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Editor’s Note: Working on your dream business while keeping a day job is a balancing act, and the key is to be creative, organised, disciplined, focused and accept help from others. Enjoy this piece. Robelen x
The biggest hurdle for any start-up is finding the perfect balance between the time you spend at your day job and the time you spend growing your dream business. We’d all love to think that we could forego the daily grind of our reliable and income-generating job for our passion, but in most cases it isn’t a realistic option.
Currently, I juggle my time between working as a lawyer and building my chemical-free, pregnancy-safe range of natural cosmetics and mineral makeup, Bare Blossom. It hasn’t always been an easy feat but I’ve learnt a few things along the way that helped me successfully manage both – and below I share them with you.
To Successfully maintain your ‘day-job’ and continue to build your own business you need to be well organised and establish strong time management skills. Working 40+ hours per week at your day job can make it extremely challenging for you to find the time to work on your Business, but the hours do exist. Do you watch 2 hours of television every night? Do you waste your lunch hour? If you instead spent this “wasted” time working on your Business, you will be able to build your Business at the same time. An hour each weekday equals 20 hours a month that you can devote to your business.
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You must be disciplined about setting aside regular time for your business. Personally, I devote a couple of hours on Bare Blossom in the early morning before starting my day job and my lunch break. I then finish up with a further few hours when I get home. Many weekends are also spent on Bare Blossom.
Starting your own business is extremely exciting but don’t expect your start-up to take off over night just because you want it. Keep in mind what you want to achieve and continue to work towards it. Being persistent and sticking to your plan will help you manage your ‘day-job’ while achieving results for your own business. This year, I am working on launching Bare Blossom into pharmacies and I would love to be THE nationally-recognised toxin-free cosmetics range. I would also like the awareness and transparency of what is in other cosmetic ranges increased and for consumers to understand that there are alternative options available.
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I’m fortunate enough to have a wonderful support network which makes the tough times a whole lot easier. Having the ability to ask for help when needed has really made a difference when setting up Bare Blossom and has helped it grow. My Husband was especially supportive of my desire to launch Bare Blossom because he had witnessed me struggle with my autoimmune disorder. An Autoimmune disorder can make your internal organs vulnerable to the harmful toxins that are found in many cosmetics and makeup.
When you are completely exhausted and you want nothing more than to sit in front of the television and watch The Real Housewives, remember why you started your business. If you are feeling unmotivated or are procrastinating then you need to figure out the reason. You may need to call on your support team for a pep talk, re-work your business idea or recruit someone to help you. If you remember your “why”, then that is all it usually takes to keep you motivated.
