How to Start a Business When Working Full Time? Moving A Needle
You have a full-time day job and a family to take care of. Your life is already full of stress, countless tasks, and chores that you must fit into 24 hours every day. Given all this, you still want to find out how to start a business and work from home in some non-existing spare time.
I’m in the same place – day job, three kids, household duties. It’s so hard to find the time and the strength to build my own business, but I’m doing it against all odds.
Let me help you and show what I do to move a step forward every single day.
Why Start a Business While Working Full Time?
First of all, starting your own business is a great decision. It means you’ve realized that the world around us is changing. There is no real security even in well paying and lucrative job, as every employee depends on his or her boss, the firm’s financial situation, market trends, and other various factors. From the personal side, the family situation or health conditions can change in a day.
I know it from my own experience. My job might look nice and stable from outside. In reality, I know that the risk application I support is going to be decommissioned in the next two years or so. There is no guarantee that I’ll be able to integrate into the team that will work on the new generation of this application, as technology is changing so fast and I even don’t know how to code.
Relying on your wage as a single source of income is not a very wise idea. Everyone needs to make an effort to build multiple income streams, that generate money with little work required from you (so-called passive income). However, many of us don’t have the means to invest in real estate or financial instruments to ensure future passive income. I’d like to buy a building, collect rent and travel around the world, but I can’t afford it.
Second Job Or Your Own Business?
With this understanding, you might start looking for a side hustle, like a second job, babysitting or teaching. This is not the best idea, as you still will trade your precious time for money, usually even not at a high rate per hour. Personally, I tried to make some money doing small tasks for mTurk, but could barely buy a pizza with my earnings from several weeks of work.
That’s how I’ve got to understand that what you really need is to build an online asset that works for you on autopilot after you put in the initial time and effort. How to do it? If you search on Google and read in different forums, you’ll probably stumble upon numerous online opportunities offered by people who try to recruit you into their team with one of the companies that promise “done for you” systems to make money online.
“Done For You” or “Done By You”?
The problem with the “done for you” type of offers is that many companies, like myEcon, Earn Easy Commissions etc., are actually very similar to a pyramid scheme, where the main source of earnings is recruiting other people into the system. Every new member receives the same replicated system as thousands of other folks and is instructed to do the same things to sign up new people in the chain under him.
It happens that such a company is shut down and from having a steady income you drop to zero and will have to start everything all over again.
In my opinion, much away is to avoid any “done for you” systems and make an effort to learn the skills required for building and growing your own business with unlimited income streams. Education is the best investment – who said that? He was so right.
What Is The Best Way To Start An Online Business?
When I searched for the best online business opportunity I checked drop shipping, email funnels, multi-level marketing and more. Every option has its pros and cons, but I decided that for a beginner without any prior knowledge and with limited time to invest, the best way is to build a niche website and focus on content creation.
Your own website is an asset that can be monetized in several ways, such as affiliate marketing, ads placing and selling digital products. It is not dependent on any single company or program. If one of the affiliate products is shut down, you always can find a replacement and move on.
If you want to learn a bit more, here is a short video “How to make money online – the process explained”.
You can add content to the website at your own pace, along with working your full-time day job. Building authority takes time, so it’s better to start as soon as possible.
Related post: How To Learn Affiliate Marketing Online For Free
How To Build A Website Without Knowing HTML Code?
In the past, you had to learn about coding, hosting, content management systems, and other technical details in order to build a simple website. Luckily, this problem is solved in our days.
I don’t have any HTML knowledge whatsoever. To build this website, I just signed up for free to the best online Internet Marketing University, where just in a few weeks I’ve learned how to create a WordPress blog, how to design it and write helpful content.
It’s called Wealthy Affiliate and you can read more about it in my detailed review here.
Choosing a website look, setting it up took me several weeks. I’ve started to create content, but couldn’t stick to a weekly publishing schedule. It wasn’t because of a lack of ideas. I just couldn’t finish all the tasks like writing, finding and inserting the images, getting feedback, in a week. At the same time, I saw many other members posting daily and growing their blogs fast.
