Every week as Small Biz Lady, I conduct interviews with experts on my Twitter talk show #SmallBizChat. The show takes place every Wednesday on Twitter from 8-9pm ET. This is excerpted from my recent interview with #smallbizchat co-host and social media consultant Tai Goodwin @TaiGoodwin. Tai is one of the growing population of employedpreneurs: full-time employees who are also part-time entrepreneurs. As she began making her own transition from employee to entrepreneur, she realized a gap in the resources to support employedpreneurs. She founded Launch While Working (http://www.launchwhileworking.com) an online magazine and community for employedpreneurs. She is also the author of the upcoming book How to Launch Your Business While Working Full-Time. For tips about launching while working follow her @employedpreneur.
Small Biz Lady: You’ve coined a term employedpreneur…can you explain what that is?
Tai Goodwin: Employedpreneurs are hybrids — we are full-time entrepreneurs who are also part-time entrepreneurs. Some of us need the stability and benefits of a day job but refuse to give up the dream of being our own boss. Our PT biz is about finding a way to work our passion for profit using our 9-5 as fundraising to pay the bills
Small Biz Lady: Why do you think more people are taking this approach?
Tai Goodwin: The idea of having a side hustle or side business isn’t new — many of us know people or have that relative who fixed cars or did taxes on the side. I remember growing up, my father baking and selling pies and cakes every holiday, eventually catering weddings and special events all while working a regular 9-5 job. With the stability once assumed with a 9-5 job no longer a guarantee — wise professionals have started creating their own options. You have technology now that makes pursuing your entrepreneurial dreams easier. You can launch, manage and grow your business virtually. Just because you can’t escape your cube right now — that doesn’t mean you can’t launch a sustainable business that can scale over time.
Small biz lady: What are the benefits of launching a business while working full time?
Tai Goodwin: Having an income from your 9-5 job means you can carefully choose your clients and your projects based on fit and not solely on needing a payday. Skills and training from your day job can translate into practice and experience that can help you run your business. Working your business like a part time job allows you to build expertise and credibility if your passion is in a different field. You have time to work on your portfolio, get testimonials, build a showcase what you have to offer. And getting to do work you love — even if it is just part-time can recharge you if your day job is burnout central
Small Biz Lady: On the flipside what’s the downside of launching a business while working full time?
Tai Goodwin: First of all, there’s a huge time commitment — you are working in your business nights and weekends, your social life gets put on the back burner. When you have income coming in, you have to be careful not to over invest simply because you have your day job as a funding source. And for some the cushion of a day job delays the urgency of getting clients or creating a sustainable business plan. Another downside is the time constraints. Your opportunities for face to face networking during the day are limited. Not only that but the hours you have available compared to someone who is in this full-time means that it will take you longer to build your business.
Small Biz Lady: What are some of the biggest mistakes people make when launching their business?
Tai Goodwin: Branding before billing is a big one. By that I mean spending money on websites, business cards, the look of being in business before they actually do the work to see if it is a good fit for them — I advise folks to get clients before they get business cards. I have my own stash of cards that have changed over time as I worked my way into my sweet spot niche.
Another one I learned the hard way is not taking care of the infrastructure: legal, accounting, business plan, marketing plan, setting up a business budget. And then there’s having a bad business model where you are passionate about an idea that doesn’t have a target audience that is willing to or capable of paying your rates.
Small Biz Lady: Are there areas that employedpreneurs should focus on when starting their business?
Tai Goodwin: One of the main things to ramp up on as soon as possible is marketing. If you don’t like sales and marketing DO NOT go into business for your self — you will hate entrepreneurship. As a start-up you will spend more than 60% of your time marketing and selling your business. If you don’t — you end up with a hobby that eats your time and money and not a profit generating business
You also have to get comfortable stepping outside of your comfort zone, taking risks and failing, learning the financial side of running a business. Learning how to network and talk to people about your business (like an entrepreneur and not an employee) both online and offline is also critical.
Small Biz Lady: How do you successfully manage a career, a business and a family at the same time?
Tai Goodwin: Have really honest conversations about the changes to your lifestyle for the next year and set firm boundaries. Get buy-in and support from your family and if you can make it a family business. Make a point of scheduling quality family time as a priority. You have to be diligent when it comes to your work hours too — plan your work and set SMART goals for getting things done. As much as you can use technology and a virtual team to automate and maximize productivity: the right tools and people are critical.
