You can be an entrepreneur and work a 9 to 5!

How to Make Your Job Work For You.

I like to break my financial heroes into three groups:

Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates - Unicorn Entrepreneurs.

Muhammed Ali, Michael Jordan - The GOATs.

Ted Turner, Oprah Winfrey, Tyler Perry - Media Moguls.

Not only are they all amazing entrepreneurs, but many of us aspire to be like them. Though talented, these individuals have worked extremely hard to be in the positions they are in today with exemplary and inspiring stories.

If you decide you want to follow the path of one of these greats, be sure to figure out your talents and where your passions lie. Identify that which you are good at, nurture your skills, and work hard to position yourself in the right place. In fact, you can’t be merely “good”. Like they say, “luck is where opportunity and hard work collide”. For the rest of us - the pragmatists whose dreams are firmly planted in the real world but want more than just an ‘average’ lifestyle and are willing to work for it- there is hope. But not without a vision and an executable plan.

It is possible to accomplish your dreams while having a career, but you have to view that job as a means to an end. You have to understand your greater purpose, while being intentional about accomplishing your goals. Teddy Roosevelt said “Comparison is the thief of joy”, so be mindful that everyone's journey is different and be prepared to be comfortable with uncomfortable situations.

Over the years, I have closely followed the careers of Gary Vaynerchuk and Grant Sabatier, two people I greatly admire. Both of these individuals used their 9 to 5 hustle to gain immeasurable success and financial freedom. Gary Vaynerchuk is the author of ‘Crush It’; a best-selling self-help book about cashing in on your passion. He started out working in his father's liquor store and later turned it into an online wine store which led to a very successful online persona/brand that is now known as VaynerMedia, his umbrella company. Grant Sabatier is the creator of MillennialMoney.com (recently sold to Motley Fool) and the author of Financial Freedom and writes about how he accomplished financial freedom by the age of 30, utilizing his 9-to-5 and other side hustles to propel him into his purpose and ultimately achieving his goals. Both started out with conventional careers, however, they both understood their purpose in life and utilized their jobs as a launching pad for what today are tremendous and flourishing careers. Both of them have created an ethos that is incredibly aspirational, inspirational, and quite relevant in today's world.

Today’s generation is easily carried away by the social media hype and has now been conditioned to expect instantaneous results and rewards, including success. We see a lot of social media influencers achieving great success at a staggering pace and it may begin to make us question ourselves and our journey. This is fertile ground for impatience and distractions which can potentially derail us and lead us down paths that can be difficult to recover from. Always remember that no two human beings are the same, not in thought, purpose, or plan. Not even twins. No two journeys will ever be the same so it is imperative to learn the essence of contentment while carving out your own unique path and following it. It is perfectly okay to emulate those we idolize or admire, but be sure to create and tell your own story.

Even though some of us aspire to do great things in life, many of us won't have unicorn stories. But all is not lost; utilize what is in front of you and that starts with your day job. The fundamental point of this article that I want to drive home is that your current position should be able to fund your goals, help you build a network, all while gaining crucial skills and experience. The sooner you stop seeing your 9 to 5 as a drag and start appreciating the value it offers to help you accomplish your goals, the better the outcome will be. Use your job as a springboard and take from it as much as possible, while you can. Don’t allow your job to be mentally draining and emotionally time-consuming. Remember, it is a means to an end.

So let’s discuss FIVE ways by which you can use your current position as a platform to launch your dream career, business, or lifestyle. Let’s delve deeper into ways in which your job can become your first and most vital investor.

Capital

Outside of gaining skills, and perhaps a passion for the field of work, one of the primary reasons we go to work is to get paid. We trade in our hours for dollars. In turn the dollars we earn help us to survive and pay our bills; it allows us to partake in various forms of leisure and entertainment. More importantly, however, the income we generate should allow us to save and invest in our future. Treat your job as the first investor into your side hustles and business ideas. As long as you can keep a full-time job, you are more than likely guaranteed to receive a paycheck every two weeks or monthly. If the goal is to start your own business or a side hustle you want to expand, your paycheck can help you accomplish those goals without having to beg, borrow or steal. Although business plans are ideal and hold you accountable, you do not need one to access the funds from your bank account. Stay committed to your project and set aside money from your paycheck to fund your business ideas. Just over ten years ago, I co-founded a t-shirt line called Royal Dynamite. My partner and I funded the company with $500 each, which we got from working full-time jobs. This support was enough to purchase and print our first batch of five dozen tees. Each time we sold t-shirts, we would reinvest the proceeds back into the business until we were able to gain outside funding. Because we were working full time, we had funding we could depend on to launch our idea into a profitable side hustle. Regardless of what you want to do, think of your job as a starting point to building what’s next.

