We’ll be going over seven tips that you should follow, so you don’t have to worry about getting fired at your day job while you build up your side business.
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Why we need to keep our day jobs
It’s super important we’re able to keep our day job while we build our side business, as our day job is still going to be able to pay our bills, pay rent, buy food and allow us to actually put more money into our side business.
And it’s really a hassle to end up getting fired, having to find a new job while you’re working on your side business, especially if you’re creating some momentum.
If you can follow these tips, you can avoid getting fired from your day job and work on your side business successfully.
Tip 1: Don’t Compete With Your Employer
The first tip to avoid while you build your side business is to make sure you’re not building a business that competes with your employer. For instance, if you work at a marketing agency and you’re thinking of starting a marketing agency yourself based on your experiences there, well, you may want to rethink the side business idea altogether.
If you start the exact same business that your employer is running, you may have clauses in your employee contract that would automatically terminate your contract with that employer because they don’t want to be competing with the employees.
Similarly, if you don’t have those clauses in your contract, your employer will probably still want to have a one on one meeting with you. And I don’t think it’s going to go too well, especially if you started the same business that’s competing with your employer. Why would they want to hire someone that’s competing with them?
You will probably get fired pretty quickly here.
Tip 2: Performance Issues
The second tip is make sure you can get enough sleep at night and you can function properly in your day job. It can be easy to get carried away working on your side business late into the evening, especially if you’re passionate about it, which is a great thing.
However, if you’re doing this constantly, it’s really going to wear down on you. You’re not going to get the proper sleep you need. It’s ultimately going to show up in your day to day at your day job.
And while you may think it’s OK to show up tired to work, your employer won’t think so. And you should really be getting the amount of rest you need at night so you can operate properly in your day job.
You know, it’s really important you keep your day job while you build your side business, whether you want to quit your day job and run this business full time or you just want to build a second income, it’s really important that you show up every day to your day job and you can still give 100 percent because your employer is still paying you money every day to come in and perform that work. It’s important you do it to the best of your ability.
Tip 3: Don’t Schedule Things During Work Hours
The third tip to avoid getting fired is to make sure you don’t schedule anything from your side business during your day job work hours.
For instance, it can be easier to schedule a client call, write a couple of emails or do other tasks on your side business while you’re at your day job if things are slow.
However, I strongly discourage this. If your employer finds out you’re building a side business when they’re paying you to be building their business, that’s a quick recipe to get fired. And it can be really tempting to do this, but you should heed the warning of doing so and reserve those actions for after your day job or before you go to work, or maybe even book off an extra day during the week if you really need to get some stuff done.
But just don’t do it on your employer’s time when they’re paying you.
Tip 4: Don’t Use Company Resources
The fourth tip is to make sure you’re not using your employers or day jobs, companies, resources on your own side business.
If you have a client and you need to print off a presentation, it can be really easy just to print that off while you’re at your day job so you can quickly go meet with the client after etc.
Or you may want to plug in your Web site or use some of the other softwares and tools that your employer currently has and that you have access to.
I strongly discourage you using your companies or employers resources to help with your side business. This will be an easy way for your manager to find out that you’re building your side business using the employer’s resources, and they’d probably fire you pretty quickly.
If you really need to print something off or you need those tools and softwares for your side business, I strongly encourage you to see if you can make the investment for yourself and for your business.
You shouldn’t be using your employer’s resources to do this and you should really look into building your own business that can sustain purchase of these resources.
Tip 5: Watch For Industry Specific Regulations
The fifth tip to follow so you can avoid getting fired while you build your side business is to watch out for regulations in your industry.
There are some industries where you’re working with your day job that could be heavily regulated, particularly if you work in the financial services industry.
For example, there could be regulations around that may govern who you can work with, what type of businesses you can start, etc. You may want to double check these regulations, so when you build your side business you’re not building something that is going against these regulations and may require you to switch your jobs altogether.
Which is what we’re trying to avoid here with these tips.
Tip 6: Understand Any Agreements You’ve Signed
The six tip is to understand any previous agreements you’ve signed with your employer regarding your relationship with them and your day job.
For example, there could have been agreements around how you’re not allowed to start any businesses on the side or outside of work without the approval of your manager or employer.
Or you could have clauses that may not allow you to start certain side businesses based on your employer’s wants and needs. So if you’ve signed any agreements in the past, I really encourage you to check them out and read them and make sure you understand them fully.
Tip 7: Discuss Your Side Business Plans With Your Manager
The seventh, and often overlooked tip to avoid getting fired while you build your side business, is to discuss your side business plans with your manager.
Now, it can be a bit intimidating to have this discussion with your manager in the first place, but I guarantee it’s going to build some clarity and it can ultimately help you as you build your side business and you work your day job. If you don’t bring this up, it’s always going to be the elephant in the room, when your manager asks what you’re doing this weekend, how is your life going? What are you up to? etc.
You’re always going to have to think of something else to say other than working on your side business, especially if you’re putting a lot of time into it. Similarly, if you never tell them, they may think you’re up to something suspicious if you’re building something on the side.
Telling your manager your building a side business can also be a great way to build your relationship. They may find it really interesting that you’re doing something on the side and they also might find it cool that you’re building your skills up somewhere else outside of work, that can ultimately add to your day job and help your employer further. So I encourage you to have this conversation with your manager and employer. And this will also help you iron out any kinks if there’s contract details, regulations or other businesses that you can’t start due to the contracts you’ve signed with your employer.
Conclusion
And starting a side business can be a really great way to build a business without having to quit your job and jump into things full time.
Whether you’re looking to build this side business up to something that replaces your full time income and becomes your full time job, or you’re looking to build a side business to generate a second income alongside your full time job, well, make sure you follow these tips so you don’t get fired while you reach those goals.