While thinking about the long-term plan for my computer consulting business, I’m constantly struggling between two scenarios: continuing to run my business part-time indefinitely along side my “regular” job working for someone else, or making it my full time gig. Should I try hard to turn my little computer repair business into an all-consuming career, or simply keep it as a side-operation to supplement my stable, well-paying corporate job?
It’s a tough question with no easy answer. I’m satisfied with my career and how it’s progressed thus far. Some days I feel like it’s a bad move to throw a wrench in the spokes of a fast moving successful career working in the IT industry, but at times the fire in me burns for something more.
To try to alleviate some of my anxieties and make an attempt at understanding it all, I decided to pit full time against part time in a battle royal of ideals, realities, and everything in between.
Keeping my business Part-Time
Pros
- Steady guaranteed paycheck from my “day job” in addition to the extra income from my part time job.
- I can use this extra income however I please: save for retirement, travel the world, or buy lots of cool stuff.
- No worrying about where my next customer will come from.
- I can choose to drop the business without suffering any major consequences.
- Or, I may be able to put the business on hiatus for a bit if I get tired of it.
- If for some reason I do get laid off or fired from my “day job”, I already have an established income stream as a buffer until I find another job.
Cons
- I will not be able to put the same time and energy into other things in my life.
- My performance at my “day job” may suffer, putting my employment there in jeopardy.
- The business will never have the opportunity to see it’s full potential.
- I’ll only be able to offer limited hours to my customers (evenings and weekends).
- Even though I’ll have all this money to spend on travelling the world, I’ll have to do this travelling within the confines of my vacation days and “day job” commitments, which are very limiting.
Taking my business Full-Time
Pros
- I will have the ability to put my full energy and resources into my business.
- I will have the freedom to work when and how I want.
- I wont have to answer to anyone but myself.
- I’ll be available more for my customers.
- I will have the time to grow my business and potentially make more money than I would in the corporate world.
- This could be the gateway to other more profitable and fulfilling projects.
- I would love to be able to write and perform more music as a singer/songwriter and this may give me the flexibility to do that.
Cons
- I really like my day job and it will be tough leaving it.
- Even harder, I’ll have to leave behind my daily interactions with peers.
- If my business doesn’t take off, I will have lost career momentum and will have a tougher time going back into the workforce.
- I may never make enough money to live the lifestyle to which I have become accustomed.
- I can’t afford to be lazy and will need to relentlessly seek improvement in order to stay successful.
- It will be ALOT of work at first, and may continue to require lots of work, therefore mitigating numbers 2, 6, and 7 of the pros.
Above I listed of every pro and con I could think of for each scenario. Now I’ll tally the results, giving points for the pros and subtracting points for the cons.
The final tally:
Part-time: 6 pros – 5 cons = 1
Full-time: 7 pros – 6 cons = 1
It’s a tie. Hmm.
That doesn’t really help me out much. What this means is that this will still be a difficult choice for me. For now, I’m going to stick to my 5-year plan and continue my business as a part-time project, with ambitions to take it full-time later on down the road. This will ensure that I’ll have some buffer money to keep me afloat when I do choose to go full-time, but that still doesn’t help with the decision to take the leap.
I will definitely be sacrificing certain things by quitting my day job. The choice to start a full time business in not the safe choice, but I think it opens the most possibilities for me later on. I’ll need to continue to weigh the options and see what is truly important to me, but I am comforted by the success stories of countless entrepreneurs and businessowners that came before me.
What do you think about my list of pros and cons? Did I miss anything?
“Big jobs usually go to the men who prove their ability to outgrow small ones.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Dava says
You made the right choice…keeping your business part time for now. I think it would be playing with uncertain fires if you were to quit your day job now, without knowing if your business will even go anywhere (not that I don’t believe in your abilities.) I just think it’s too much of a gamble right now. Test the waters before you dive in and swim.
bosborne says
I like how you are looking at both sides of this issue. One thing that I don’t think you can over look is the power of contact with your peers and collegues. If I had to quit my job and work at home I would miss that interaction. Even though you would interact with customers, that is just not the same. Something to think about…..
theothrbosborne says
Well, you had to know I’d agree with the original bosborne! Even if you are in a job that is really one “from hell,” when you cut those ties with the people you are going through all the daily interactions with, good or bad, you are likely to find a pretty big hole in your day that can be hard to fill. Along the lines of what Dava is saying, I think, given the economic situation these days, it is harder to think about taking that leap into the unsure waters. People always retrench during tough financial times, and it might make it harder to make it a full time operation. I’d say let it go as far as you can part time, start building that customer base and then be ready to take that leap when the economy’s better!
Matt R. says
@ All – Thanks for your feedback. Makes me glad I have the opportunity to start this thing off part-time! And yeah, with the economy being how it is now, it’s going to be harder to find people willing to pay extra money to have their computer fixed!
Daisy says
If you know something you want to do for life, I would say to you never give up or be discouraged. If time is not right to start, you have more time to prepare. Use your time make yourself fully prepare to run for whole time.
I understand you like both your current job and also your new business. If you don’t try anything you cannot have a chance to taste the fruit of success. If you choose wrong choice, you are still very young to restart or correct the problems at that point.
I hope that you have distinguishable business plans to survive in any situations and circumstances.
Remember! Even though the economic situation isn’t great, some computers are still broken (decided to stop working ^^) and people needs technical help for their computers.
Wish you the best luck and will support you whatever you do!
Matt R. says
Thanks Daisy, I appreciate your support! You’re right, I’m still young and have plenty of time to try out different career paths. One should never be stuck doing one thing because they feel it’s “too late” to try something different.
PCLicious Video Tutorials says
Part time is the best choice and I am glad you made it. The term don’t put all your eggs in 1 basket applies to your own business as well. From personal experience I have used this invaluable lesson.
Its best to start part time so that you can see what works and what doesn’t, if your full time right away and make a large financial mistake in your business, it will have a domino affect throwing your whole life out of whack. With another business / job in place your revenue is still is there and you can pick up the pieces and try again
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SteveW says
I am in a very similar position, I have a full time design position and a part time business, running for 3 years now. The turnover from my part time business is rising at an exponential rate and is way ahead of my full time salary now. One of the reasons for this is the fact that because I do not need to rely on the income from the part time business, I often add a premium on to quotes to make sure the extra effort is really worth it, I am also in a strong position when it comes to asking for pre-payment and staged payments to ensure I get paid before the work is done. I would be relucatant to add premium or negotiate pre-payment if I was to rely on my business for income, I would have to work harder and not cherry pick the best and most profitable work, this is my biggest worry.
My full time employer has made 20% of the staff redundant, myself not included. The economic situation forces me to keep the business ticking over just in case it is needed in the future. I was thinking of asking for a shorter week at work ‘ to help the company reduce costs during difficult times’ approach.
My other big problems is the fact that I have children and although I am financially strong, I am resenting the business for taking my time away from my family, we go on vacation and the laptop and phone are never off.
I also have a crisis of concience, I have two well padi jobs and some have none, am I being greedy.
I would be interested to hear how you are getting on and whther you made any decisions.