And then the painful understanding dawned on me: “I don’t have enough time!!”. For God’s sake, I’m busy even without it.
What should I do?
Time Is A Scarce Resource
Many newbies join Wealthy Affiliate and start a training with their full attention and 8-10 hours a day devoted to learning. Sometimes they are able to earn substantial money as soon as 4-6 months. Look here at this 21y old guy who earns $2,000-$3,000 a month.
Can I make the same progress while having a regular full-time job? Is it really possible to get good results if you have to juggle so many tasks in the same 24 hours?
Taking myself as an example, again. I’m busy at least from 6 am to 9 pm. Prepare a breakfast, get the kids to school, run to my 9 to 5 job and back, help with the homework, feed dinner, go to a gym three times a week. Laundry, kitchen, shopping, dishes etc. You know how it is.
I can’t drop any of these tasks or leave my full-time job. The family and financial stability are the first priorities.
But I want to start my own business too!
I want to see my new website growing, getting more content, adding features and design elements. I want to see more visitors coming and finding value and help on my site.
How can I do it? How can YOU find the time for your new business?
Understand And Accept The Restraints
First of all, once I realized there is no way for me to work more than 2 hours a day on my new venture, I had to accept it as it is.
I have to be at peace with the fact that I’m not going to make the progress as fast as other Wealthy Affiliate members who can work 12 hours a day on their project. It’s just not going to happen.
I would not be able to post new content every day, maybe even not every week. I won’t be able to catch up with all the awesome video training available on Wealthy Affiliate platform.
Is there still a chance to achieve meaningful results? What is the way for me to go? I hope that what I found can help you too.
Move the Needle Every Single Day
My solution is to make a commitment, that every day, between 9 pm and 11 pm, I complete at least one task that moves me towards my goal. It resembles the Agile method used in application development if you know what I’m talking about.
The idea is to break any big project into small “digestible” pieces that can be done in one day. Here is the sample list of such small daily tasks that contribute to the development of the blog:
1. Take a small chunk of the training on Wealthy Affiliate platform
2. Write 500 words for a new post
3. Create a featured image and other graphics for a post
4. Check the progress on Google Analytics
5. Find a new affiliate program
6. Do the research for the next product review
7. Comment on my peer’s website
In addition to such a small daily task, I try to touch social media, like Google plus or Facebook every day with a post or comment that links to my content.
Making this daily step forward is important as it gives me the feeling of pushing and working towards my goals. When I had to skip a day for any reason, I feel bad, as if I wasted my opportunity of making progress.
Don’t Give Up
The last but not least important rule is – Stick to it! Don’t give up.
Yes, you won’t generate $5,000 a month after working half a year at this slow pace. And it’s fine. Just be sure you are moving forward.
Every single day. The success will be slower, but it still can come if you are persistent.
My Results After 3 Months
– My website is up and running, indexed by Google, with 13 posts and pages.
– I’ve earned my first commissions from 4 affiliate products.
I’m sure I would have much more accomplished if I had more time. But I try to be content with what I’ve managed to do and be optimistic for the future. Building the authority for a new website takes time, but the asset will stay with you in the years to come.
There is a lot of positive energy I feel from looking at my site every day and going to sleep exhausted but smiling.
To be honest, there is a negative impact as well. I feel sleep deprived and don’t spend enough time with my partner in the evenings. Everything has its price. We always need to prioritize and make choices.
What is YOUR CHOICE? Do you have any tips on how to work full time and grow your own business?
I’d be glad to help you with any information if you decide to join Wealthy Affiliate and start your journey into the Internet Marketing world.