Skills and Organization

As an employee, you acquire organizational skills and other tools you may otherwise not have the opportunity or discipline to build if you were off on your own. For the young, fresh-faced, college graduates coming into the workforce, a 9 to5 affords you the ability to be taught new skills. For example, an entry level position in the marketing department of a successful clothing line might provide insight into the company’s tools, resources, and knowledge of how branding and marketing of products to a target audience works. Another example of this is if you score an accounting job at a firm like Ernst and Young right out of college. Imagine all the skills you can gain that will prepare you for when you start your own bookkeeping service or CPA firm. These opportunities can also provide mentorship and networking opportunities that will be helpful for you when you do decide to venture out on your own. It will help you with understanding how to structure your business venture. Remain open-minded, willing to learn, and keep the big picture in mind. Use your position as an opportunity to soak in as much as you can because if the early part of the learning curve is skipped, it can be daunting, or challenging to acquire these skills on your own.

Experience

Experience is, without a doubt, the best teacher. No amount of time spent in great lecture halls measures up to what is learned in practice. With time, we continuously acquire new skills and knowledge, while learning from past mistakes. We are in constant evolution! This evolution is a true reflection of the sum of our past experiences that hopefully mold us into better entrepreneurs, business owners, and leaders within our communities and society at-large. While working in a corporate setting, the organization’s hierarchical structure gives you access to experienced and knowledgeable people from which you can learn. Using the previous example, if you are working within the marketing department of a clothing line and aspire to one day start your own brand, you likely have access to just about everything and anyone within your department, and possibly other departments as well. Learn from your line managers and more experienced co-workers about things like search engine optimization, analytics, and other key performance indicators.

Additionally, you can learn from people within the software development and accounting departments as well. You may have coveted access to seasoned veterans with years of experience. Soak it all in and maximize your exposure and interactions with these individuals. Use every day as an opportunity to learn and grow your skills.

Network

With all the experience, skills, and learning opportunities around you, it is up to you to make the best use of these resources and grow. Even if you dislike your job, you are in the perfect position to tap into the minds of others who can be a valuable resource to you. As they say, your network is your net worth. Regardless of your field, you have access to people who can fund your dreams and be potential future business partners. These people can impart immense knowledge and skills you otherwise would have to pay a lot to acquire. If you are working as a sales executive for a clothing line, you likely have access to buyers, merchandisers, executives, and future customers. This exposure presents a massive opportunity to network and meet people who can help you build up your own company when you are ready. Use the strength of the people you have access to as motivation and make use of your relationships to help you fulfill that dream. Remember to be tactful and follow the guidelines/rules outlined by the company you work for with respect to gaining inside information for personal use.

Time

Last but not least is time. As I mentioned earlier, most young people are impatient with the path to success. Regardless of your age or experience, use the time at your 9-5 as your learning curve. Cherish it and use it wisely. This protected time will not only help to nurture and mature you, but it will also teach you about time management in the workplace which helps in setting realistic expectations. A large part of a company’s success hinges on managing time well; when you branch off on your own, your greatest asset to your success is time management. As I stated earlier, we trade hours for dollars, and it will be no different when you start your venture. Be it a side hustle or a massive undertaking, if you are weak with time management, you may be setting yourself up for failure. A corporate schedule instills discipline, particularly with timelines and deadlines. Without these, organizations cease to be productive and are less profitable. Your venture, regardless of how small or large, needs excellent time management skills.

Consider the valuable experience you can get from work while building your dream. It is not entirely true that working for yourself automatically affords you the freedom to do whatever you want. While working a 9 to 5, maximize your skills and experience, build up your Rolodex (or LinkedIn list) of great contacts, and venture out on your own when you feel ready. Hopefully, you will be able to save and invest a large portion of your earnings. Pay your dues to the workforce now, and take advantage of as many work benefits as possible. We will touch on this and more in a different blog post. Until then, take care!