
At the end of 2017 I started my freelancing business as a way to make extra money while on maternity leave with my second child. Much to my surprise, the business took off right away and I found myself busy and helping several clients.
Unable to keep up with both after returning to work, I decided to put in my notice at my corporate job who then offered me the chance to work 4 hours a day until they found my replacement and under the contingency that they hired me as a freelancer some time in the future.
This turned out to be the smartest decision for myself and family financially and also allowed for more flexibility in my schedule to work on my business with more than enough time to see my children and even get a workout in daily.
So how did I manage to juggle everything when I was still working full-time? Here’s what worked for me!
Find work close to home
I understand this may not be an option for everyone but when I decided I wanted to be self-employed, I was still working about 40 minutes away from home.
This made it nearly impossible to even think of a business idea as I was usually exhausted by the drive alone and wanted nothing more than to plop on the couch after work.
It wasn’t until I switched employers and began working just 5- minutes from home that I was able to finally persue and reach my goal.
If you cannot find employment close to home, I would highly advise tweaking your hours if possible to allow you to start and leave earlier in order to beat evening rush hour. That alone will make a huge difference!
Use lunch breaks to work on your business
This is crucial. If you have an hour for lunch, I highly advise using it to further your business in some way.
For me, it meant writing e-books during lunch, completing campaigns, and even taking Instagram food photography.
My lunch break became extremely crucial and I found myself turning down lunch dates with my coworkers on the regular.
It wasn’t easy or fun but I knew the constant self-discipline would pay off later.
Keep a planner and organize your time
I will be the first to admit that I am not the most organized person but there came a point that I became completely overwhelmed.
I still remember how badly I wanted to quit in those early days, especially when I wasn’t seeing a return on my investment(s).
I continued to press on and decided to get a planner instead. I began writing down the days I would blog and the days I would work on my side gigs.
It helped me tremendously as it taught me I didn’t have to constantly multi-task and could focus on one task and project at a time.
Wake up early rather than staying up late
This one was tough for me as I do not consider myself an early bird but every successful person I read about woke up early to get work done.
I began to do this and was completely shocked at how much more I was able to get done in such a short period of time vs when I tried to do it in my exhausted state in the evening.
Do I stay up from time to time? sure! but lately I’ve been finding myself too exhausted to stay up past 11pm so I have been succumbing to the overwhelming tiredness and getting those Z’s in.
It’s well known that the most restorative sleep occurs between the hours of 10pm-2am so It’s crucial to ensure we try our best to sleep during those hours.
Try aiming for waking up early to finish up projects and watch your productivity increase tremendously.
Ask for help
Perhaps the most important, enlist for help. As much as I like to think of myself as “wonder woman” (In my opinion most women are), I know realistically, I just cannot do it all myself.
If it wasn’t for my Husband, parents, and in-laws, there is no way I would have been able to do any of this.
If you’re a Mom, consider hiring a babysitter or nanny or simply have your kid(s) stay with family so you can catch up on work from time-to-time.
No matter what your situation, there will come a time that you will need help and that’s perfectly OKAY. Be open to receiving help from those who care about your well-being.
My Inspiration
Starting a home-based business while working full time wasn’t easy but then again, they say nothing worth having comes easy and I believe it.
My biggest advice to you is to keep pressing on. There will be days and nights that you feel like giving up but I urge you to keep going.
Only you know the vision that you have for your life, so stick to the plan and roll with the punches. Your future self will thank you!
I have probably said this many times before but starting my blog turned out to be the best decision I have ever made.
Not only for the income, but for the many other opportunities, relationships, and ideas that would eventually come my way as a direct result.
Project Life Wellness has been my creative outlet and led me to my freelancing business which has been a blessing in and of itself.
Looking back now, the struggle of juggling my full-time job with my side gig(s) was totally worth it.