A lot of folks in paid employment neither develop nor maximize the innate potential that's theirs. They're limited to the extent that they're not adequately in control of their own financial life. Although, some of them have the burning desire to fulfill their dreams - growing a business. But doing so is like climbing Mount Everest! Others have even ended up their careers in paid employments. Only those who are entrepreneurial strive for financial education in other to increase their financial opportunities. While it's good to work for someone else or government, it's better to start a business and become your own boss. You can start a business while still in paid employment.
What business do you want to start? Starting a side business while still working a full time job, can be an incredible challenging experience. The entrepreneurs know that nothing worth achieving in life comes easily. They're really aware of this fact; and are excited about it. They don't allow any obstacles stop them in their quest for success.
What business do you want to start? Starting a side business while still working a full time job, can be an incredible challenging experience. The entrepreneurs know that nothing worth achieving in life comes easily. They're really aware of this fact; and are excited about it. They don't allow any obstacles stop them in their quest for success.
Everyone wants to live a life of fulfillment. One thing that can help you achieve this is money! We all need money, and even more of it to keep life going. Don't pretend you don't. Supplementing your income while doing a 9-to-5 job will only afford you the freedom to enjoy the good things of life you greatly desire. Indeed, you can make extra income with your side business. "You can have it all, just not all at once." - Oprah Winfrey.
The following strategies may help you get started:
The following strategies may help you get started:
1. The Nature Of Business
Having good knowledge of what type of business to start is crucial. You can do this successfully when you research on the business of your interest. Research will help you determine the initial capital that is required, market to serve, expenses that may be incurred, profitability, challenges/prospects, etc. What's your business idea? Is it online or offline business? Can you manage your paid employment and side business at the same time? These questions will help keep you focused.
2. Personal Savings
Once you determine the type of business to run, start saving money immediately. The initial capital outlay should have been saved over long period through your current employment. The amount of money required is determined by the type of business idea in view. For example, the amount of money required for a supermarket will not be the same amount required to run a restaurant business.
3. Legal Framework
Aside registering your business with government authority, don't violate the legal agreements binding on you and your employer. There should be no clash between what you should do and not do. But if you're not bound by any laws in any way, starting a second stream of income could be all you need to increase your financial chances. On the other hand, if you're trapped by your employer's agreement, you could think of other legitimate ways of starting a business, even if you're in another employment. You can make money without necessarily breaking the rules of the game.
4. Location
The location of a business can determine its success or failure. A business that's sited at a strategic location, can't be compared to a business that's located at a less busy location. The truth is, the more people see your business, the more it's likely to be patronized by those people. When you want to locate a business, you may consider these factors: demographics, traffic, competition, accessibility, proximity to a similar business, government regulations, image of the environment, utilities, the building, etc. Where is your business located? Who're your target customers and where do they live? This, however, may not apply to online service businesses.
5. Set Goals
Getting started with setting goals can be daunting in most instances. A business isn't set up for its own sake, but for what it can offer to its customers. While some goals can take a life time to attain, others can be completed within the shortest period. The amount of time it takes to realize a business goal, will depend largely, on the nature of business. A goal is what gives direction to a business.
However, if the picture is big, you can break it down into smaller and specific goals. Then write the steps towards their realization. Further, let the smaller goals move your business towards larger goals. You can adjust them periodically. What's the goal of your business? Whatever your goal, if it must be successful, it must be "SMART". This acronymi was developed by Dr. Edwin A. Locke of the University of Maryland when he conducted a research on goal-setting theory.
Specific - Every goal should call for specific actions. It must define the desired result through a proactive means. .For instance, if you want to increase your personal savings towards starting a business in the future. What's the actual amount you want to top up? Let's say, for instance, that the amount is $20 daily. Here, you're specific about the actual deposit. The sentences that make up a goal shouldn't exceed two sentences. It should establish what, where and why.
Measurable - Set unambiguous steps and timelines for actualization. For instance, the action step involves increasing personal savings by $20. You may not be able to track your progress if your goal isn't measurable. In measuring your goal, ask yourself this question "How can I measure my success?
Achievable - Ask yourself whether you've the knowledge, skills, tools and all other resources required to achieve the stated goal.
Realistic - Your goal should be able to challenge you. If you don't save the $20 towards starting your own business, it's certain you can't start your own business. Ask yourself this question, "Is this possible?"
