A Side Hustler’s Guide For Staying Positive 9-5
When you’re building or running your side hustle, your 9-5 job can become less than thrilling. Especially if you’re building your business into full-time entrepreneurship. Now not all side hustlers want to take their business full time. That’s important to note. Side hustles are amazing to truly have on the side and provide a steady side income stream. This can be on the side of a corporate 9-5 career. On the side of parenthood. Or on the side of school. However if your side hustle is on the side of a 9-5 and you’re struggling to enjoy that job while building something you’re so passionate about, then listen up because this one is for you! Here are 5 things to tell yourself when you have the 9-5 blues.
Facing the 9-5 blues
The 9-5 blues are what a lot of entrepreneurs face when they find it hard to enjoy work and want to be working for themself instead. This can happen in multiple phases of entrepreneurship. In the beginning, when you’re building your business, the excitement of diving in can cause you to be less enthusiastic about your full-time job. And when you see your business hit growth spurts and scale, the desire to work on your business more and more will only get greater.
Leaving your 9-5 to pursue your side hustle full time is a big deal. And is a decision that should be made carefully and well thought out. Working your 9-5 job that you aren’t in love with is hard enough in general. However working it while building something that you love, can be even harder. However, you should take that leap of faith into full-time entrepreneurship wisely. This may look like having a certain number in savings. Or first seeing your business hit certain numbers. Whatever that looks like for you, the 9-5 blues are a real thing. Here are five things to tell yourself when they begin hitting you harder.
01. This is only temporary
If you’re building your side hustle to become your full time career, then own that! Tell yourself with full confidence that you are building a career to eventually support you full time. By definition, that means that the 9-5 job that you currently have but you’re not in love with, is only temporary. Sometimes reminding yourself that you’re in a temporary state can make you feel less overwhelmed.
It’s important to tell yourself this phase of life is only temporary when you’re in a full time job that doesn’t serve you. The meetings can feel longer, the projects can seem pointless. But they aren’t. It’s just a phase of life and a phase of entrepreneurship that’s a little harder to bare. Remind yourself that one day you’ll look back and this time will seem like a blip.
02. I have two jobs – how awesome is that?!
When you have a 9-5 that you don’t love and a side hustle, a positive perspective is everything. This can be challenging. However if you get stuck in a daily narrative of “my 9-5 stinks. I hate it. I just want to work for myself. This is miserable” then the negative perception serves no one and nothing. Instead take your negative feelings about your 9-5 and flip them on their head. This can not only change your attitude but it can change the way you view your 9-5.
Even though you may not love you 9-5 and even though you may not want to pursue it after your side hustle can supper you, challenge yourself to be grateful for it. Think how amazing it is that you have not just one, but TWO jobs! How awesome is that?! Sure it means more working hours each week but isn’t that better than struggling to secure one job? Reframe your situation in a positive spin. That mindset work will serve you far greater in entrepreneurship than a bad attitude ever will.
03. It’s important that I build my side hustle the right way
When you want to leave your 9-5 before your side hustle is ready to go full time, tell yourself that it’s important your side hustle is built correctly. The temptation to take your business full time is incredibly real. However the fact of the matter is that most businesses, in the beginning, don’t have enough reason to validate a true 40 hour working week. This is why most businesses start as side hustles.
Remind yourself that it’s important to build your business correctly. And if you were to just take the plunge and go all in before it was ready, this could bring some serious consequences. For example, this could disrupt your financials leaving you to make decisions within your business from a stressed and scarcity mindset. Give your side hustle the time and attention to grow it the right way before going full time. This way you are truly setting your business up for success.
04. I can get another job while I build my business
It’s important to note that if you’re miserable at your current 9-5 but your side hustle isn’t ready to go full time, you can always get another job. You are not stuck and you have the power to pivot. While building a side hustle, we often can get stuck in the mindset that our next move will be taking it full time. And it can be. However keep in mind that you have all of the power to transform your life. You can get a better, higher-paying 9-5 career while also building an amazing side hustle.
If this concept is hard to digest, explore why you feel hesitant. Entrepreneurs can sometimes view getting a new 9-5 job before taking their business full time as a sign of defeat. The next move in your career is to become full time right? Not always. Consider the advice you would give a friend. You may even have a preconceived notion that all 9-5’s are miserable. Give yourself more freedom to consider a different outcome. Consider how amazing it would be if you loved your new 9-5, if you were paid more, had more energy and were able to grow your side hustle even better.
05. My business is and will continue to grow
Sometimes when we are growing our side hustle to become full time, we can get discouraged over the time it takes to reach certain milestones. This may be the most common frustration for side hustlers. We want to see progress and growth day after day. And if we are growing our business to provide us a career outside of a 9-5, that slow growth can feel like a permanent sentence to the corporate world. It can sometimes feel impossible to imagine our business reaching milestones worthy of a full time career.
This is where your mindset is key. You have to tell yourself, even when you don’t believe, that your business is growing. Your business is growing and will continue to grow. Keeping the faith is hard but it’s a necessary component of entrepreneurship. Something that can serve you here is finding key metrics to watch within your business. Sometimes seeing metrics trend up can reinsure us of this growth even when we don’t feel it. Consider tracking your website page views or monthly Pinterest viewers.
Knowing the right time to take your side hustle full time
When built strategically, your side hustle can become your full time career. And this transition is a huge one within entrepreneurship. If you are the side hustler who daydreams of turning in their two week notice and waking up to work on your business for a full day, then it’s even more important to approach this decision carefully. The last thing you want to do is act out of impulse and take your side hustle full time before it’s ready. This can actually be the reason that side hustles with the most potential don’t amount to as much success. Knowing the right time to take the leap is key.
To get a better understanding of where your side hustle is, be sure to track your side hustle’s growth. Track key performance indicators or KPI’s within your business on a regular basis. Understand what’s working well within your business and where your opportunities are. Have a clear view of where your revenue is coming from and how to leverage it even more. These things will help you not just prepare your side hustle to become full time, but help conquer the 9-5 blues.
If you are struggling with the 9-5 blues and want to be a full time business owner more than anything, I completely understand. Send me an email to share your story. I would LOVE to chat! And to begin organizing your side hustle, tracking your metrics and preparing to go full time, let me help with that too. Download my free Side Hustler Trello board! This board template will categorize and organize your business to turn it into a full time money making machine. Staying at a 9-5 that you don’t love isn’t always easy. Especially when you’re a business owner. But keep the faith and remind yourself that the sacrifices you make today will pay off within your business tomorrow.
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