By Dr Wilfred Isak April
I am certain that we all enjoyed our independence anniversary in style. Happy 24th anniversary Namibia! Did you know that there are 1440 minutes in a day? I would really like each one of us to use these minutes to our fullest potential.
As we are all aware more people prefer to set up their own businesses, while having a full-time job. This is certainly a choice each one of us has to make, but we must ensure that we do not neglect our full-time jobs. A part-time business is ideal for anyone who would like to generate extra income or who wants to build a financially secure and independent future. Juggling with a full-time job and a side business can be challenging.
Very few citizens of this country have the luxury of being able to venture into business on a full-time basis. Thus they make sure they have a secure full-time job when starting a business. Let’s look at some of the strategies you could implement to make your part-time business work.
From the ooutset you have to take the time factor into consideration. Think about how best you could allocate your time to all aspects of your life. Structure your days in such a way that you accommodate your job, part-time business and personal life. Planning becomes a critical component of your daily life, since it will ensure that you achieve all you need. Furthermore, none of your commitments should be neglected. Use your lunch hour to make private phone calls, write business proposals or work on an idea for your business. If you add up all your lunch breaks you will roughly have 20 hours per month to devote to you part-time business. Wake up early in the mornings to devote some time to your business.
Make use of time zone differences and technology, if you do business with people in other countries, make time differences work to your advantage, by calling early in the morning or after your working hours. Keep in mind that your day job is your main source of income and you need to respect this. Do not use your employer’s time and resources to promote or build your business. I can assure you that if you give your full-time job your all, you will be more productive and energetic. This is very critical for your self-worth and self-confidence level. If you do not give your full-time job all your attention, you are in for self-destruction and this can affect your business in a negative way. Productivity usually boosts your energy levels and being creative hones your problem solving capabilities and skills.
As tough as it might seem, always keep your part-time business in mind. When you have a hectic day it is very easy to forget about your business. To ensure that you do not lose focus, keep a symbol of your business with you, even when you are at your day job. I would strongly recommend that you carry a notebook with you, to enable you to write down your own ideas you can deal with later. Part-time businesses always need support. It is unrealistic to rely solely on yourself. The little time you have for your business must be spend on income-generating activities. To ensure that this happens you will be required to ask someone to help you with administration and specialised tasks. For example it will be good if you could hire a bookkeeper or ask help from a reliable family member to keep track of your income and expenditure. Only you can access what you are going through, be upfront with your boss about your part-time business. As long as it does not interfere with your job, most bosses won’t mind. You will certainly gain more by being honest rather than making them feel you have something to hide. Finally, procrastination is probably one of the biggest contributors that could lead to the failure of your part-time business. Do what you need to do today, even if you do not have the time to finish it in one sitting.
Dr. Wilfred Isak April is a University of Namibia (Unam) graduate and holds a PhD-Entrepreneurship (New Zealand). He lectures in Leadership, Organizational Behaviour and Entrepreneurship at the Unam.