Time-bound - Your goal should have time within which it should be realized. When will you start and end the personal savings toward your future business? State the start year and the end year. You may, however, review and assess your goal. In the above example, a daily period goal was set. Open-ended goals often fail because they're not timely.
6. Create/Manage Time Efficiently
This is perhaps the most challenging aspect of starting a business while still in paid employment. Time, as you may know, is one of the most valuable resources at our disposal. And a lot of people, especially, the moms find time difficult to manage. This, could be due, partly to the domestic activities they're involved in. For instance, taking care of kids, cooking, cleaning, etc. But you can overcome this by creating a plan, stay focused and finish your work in time.
Spare time doesn't just appear on its own, it's created. Discipline is all it takes to make it a part of your schedule. If you're a mom, finding a side business you can do from the comfort of your office, may help put you at ease than a business outside the home. However, with commitment and passion to succeed, you can build a business while still in paid employment.
7. Build a Team
As an aspiring entrepreneur, managing a business alone isn't that easy. You need others to assist you. There should be division of labor. However, you may think of team-building as a marriage relationship, consisting of you and your spouse. Or, a process that involves you and your friend[s] or a business partner. Let your team member{s}have similar goals as you. They may be persons in the same line of business.
It's often said, "The death of an entrepreneur is the end of the business." Look beyond this statement and start focusing on building a formidable business team that can stand the test of time. What legacy would you leave when you're no more? You can employ few number of persons - supervising manager, personal assistant, secretary, etc. Depending on the type of business you want to run, you can create appropriate designations for your employees. If you've strong and dedicated team, the business will run successfully. For instance, John C. Maxwell, Brian Tracy, Robert Kiyosaki, Jim Rohn, etc have incredible teams.
A team oversees and manages every aspect of a business successfully, whether or not the owner is present. Do you know Napoleon Hill? Do you also know Napoleon Hill Foundation? What lesson can you draw from both? As you build a successful team together with your employees, you'll realize that the death of an entrepreneur is the beginning of his business.
8. Free Days
Most young entrepreneurs hardly create time for their other businesses. Possibly, they work from Monday through Friday. Don't loose sight of the fact that vacations, weekends and off days can be good times to run a business. That, however, depends on the kind of business you want to run. Avoid distractions -- unplanned visits, ceremonies, chats, etc. Don't allow them take you off the track. Time is precious and it doesn't wait for anyone. Utilize it to the maximum whenever available. Any time lost, is lost forever. It can't be recovered.
9. Be Unique
Competitions are ever-increasing in the business world. It takes only those who're serious to succeed. Introduce new strategies that will make your business exceptional among the crowd of competitors. What can you do differently that your competitors can't? Is your business technology-driven?
In fact, in this world of modern technology, no business can survive without creativity and innovation. It's high time you improved, so your business can excel. You can be unique when you stay current, give free stuffs, deliver quality product/service, satisfy your customers, arrive early to office, learn continuously in the area of your business, take risks, etc. Remember, the bigger the risk, the better! You can't do business the old way and expect new result. Think of what you can do to make your business unique.
10. Customer Database
Every business is built around its customers. In other words, without the customers there will be no business. They're the most important aspect of a business. The customer database is a collection of information that's gathered from each customer. It's a useful strategic tool the entrepreneur can use to increase sales. This is easily achieved through list building.
The list building helps the business owner generate comprehensive contact information about his customers and their businesses. For instance, names, addresses, phone numbers, e-mail addresses. It also helps you keep customers in contact and reach out to them easily, irrespective of their locations. With customer database, you can repeat sales - sell over and over. And the goodnews is, you can do this at any given time, from the comfort of your office at the press of a button. If you want to inform your customers of what's new about your business, sticking to customer database could be all you need.
11. Feedback System
Closely related to customer database is the feedback system. It's a response system whereby, the business owner can effectively communicate with their clientele. Thus, a relationship is built over time between the business and its customers. As interactive as it is, the feedback system helps the entrepreneur get reactions or gather information about the usefulness or otherwise of their product/service.
Feedback can be positive [merits] or negative [demerits]. It helps the business owner make changes where necessary about his product/service. The feedback system can be an efficient control mechanism.
12. Social Media
The social media is the platform on which information is shared between the business and its customers. It's also a medium through which awareness is created about a product/service. With social media, thousands or even millions of people get to know about your business. Examples of social media are Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, to mention a few.