Mary
Related posts:
How To Start A Business At Home On The Tiny Budget
Seven Ways To Avoid Work From Home Online Scams
Hi Mary,
I am from the Philippines, and been a member of Workmines for 2 months now. Clearly you haven’t even experience Workmines nor interviewed a member of it. Yes, They are asking for a fee and that’s an annual fee. Meaning you will be MEMBER FOR A YEAR. Come to think of it. If you will subscribe for $20 per year and the ROI (Return of Investments) will be in a month (I got it mine after 3 weeks =)). The 11 months that you’ll be spending time watching videos ALONE with no referral at all will be your income. Also, The subscription fee to keep the site going, Do you have any friends that is creating a website? have you heard about bandwidth, Fee for additional page, storage, cloud storage, Security, etc? If not do your research first. having 400 thousands member and adding a platform for a member and giving them cloud storage is not FREE.
Yes their choice of country is perfect why? come to think of it the payment is base in $ and since I am in the Philippines conversion will be higher and guess what it is HELPING us EARN REAL MONEY.
If you will apply in a job and you will pay for your requirements, transportation and food how much would it cost you? a hundred dollar? or more? It’s like Investing to get a job and be a slave in your own country =)
So, here I’m going to share my findings and honest opinion with you. my own analysis and the final opinion about YOUR REVIEW =)
“Relying on referral fees as the main component of your income is a major pyramid scheme characteristic.”
– Even if you haven’t referred anyone, you can earn Money ALONE all by yourself with your phone or laptop.
“The advertisers pay Workmines for the views and ‘like’s of their materials on social media – YouTube, Facebook and others. Workmines pays the members and keeps its fee for connecting the two sides.”
-LOL. Haven’t been in the site huh? again we have our OWN PLATFORM. We don’t need social media, clearly you haven’t done much on your research.
“There is no way to verify the accuracy of this data. I assume that the difference between the earnings and payouts is the total of outstanding balances in the members’ accounts. What is not clear is whether there is an obstacle preventing the withdrawals. We’ll get to it later.”
-Once again, you haven’t done your research. Those 14 days trial were paid and is included in the earnings. Also, they have an option if they wanted to leave their earning in the platform and earn more then withdrew it at a later time. =)
“Workmines states that it charges the advertisers around $0.9 – 1$ for every Facebook like, Twitter follow or YouTube subscription. The clients can choose the audience based on geographic location.”
“The members are promised to get paid $0.4 for every video they watch on YouTube, every like or share on Facebook and every follow on Twitter. You should be able to watch a certain daily amount of videos, according to your membership plan.”
-Mary, we are not earning through Facebook likes and yada yada *Face Palm*
“In addition, Workmines offers a generous referral program called “Invite and Earn”. You will get a commission for every new user brought on board through your referral link. The commission is $0.1 for any referral’s activity (watching video, likes and tweets) once the referral upgrades to a paid plan.”
-Just watching videos Mary. And this is a good thing because it’s per activity so if your direct didn’t watch any videos then that’s fine you still have your own money and this directs activity is just an additional. watch “PAY IT FORWARD” Hun.
“When I clicked on the rep’s list, I found the following 7 countries: Latvia, Nigeria, Philippines, Zambia, Kenya, South Africa, and Belgium.
A bit strange choice of countries I would say.”
-Is it? But if you are a business man and you know the conversion for each country I would say it’s a GREAT CHOICE =) USD to PHP? it’s a blessing.
“Unfortunately, this is not the case. You only can use the site for 14 days before being asked to upgrade to one of the premium plans. After two weeks you must pay to get paid for watching videos. The more expensive membership you buy, the more money you are allowed to earn from the videos and referrals.”
-It will always be your choice. That is why you should be 18 years old before signing up. You have all the decision. Whether you decide to invest your money or not. NO FORCE PAYMENT. That’s why there is a FREE TRIAL. Mary that’s TRIAL! tsk.
“Personally, I dislike the concept. It sounds like paying your employer to keep the job. One may argue that WorkMines is not an employer, but kind of a business where you are required to invest in order to make money. I disagree. There is no business to develop here, except watching the clips and maybe referring other people.”
-Being employed will cost you money as well. I can say it’s an investment and a good investment. I have a business as well and I know how businesses works. No Business will run with no CAPITAL. Whether big or small.
