part-time business

My Job is Making Me Depressed – Why You Should Start a Part-Time Business ASAP!

by Eartha on August 17, 2010

Depressed
photo credit: Olly Farrell

When I had originally written this post, I simply posted an old article I had previously posted on another article directory. In all honesty, it was just a post glorifying the benefits of network marketing with a link to the company I am a part of. However, since people are actually typing in "my job is making me depressed" and landing on this article, I decided to actually make it useful and not a shameless plug for the network marketing company I am a part of.

After some time in mlm, my viewpoint has changed and after reading The Millionaire Fastlane by M.J. DeMarco, I no longer want to place all of my efforts into recruiting people. I'd rather focus my efforts in a business of my own, which I have full control. I'm sure you want to do the same.

Start a Business

Starting a business can be done even if you are working full-time. You don't like your job so use that as your fuel to create a business of your own. Take advantage of your study income to help fund your business. Deciding what your business should be is another challenge. Here are some of my personal tips:

  • Don't Quit Your Day Job - Establish your business first and earn sufficient income from it before giving up your job.
  • Don't Freelance - That is unless you seriously don't mind doing it for a living. Transitioning to freelance work can give you the satisfaction of working for yourself, but after some time, it will feel like another job.
  • Be Weary of MLM's - Network marketing can be a very fast way to work for yourself but it is by no means easy. Just like any business, you have to put in a lot of effort to grow it and since a majority of that effort relies on recruiting others, it can be tough. Consider if you want to spend the time on someone else's company or your own.
  • Do Consider Affiliate Marketing - If you have some marketing skills, SEO skills, or both, you may want to consider affiliate marketing. Many people earn their living from affiliate marketing. I enjoy it because it can be done online and runs 24/7. It takes time but once you gain some momentum, it is a great form of passive income.
  • Learn How to Sell - Read this article from Inc. magazine: How to Make Money in 6 Easy Steps.

Book Recommendations

I read a lot of books and I'm making a point to read more business related books. Two good ones that stick out include:

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Why It’s Good to Develop a Part-Time Business

by Eartha on March 31, 2009

I recently discoverd that my former workplace has become a victim of this terrible economy and has closed its doors permanently. It was my first job as a web developer and I worked there for close to 5 years before turning in my resignation. When times were good, they were really good. I recall meetings about how well the company was doing and we were getting in new hires in what seemed to be almost every month.

Although the company was doing well at the time, I was still stressed out and frustrated with my daily commute. I knew I wanted something different for my life which is why I resigned with no back-up plan (which I would never recommend to anyone.) Fortunately, my skills were easily transferable to freelance work which is what I've been doing for 4 years as of this writing.

Starting a Part-Time Business While You Still Have a Job

Looking back and considering how frustrated I was, I would have started freelancing sooner. However, knowing what I know now, I would have actually started internet marketing sooner. I would have built niche sites and PPC sites. I would have been writing articles, link building, and driving traffic to my sites.

While hindsight is always 20/20, the good thing is that I do internet marketing part-time to supplement my freelance income. My goal is to one day have internet marketing as my full-time income but until then, I keep building, writing, learning, and plugging away.

Whatever you are doing right now, it is good to have something on the side that you can develop into your full-time income. No job is guaranteed and if something should happen like layoffs, closing, or even being fired, you will already have something that you can jump into and even make your new career.

Make It Something That You Love

Starting a part-time business is not only something that should supplement an income, it should eventually take over as your bread and butter. You may as well do something fun that doesn't feel like work at all. Why trade one job for another? Even if someone else thinks what you love to do is "work", who cares as long as you don't feel that way?

Creating a part-time business while you are still working full-time is not all fun and games. Every free moment you have will probably be spent working on your business. However, chances are that your part-time business will be something that you love (I highly recommend that it is) and it won't feel like work at all. Although making money with web sites is a lot of work, I love it. When I spend my free time working on my part-time business, it is so much fun for me, I hardly notice how many hours I spend on it.

For me, that is a good sign because when the day comes that I can do it full-time, I know that I won't hate it. Freelancing is definitely more fun than working for someone else. I still get to dictate my work hours, who I want to do work for, and I can come and go as I please. Yet, if I don't work, I don't eat.

My web sites earn extra income at all hours. Things I built 6 months ago are still working when I'm not. This is called residual income (residual income is getting paid for work you've once done in the past.) That is something you may want to consider when developing your part-time business.

Have you started to develop a part-time business? Do you have a success story to share?

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