Doing business while still in paid employment, could be all you need to change your financial misfortune. Some of the people we call business 'moguls' started in this way, before they climbed the topmost rung of financial ladder. But with the triplet sisters of passion, hard work and positive mental attitude, you'll not only climb that same ladder of success, but you could stand taller above it!
Remember, the entrepreneur is a strategist - he thinks big and smart. He utilizes opportunities maximally. Even though he's in paid employment, the entrepreneur continuously searches for more opportunities. He constantly realizes that one opportunity can lead to other rewarding opportunities. Get a job and slowly build your business on the side until it becomes successful. The key is in your hands.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Clement Nkem
Entrepreneur, Freelance Writer and Blogger.
Join me here, on www.clementnkem.blogspot.com and learn how to become a successful entrepreneur.
Having good knowledge of what type of business to start is crucial. You can do this successfully when you research on the business of your interest. Research will help you determine the initial capital that is required, market to serve, expenses that may be incurred, profitability, challenges/prospects, etc. What's your business idea? Is it online or offline business? Can you manage your paid employment and side business at the same time? These questions will help keep you focused.
2. Personal Savings
Once you determine the type of business to run, start saving money immediately. The initial capital outlay should have been saved over long period through your current employment. The amount of money required is determined by the type of business idea in view. For example, the amount of money required for a supermarket will not be the same amount required to run a restaurant business.
3. Legal Framework
Aside registering your business with government authority, don't violate the legal agreements binding on you and your employer. There should be no clash between what you should do and not do. But if you're not bound by any laws in any way, starting a second stream of income could be all you need to increase your financial chances. On the other hand, if you're trapped by your employer's agreement, you could think of other legitimate ways of starting a business, even if you're in another employment. You can make money without necessarily breaking the rules of the game.
4. Location
The location of a business can determine its success or failure. A business that's sited at a strategic location, can't be compared to a business that's located at a less busy location. The truth is, the more people see your business, the more it's likely to be patronized by those people. When you want to locate a business, you may consider these factors: demographics, traffic, competition, accessibility, proximity to a similar business, government regulations, image of the environment, utilities, the building, etc. Where is your business located? Who're your target customers and where do they live? This, however, may not apply to online service businesses.
5. Set Goals
Getting started with setting goals can be daunting in most instances. A business isn't set up for its own sake, but for what it can offer to its customers. While some goals can take a life time to attain, others can be completed within the shortest period. The amount of time it takes to realize a business goal, will depend largely, on the nature of business. A goal is what gives direction to a business.
However, if the picture is big, you can break it down into smaller and specific goals. Then write the steps towards their realization. Further, let the smaller goals move your business towards larger goals. You can adjust them periodically. What's the goal of your business? Whatever your goal, if it must be successful, it must be "SMART". This acronymi was developed by Dr. Edwin A. Locke of the University of Maryland when he conducted a research on goal-setting theory.
Specific - Every goal should call for specific actions. It must define the desired result through a proactive means. .For instance, if you want to increase your personal savings towards starting a business in the future. What's the actual amount you want to top up? Let's say, for instance, that the amount is $20 daily. Here, you're specific about the actual deposit. The sentences that make up a goal shouldn't exceed two sentences. It should establish what, where and why.
Measurable - Set unambiguous steps and timelines for actualization. For instance, the action step involves increasing personal savings by $20. You may not be able to track your progress if your goal isn't measurable. In measuring your goal, ask yourself this question "How can I measure my success?
Achievable - Ask yourself whether you've the knowledge, skills, tools and all other resources required to achieve the stated goal.
Realistic - Your goal should be able to challenge you. If you don't save the $20 towards starting your own business, it's certain you can't start your own business. Ask yourself this question, "Is this possible?"
Time-bound - Your goal should have time within which it should be realized. When will you start and end the personal savings toward your future business? State the start year and the end year. You may, however, review and assess your goal. In the above example, a daily period goal was set. Open-ended goals often fail because they're not timely.
6. Create/Manage Time Efficiently
This is perhaps the most challenging aspect of starting a business while still in paid employment. Time, as you may know, is one of the most valuable resources at our disposal. And a lot of people, especially, the moms find time difficult to manage. This, could be due, partly to the domestic activities they're involved in. For instance, taking care of kids, cooking, cleaning, etc. But you can overcome this by creating a plan, stay focused and finish your work in time.
