Can You Work Part Time While Running a Full Time Business? Heck Yes!
By Robin
What’s the point of having your own business if you don’t get to make up some (if not all) of the rules?
I was talking with a couple of the designers in our mastermind group about making their own rules.
One designer was on her way to NYC for a wholesale trade show and the topic of booth set up and breakdown came up. She had just found out that a few of the dates for her biggest trade show in August were overlapping a day or two of her yearly family vacation. She couldn’t possibly leave the show early and miss the last day and the ever exciting breakdown to be with her family… or could she?
The other designer was telling me that she really wanted to work part-time over the summer so she could spend some quality time and summer fun with her husband and 3 kids. I could tell she was already feeling guilty and didn’t want me to think she was abandoning her business. Could she really work part time and have her biz function full time?
The truth is that if you plan in advance, you WILL be able to leave your biggest trade show early or work part time over the summer. Planning is the key.
Benjamin Franklin said “When You're Failing to Plan You're Really Planning to Fail.”
And over at F&TA we say, plan and everything is possible! So where to start and what are the steps for successful planning? We have 3 simple (not necessarily easy) steps that will transform your desires into reality.
1. Brain Dump
What is it that you want to do? For example, if you know you want to leave your big trade show in NYC a day or 2 early, what exactly needs to happen in order for you to be able to do that? List out everything, I mean everything. It could be hiring 2 people to help with booth breakdown. Creating a breakdown manual that is a step by step of what to do. Meet the 2 people virtually or in person to review expectations and the job. You get the idea. The more details in your dump, the better.
2. Schedule and Share
So you have successfully finished your brain dump list, the next step is to calendar everything on that list. By putting dates (and times) to the things you need to do, they will get done. But don’t stop with calendaring everything, tell somebody about your plan. It’s a fact that sharing your plan with someone will hold you more accountable… so let the sharing begin!
3.Execute
Last, but not least, you must execute what is on your calendar. Yep, you can plan till the cows come home, but if you don’t take action, it is wasted. This is the step that is going to allow you to leave a day of two early from a trade show feeling confident that breakdown will go smoothly. Or maybe you have your sights on working part time, but having your business run full time like our mastermind student.
Sometimes–who are we kidding, most times–planning can be very daunting. By doing these three steps, you will have your plan laid out in no time!
We want to hear from you! In the comments below, tell us the following:
1. What would you love to do in life if you weren't afraid your business would suffer?
2. How are you setting up your business so you can have your summer (and everything else) your way?
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