Small Biz Lady: How have you been able to build a solid client base as an employedpreneur?
Tai Goodwin: Your time is limited so you need to know who you are going to serve are and how to find them online and offline. Then use social media to build a strong brand online through blogging, article marketing, and social networking. Attend live networking events and conferences — use vacation time if you have to. Learn to ask for referrals and connections. Provide quality work that gets your clients and customers results — and remember to get testimonials when you do. Do one marketing thing every day to fill your pipeline even when you have clients — never let the well run dry.
Small Biz Lady: What tips can you share from your own employedpreneur journey?
Tai Goodwin: Despite the offers that you see online and in your inbox. There is no overnight success — quick instant money path. Your business is based on one success, one client, one lesson learned a time. Hire a coach or join a mastermind group for support and accountability and build a team of advisors. The mastermind groups I’ve been a part of have been an invaluable source of resources, connections, ideas, and encouragement.
And finally, do what you can to find your niche sooner rather than later. NEVER differentiate on price (being the cheapest). Know the value you bring relevant to your customers’ pain and charge what you are worth from the start.
Small Biz Lady: Your upcoming book lists 21 things people should do before they quit, what are your top 3?
Tai Goodwin: 1 – Strip down their lifestyle and spending habits in preparation for how they will live the first 3 years of being in business.2 – Learn how to promote yourself online — social networking and social media marketing need to become your best friend 3 – Consult a financial advisor to get a clear picture of the implications and impact of starting a business. Especially what you will need to do to prepare for retirement.
Small Biz Lady: How does someone start to make a transition from employedpreneur to full-time entrepreneur or solopreneur?
Tai Goodwin: Create an exit strategy with a target date for leaving and the milestones you want to have reached before you leave: how many clients you need to have, the amount of money coming in from the business, how much money you will need to have saved for living expenses, etc…Consider a phased approach by going from FT employee to PT employee once the business is stable enough. Another option that has worked well for some people is to turn full-time job into their first client by becoming a contractor.
Small Biz Lady: What resources are out there for current employedpreneurs and those thinking about launching while working?
Tai Goodwin: Well first — your book Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months tops the list — I also recommend Quitter by John Acuff. Both offer great insights and food for thought for anyone pursuing working for themselves. Offline — get connected to your local SCORE offices, professional organizations, and networking groups. MeetUp.com is a great way to find groups of business owners to connect with. Online there are lots of resources for entrepreneurs – some of my favorites are BNet.com, Entrepreneur Magazine, Small Biz Trends. However, I had a hard time finding something specifically for those of us launching while working. So I created Launch While Working (http://launchwhileworking.com), a site and community specifically for employedpreneurs.
My intention for the site is that it become a resource for the employedpreneur community and a place for us to connect, learn and become vendors and service providers to each other. Most of us have the same evening and weekend work hours so let’s leverage that to do business with each other.
If you found this interview helpful, join us on Wednesdays 8-9pm ET follow @SmallBizChat on Twitter. Here’s how to participate in #SmallBizChat: http://bit.ly/S797e
For more tips on how start or grow your small business subscribe to Melinda Emerson’s blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com.
Melinda F. Emerson, known to many as SmallBizLady is one of America’s leading small business experts. As a seasoned entrepreneur, professional speaker, and small business coach, she develops audio, video and written content to fulfill her mission to end small business failure. As CEO of MFE Consulting LLC, Melinda educates entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies on subjects including small business start-up, business development and social media marketing. Forbes Magazine recently named her one of the Top 20 women for entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter. She hosts #SmallBizChat Wednesdays on Twitter 8-9pm ET for emerging entrepreneurs. She also publishes a resource blog www.succeedasyourownboss.com Melinda is also the author of the national bestseller Become Your Own Boss in 12 months; A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works. (Adams Media 2010)
Great interview — thank you, Tai and Melinda! Loving the term “employedpreneurs.”
Another tip that folks might find useful: become “indispensable” at your current job. What skills or competencies do you have (or could you get) that would make your employer absolutely need you as a contractor, if you’re staying in your current line of work? That, plus being pleasant to work with, can go a long way toward getting your current employer to agree to a part-time or contractor arrangement.
Acquiring a range of in-demand skills beyond my job description (plus reading Melinda’s book, *wink*) has been extremely helpful for me in making the transition to full-time entrepreneur.