Spare time doesn't just appear on its own, it's created. Discipline is all it takes to make it a part of your schedule. If you're a mom, finding a side business you can do from the comfort of your office, may help put you at ease than a business outside the home. However, with commitment and passion to succeed, you can build a business while still in paid employment.
7. Build a Team
As an aspiring entrepreneur, managing a business alone isn't that easy. You need others to assist you. There should be division of labor. However, you may think of team-building as a marriage relationship, consisting of you and your spouse. Or, a process that involves you and your friend[s] or a business partner. Let your team member{s}have similar goals as you. They may be persons in the same line of business.
It's often said, "The death of an entrepreneur is the end of the business." Look beyond this statement and start focusing on building a formidable business team that can stand the test of time. What legacy would you leave when you're no more? You can employ few number of persons - supervising manager, personal assistant, secretary, etc. Depending on the type of business you want to run, you can create appropriate designations for your employees. If you've strong and dedicated team, the business will run successfully. For instance, John C. Maxwell, Brian Tracy, Robert Kiyosaki, Jim Rohn, etc have incredible teams.
A team oversees and manages every aspect of a business successfully, whether or not the owner is present. Do you know Napoleon Hill? Do you also know Napoleon Hill Foundation? What lesson can you draw from both? As you build a successful team together with your employees, you'll realize that the death of an entrepreneur is the beginning of his business.
8. Free Days
Most young entrepreneurs hardly create time for their other businesses. Possibly, they work from Monday through Friday. Don't loose sight of the fact that vacations, weekends and off days can be good times to run a business. That, however, depends on the kind of business you want to run. Avoid distractions -- unplanned visits, ceremonies, chats, etc. Don't allow them take you off the track. Time is precious and it doesn't wait for anyone. Utilize it to the maximum whenever available. Any time lost, is lost forever. It can't be recovered.
9. Be Unique
Competitions are ever-increasing in the business world. It takes only those who're serious to succeed. Introduce new strategies that will make your business exceptional among the crowd of competitors. What can you do differently that your competitors can't? Is your business technology-driven?
In fact, in this world of modern technology, no business can survive without creativity and innovation. It's high time you improved, so your business can excel. You can be unique when you stay current, give free stuffs, deliver quality product/service, satisfy your customers, arrive early to office, learn continuously in the area of your business, take risks, etc. Remember, the bigger the risk, the better! You can't do business the old way and expect new result. Think of what you can do to make your business unique.
10. Customer Database
Every business is built around its customers. In other words, without the customers there will be no business. They're the most important aspect of a business. The customer database is a collection of information that's gathered from each customer. It's a useful strategic tool the entrepreneur can use to increase sales. This is easily achieved through list building.
The list building helps the business owner generate comprehensive contact information about his customers and their businesses. For instance, names, addresses, phone numbers, e-mail addresses. It also helps you keep customers in contact and reach out to them easily, irrespective of their locations. With customer database, you can repeat sales - sell over and over. And the goodnews is, you can do this at any given time, from the comfort of your office at the press of a button. If you want to inform your customers of what's new about your business, sticking to customer database could be all you need.
11. Feedback System
Closely related to customer database is the feedback system. It's a response system whereby, the business owner can effectively communicate with their clientele. Thus, a relationship is built over time between the business and its customers. As interactive as it is, the feedback system helps the entrepreneur get reactions or gather information about the usefulness or otherwise of their product/service.
Feedback can be positive [merits] or negative [demerits]. It helps the business owner make changes where necessary about his product/service. The feedback system can be an efficient control mechanism.
12. Social Media
The social media is the platform on which information is shared between the business and its customers. It's also a medium through which awareness is created about a product/service. With social media, thousands or even millions of people get to know about your business. Examples of social media are Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, to mention a few.
Doing business while still in paid employment, could be all you need to change your financial misfortune. Some of the people we call business 'moguls' started in this way, before they climbed the topmost rung of financial ladder. But with the triplet sisters of passion, hard work and positive mental attitude, you'll not only climb that same ladder of success, but you could stand taller above it!
Remember, the entrepreneur is a strategist - he thinks big and smart. He utilizes opportunities maximally. Even though he's in paid employment, the entrepreneur continuously searches for more opportunities. He constantly realizes that one opportunity can lead to other rewarding opportunities. Get a job and slowly build your business on the side until it becomes successful. The key is in your hands.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Clement Nkem
Entrepreneur, Freelance Writer and Blogger.
Join me here, on www.clementnkem.blogspot.com and learn how to become a successful entrepreneur.