“Workmines membership plans are gradual upsales luring you to pay more in order to get higher payments from referrals and more available videos to watch.”
-Well, some will make it look like that, But, here in the Philippines we are eliminating those who are sharing and inviting people. Because ONE can make money ALONE. I repeat ONE PERSON can make MONEY ALONE.
“In all the paid plans, the daily payment limit for watching videos is only 4 times the limit paid daily per referral. It means that if you have more than 4 referrals, your income from bringing new members would be higher than the money made from videos.”
-Which is a good thing, If you will sign your father and mother up you’ll have 3 referrals and guess what? YOU EARN and Your family earns. NO NEED TO REFER OTHER PEOPLE.
“Relying on referral fees as the main component of your income is a major pyramid scheme characteristic.”
-Na-ah. Not the main component. Main component is watching videos that is in partnership with Netflix. you know? Netflix and chills?
“In the FAQ section, the company provides a sample of average earnings of members on different payment plans. In each example, it mentions that the member is supposed to have minimum 6-10 referrals.”
-Holly Cow! Kindly do research this is if you want to become a country representative MARY. Please do proof reading. *Another face Palm*
“As a free 14-day trial member you can make the maximum of $11.2 (2 videos per day x 14 days x $0.4) and you wouldn’t get paid for the referrals. With the minimum payment threshold set at $15, it means that you WILL NOT get paid anything as long as you are a free member. You’ll have to pay at least $39 for the Student Plan to become eligible for any payout.
By companies rules, you cannot use the earnings balance to pay for the upgrade. Is it because the balance is not real money and Workmines just want you to pay the real money TO them?”
-that is whgy it is called FREE TRIAL. No FREE TRIAL will give you money EH? FREE RIGHT? and for an upgrade again NO FORCING TO UPGRADE.
-You cannot use it why? because it has a different transaction. Oh never mind you will never understand because YOU DIDN’T DO MUCH ON YOUR RESEARCH.
“Remember the big difference between the member’s balance and the payouts? I would guess that a large part of it come out of the free trial members earnings. Many of these members probably decided to drop the system without paying for any membership plan, so their money was left unclaimed.”
-On your first statement you don’t know how then here’s your speculations. But hey you are right =) You have answered your HOW questions very Ironic Mary. The difference here is that you have GUESS it? so you are unsure. So keep thinking =)
“This business model gives me a clue that Workmines is not only a pyramid but also a Ponzi scheme.
In short, it means that the money paid by the new members is used for the payouts to the early joiners. This way the owners can keep the scheme operating for a while without any members screaming that they don’t get the money earned.”
-Again Mary in workmines you can earn ALONE. WITH YOUR OWN INVESTMENT. NO ONE INVOLVE just you and your phone or laptop.
“No Refund Policy
Section XXII in Terms of Service clearly states that there is NO refund policy whatsoever. By making a purchase you confirm that you understand and accept this policy.”
-Why would you do a refund? that’s why there is a FREE TRIAL to help you decide. Mary have you ask for a refund after you got a back massage? or a haircut?
“Workmines doesn’t guarantee any earnings amounts or time frames. What I understand from this, is that the only guaranteed amount is your fee payment.”
-Your word ‘what I understand’ that’s a speculation with no basis that is your understanding and clearly you are not understanding it well. *Another facepalm*
“In addition, it’s not clear how much time you are supposed to spend on each video to get paid $0.4. Is it 1 min or maybe 1 hour?”
-SEE you are unsure. you don’t even know how long. MAYBE? How come you are writing an article if you UNSURE of what you are writing? Oh I get it it’s for the ADs because workmines is the newest trend right now. Don’t worry there will a lot like that very soon. (Business minded here)
“The Workmines Owners Are Hiding”
-Oh my Mary have you gone to Latvia just to search for them? LOL
“There Are No Testimonials”
-Go to GOOGLE APP or APPLE APP STORE and search for their APP. See the ratings?? There you go Mary.
