“There needs to be more hours in the day. Because….24 hours? Just won’t do.”
Stop it.
I’m guilty of the plea for more hours too…
But, while we’re busy making demands that just can never be…
Other business owners are out there killing it because they know this secret. They know that…
In order to be a successful entrepreneur you’ve got to budget your time like you budget your money.
Are you thinking, Patrice, “What does this have to do with launching while working?”
I am so glad that you asked.
It has every single thing to do with launching a business while working. Let me tell you why…
If you’re launching a business while working you more than likely feel:
- Overwhelmed because of everything that’s on your plate.
- Stagnant and like there’s no clear exit in sight because it doesn’t seem like you’re making meaningful progress on your busines.s
- Unsure about whether entrepreneurship is a real possibility for you because you’ve got real bills and your hopes and dreams aren’t an acceptable currency.
I get it. See, most people who were once in your shoes felt this way at some point in time.
But, you’ve got something really huge working in your favor. Parkinson’s Law.
Parkinson’s Law says that, “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.”
In other words, if you’ve got a ton of time to get ish done you’ll use up all of the time. If you’ve got a smidgen of time at your disposal, guess what? You’ll still get ish done.
And guess what that means for you? You don’t actually need more time.
The fact that you’re launching a business while working is actually a gift.
It’s one of your competitive advantages of the moment.
It’s the metallic (and slightly gaudy) silver lining. Use it wisely.
Now with that out of the way, I wanted to share my personal time hack for making the most of your free time when launching while working.
You ready?
When I was launching while working I also worked as a freelance writer. At a certain point, I drew the line in the sand and decided to redirect my energy from building other people’s brands to working on my own business.
I decided to redirect my energy and treat my business as a part-time job. That’s the hack.
Think about it. Let’s say you picked up a side gig to rake in more cash so you can start saving for your business. You’d work what? About 10-12 hours per week? What if you put that time into your business instead? No, you won’t receive the cash immediately but it’s an investment that will have a return. How much would you accomplish if you consistently dedicated 10-12 hours to your business each week? That deliberate, consistent investment of sweat equity will pay off.
Royally.
When you finally start earning hard cash from your business it will be way more valuable than dollars from anywhere else. The real value won’t be on its face value but in the lessons you’ll learn along the way. You’ll get closer to learning about who your ideal customer and client actually is, what they loved or hated about your work and whether you actually undercharged for the work you performed. Those lessons are priceless.
I challenge you to determine a consistent number of hours that you can dedicate to working on your business each week.
Maybe 10-12 hours won’t work for you now, but I bet you can start with 6. Figure out your work schedule (just like you would a part-time job), block it on your calendar (so you don’t schedule anything else during that time) and show up for each and every shift.
I bet you’ll make magic happen. Parkinson’s Law says so.
Do you want to chat about working with me on the legal side your business? Let’s do it.