So for those of you who have at least two irons in the fire so to speak, I thought it may be nice to write an article about building a business while being a full time employee for another company.
In many if not all cases, the budding entrepreneur has to start his or her business on a part-time basis, keeping the day job if you will, until their new enterprise is capable of generating enough long-term, stable income to allow them to leave the J-O-B and focus on the development of their business. This can be a very tricky task, as there are always two areas that these individuals must focus on during a large percentage of their waking hours.
So... how do they stay motivated, focused on both tasks and keep their performance in both areas where they should be in order to excel?
Try using one to feed the other. In other words, if throughout the course of any given day, you find yourself not hitting on all cylinders at your day job; use your passion and desire that you have to make your own business a success as a means to get you going and push you through a rough patch.
As an example, let's say that you have a project at work that you need to get finished up by the end of the week. It's Monday morning and you just don't feel like you have enough gas in your tank to put your best work product together and get it out by Friday. Take a moment to pull back and think about doing your own thing, in your own business, and how great it's going to be when you finally reach that point of success that you have always DREAMED about! Get that feeling of excitement running through your body (all you entrepreneurs out there know what I'm talking about), now take those feeling of excitement, enthusiasm, and positive thinking and apply them to your task at hand! Focus on that project that you are working on that needs to be finished up by the end of the week and get to work!
Tell yourself that not only are you building a huge business on your own time, but that you are also helping your current employer set themselves apart from the competition at work. That you're a great entrepreneur (even if your just starting out, say it anyway), and an incredible employee that your company is lucky to have - and you're going to prove it by being one of the best at your given task! You're the best (insert here) there is, you're getting better every day, adding value to everything you touch, and success in any endeavor is just around the corner!
The reason I titled this article dueling banjos was because this was the first thing that came to mind when I first used this technique many years ago myself. So for those of you who are un-familiar with "dueling banjos"; one person plays a tune, then the other person plays a tune a little faster, then the first person plays the tune a little faster still, thus they duel it out to see who can play the tune the fastest. So, you can build a great business, but can you be a great employee? So you're the best employee ever, but can you carry that over to the building of your own business? OF COURSE YOU CAN! With a little practice, you'll have your energy for one, fueling the other and vice versa.
I am willing to bet that if you try using this technique and learn how to master it by using your passion for another area of your life, in this case, growing your own business to make you better in another area, your day job - you will find new energy, focus and creativeness that was not there before.
So stay focused on the big picture, give your employer the best you can and when it's time to dedicate yourself to your business, do it will passion and excitement!