“If you look in the Payment proof section on the website, you’ll see the list of payments (let’s believe they are real) mostly to Kenya, with single records of other countries here and there.
Are there real people making money from watching video on Workmines?”
-To make your soul peaceful. YES IT IS LIVE and this is on my OWN EXPERIENCE. I have experienced it Mary and you haven’t.
“Payment Options Are Not Convenient”
-I can say it’s convenience for us. Coins.ph is very convenience. Payeer is also convenient since you can transfer it to your master card and debit card. With those platform you can cash out over the counter. So, Mary you haven’t done much on your research again.
“The Website Is Not Professional Enough”
-How bout yours Mary? =)
“Final Thoughts – Is Workmines a scam?
In my opinion, Workmines has too many signs of being more of a pyramid scheme than a real company with serious earnings potential for its members.
When I review a company, I usually prefer to try its service to get firsthand information. In this case, I was not comfortable to trust Workmines with my phone number and email address.
Now it’s up to you if you still want to give it a try. If not, I have some other offers for you from proven legitimate businesses.
-There you go MARY hahahahahaha. fish can be caught from their mouth. YOU HAVEN’T TRIED it yet here you are writing nonsense content. tsk tsk and OH! Good Job on promoting your BUSINESS and dragging the name of Workmines because you know that it’s trending. WELL PLAYED MARY! WELL PLAYED =)
Final Thoughts about your content?
I appreciate that you wanted to warn people about ONLINE SCAM and I appreciate that.
But Please Make sure to do your RESEARCH MORE and DEPP DIVE on each scenario. Do not use HOW or NOT SURE. Also, write base on your EXPERIENCE not what you think or speculations. This can be a door for some who wanted money but because who wrote something like that they have lost the opportunity. I am not talking about workmines alone but in the future if you will create a content about a business make sure you have experience it first. =)
Thanks for your Time.
Hi J.A.M!
I deeply appreciate you taking the time to review my review!
Happily leaving this comment here for people to decide for themselves whom they prefer to believe.
I stay in my own opinion.
Mary
Hi Mary, thank you for yet another great post. As a working mum myself I know how challenging it is to work a 9 to 5, once you reach home the list of to do,s are an arm length and I am usually depleted. I was really looking into finding a part time gig that may prove to be beneficial in the long run just so that I may have more time to spend with my family. I expecially like the idea of having to work on this project as and when I can with the real potential to earn some extra money.
Hi Evelynn,
I know what you are talking about. Every day is a challenge even without the second job/business. But when I make it and get some tasks done, it fills me with a lot of energy and hope for the better future.
Wishing you a great success!
Mary
Hi Mary, great post here. I am in the same situation, job, kids, dishes (LOL), etc, etc. It’s hard to start a business while you are working, but if it were easy, everyone would do it. Just a quick question, what products have you been able to earn commissions on? I think it’s fantastic that you have earned some commissions already. Best of luck in your journey.
Hi Steve,
There are many people like you and me who try to have it all.
On this website you can find several reviews of saving apps. In addition to giving an opportunity to earn (or save) from your grocery receipts, these apps also have referral / affiliate programs. I’ve got several sign ups already. See Coinout, Saving Star, Ibotta, FetchRewards, Topcashback.
Thank you for stopping by
Mary
This is a very comprehensive review, thank you Mary.
You explain things in an easy, direct style, showing that making money online is possible and everybody can be successful if they want to.
It is good to find bloggers who strive to deliver valuable information to their readers. What I like the most about you is that you are honest. You do not come out with any “Dolce vita” gimmick.
Again, making money is possible but hey, a coin has two sides and if you want to be successful, you will have to sacrifice your time.
I ran into your blog while looking for more information about Wealthy Affiliate and I consider myself a lot more informed now. There are professional pros and there might be personal cons, yet I am determined to give it a try.
Just one more question sorry: since I am good at writing, I was fancying building and running multiple sites at the same time? The idea was to start off with 2 websites. In my opinion, this would be a good way to earn faster… What do you think about it?
Thanks in advance for your reply,