Being a full-time working woman and managing your daily life is never a simple task. With all the struggles women face in the workplace, including the still-existing wage gap even for professionally employed women, the struggle to make ends meet persists. If you have ever thought about starting an online business on the side for passion or for extra income, but then scrapped the idea because of time or money concerns, then never fear. You can still hold a full-time job alongside your online business, and here are nine helpful tips for the modern-day woman and her online business.

9 Tips For Starting Your Online Business While Working Full Time

1. Don’t Cross Your Current Contract or Employer

Be sure to check all your legal requirements before you start your new business. Make sure it will not interfere with your current full-time job, and that it does not create any conflicts of interest with your current employer. Use your resources – employee manuals, human resources, or your contract – to ensure you know the legal status of what you are doing. Do your new online business elsewhere; otherwise, it may legally belong to your current company. Just be sure to make sure you know how your online business will be run in relation to your current job so that there are no legal conflicts.

 2. Prioritize Your Time

People often tell you to create a business plan, then immediately throw it away, as it will be of little to no use to you. Instead, you should first prioritize your time between your current full-time job, and whatever your new online business may be. Be sure not to conduct your online business on company time, as that is a conflict of interest. Still, be certain you can manage your time between your business and your job. 

3. Choose the “Right” Kind of Business

If you want to keep a full-time job while starting a new business, you must be sure that your new online service is not terribly time-consuming. Though any business will obviously have an element of scheduling and time spent, you have to be sure that your chosen business will be feasible alongside your full-time job. Dream big, but be as realistic as you can. If you have a partner or partners, this may be a bit more flexible, but overall be careful in choosing your new side business. 

4. Outsource What You Can, But Stay in Control

A side business and a full-time job can be a daunting task. It would be easier to achieve and manage if you did not have to work alone. Though you still want to exercise control and make sure it is your business, sometimes a partner or an assistant can save your life. You do not want to stretch yourself too thin! Just choose someone you can trust to ensure your business runs smoothly while you are busy at your present job. A helping hand goes a long way.

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5. Do Your Research

Whatever field your side business will be in, research the trends and movements of that market. Be sure you know what you are getting into when starting a new business. Furthermore, be sure to research the best ways to promote your new business (without interfering with your current job). Look into whatever information you think may be useful in the start-up of your business, and start making any online connections and gathering resources you think may be helpful.

 6. Ask for Feedback and Validation of Your Idea

It does no good to start a business for things no one wants. Look for a small group of peers, mentors, or other entrepreneurs (that you trust, of course) to look over or listen to your business ideas. Be sure that your business will have traction in the online business world.

 7. Set Realistic Goals

Though this may sound repetitive, it is imperative at the start of your new business. You want to maintain a balance between your current job and your new online business, which means knowing what you are capable of achieving. Set profit goals, product goals, and advertisement goals – whatever you think will be helpful to you, but make sure that they are achievable. Starting your online business may be easy, but maintaining it will prove more difficult, so do not be too hard on yourself at first.

 8. Start Saving More of Your Paycheck

Though your new business may be online, it will still require startup capital. Make sure you begin saving ahead of time, taking a set portion of each paycheck and setting it aside for your new business. Depending on your lifestyle, this does not have to be a drastic change. However, a new business does require some level of sacrifice, so make sure you know what you are ready to compromise or give up in order to maintain the balance you need.

 9. Don’t Give Up!

Starting a new business can be daunting to anyone, not just a full-time working person, and the prospect of maintaining a 40+hour workweek alongside your new side business can prove ridiculously intimidating. Go for it anyway! Do the planning and the research, know what you want, set your goals, and achieve them.  Your new business and your work life can exist in harmony, and you can achieve your goals!