I;d love for you to share your Launch Story Akweli! Here’s a link on how to contribute if you are interested: http://launchwhileworking.com/contribute
Tai and Melinda a great tks to you,
Very useful , detailed and concise explanations abd clear direction one should take when chosing to be a PT entrepreneur .. tks a lot
Best Rgds
Ravi Dharkhan
KIsslogics Sourcing Agency
Great article, retweeted. Sure our readers will be interested!
This was really great Tai and Melinda, many thanks!
Certainly true that there are few resources for employed entrepreneurs, so much so that people find it too daunting to take a chance with a business. This is very relevant indeed.
Kind regards,
Tyna
Hi Tyna,
That is exactly why I created Launch While Working. My goal is to make it easy for people to find the resources they need to pursue profitable passions.
Stay Brilliant!
This is a delightful interview. My hat is off to both of you ladies for such a wonderful contribution. Aspiring entrepreneurs of all ages should benefit from this discussion.
Shallie
I hope so Shallie – thanks for stopping by!
Excellent interview! All of the tips are great and really easy to follow. It’s so important to know what you are up against
I agree – I think a lot of us are disillusioned about all the effort it takes to start a business. We also underestimate the commitment of time and resources.
Really great article SBL and Tai! I was lucky enough plan to take 6 months off to start my business (due to some financial planning ahead of time), but I know most aren’t this lucky. I’m going to share these tips with some of the women I coach!
I’d also recommend women check out Ladies Who Launch if it’s in their local community. It’s just another way to find support to keep working hard. Especially if you’re burning the candle at both ends.
Good advice to start one’s own small business while still working. With more online business opportunities, anyone can find their own interest and embark on working on their own business while keeping their full time job.
It is more satisfying especially when your business starts to make some money for you. It could lead to sometime much bigger, and hopefully one day one can quite the full time job and be one’s own boss.
I believe many of us employedpreneurs think about all that was discussed in this article often, I know I do. It’s alot of hard work juggling both the full-time and my side busines. This article gives me a better understanding and helps me to plan a benchmark of when I can begin to consider leaving my full time for my side business.
Thank You for this interview and all of the information that was shared. I have been entertaining the idea of starting a business for some time now (years-to-be-exact). I have ignored the calling of entrepreneurship for far too long, and now the desire is so strong that I can’t ignore the call any longer. I am in the beginning stages of starting my business. I am identifying my audience and the products I would like to sell and this interview has truly spark the wheels of discovery… again Thank You!
Hi Tracy! How are things going with your Employedpreneur business? If you are launching while working, I’d love to have you share your launch story – http://www.launchwhileworking.com/community/contribute
Stay Brilliant!
I really really enjoyed this interview and will be sharing it. I provide business consulting to small business owners and also teach an Intro to Entrepreneurship class. I do stress the importance of having enough start up income and maintaining the current job, particularly if a person is entering into a completely new venture. One thing I will say is that I usually tell clients to take advantage of low cost printing services like Vista Print at the beginning. Often times, people provide their services and never have a means (besides a text) to get the message out about their business.
This was a very informative interview. I am an entrepreneur an I did everything opposite of this interview. I took the plunge on a huntch, gained it all loss it all and started back over the right way. I wish I had this advice 5yrs ago but to make a long story short, I have lasted longer than I probably thought I would and doing it the right way definitely takes longer. I have learned to appreciate my love which is my career and it has allowed me to service my clients effortlessly!!
Thank you so much for this! I am just starting a business on the side, so this came at the perfect time!
I LOVE this article. Three years ago I took a part time position that allowed me to focus on my event planning company more. To hear your answers to the questions I know I am making the right moves to soon quit my part-time job. Thanks sooooo much and I will be joining your group. Good to know I am not alone.
A.Johnson Owner/Chief Decorator
CREATORS
Tai & Melinda, Kudo for the article.
I had started to drop the ball and now realized that I am not alone in what I was crazy doing, .
Much energized.
Excellent. Very helpful for me as an entrepreneur. Good job!
This article explains it all … In my lectures around the country for the last four years I’ve used this recipe to explain to those who wish start a business. Thank you.
Who proofreads this stuff before it is posted to the website. Pathetic. From what I could tell it is good information but impossible to completely read because of all the unintelligible fonts.