How to Be An Aspiring Entrepreneur with 4 Jobs
I didn’t intend to have four jobs when this year started. In fact, the idea for the business arrived in late 2023 when I had almost nothing going on. For the first time in years, I had kids who were in school practically full-time and I had only one part-time, remote, on-my-own-schedule contract job.
And that is probably why I felt confident enough to start taking my idea for a coworking space in Humboldt seriously and pursuing it as a business I might actually open one day. And why I started putting more energy into marketing my website building and copywriting services.
And that is probably also why, when interesting professional opportunities presented themselves around that time, I said yes.
So I said yes to my entrepreneurial ideas at the same time as I said yes to jobs that would give me the money and security I needed to actually pursue my business goals.
This week I’ve been feeling reflecting on what it has been like to go from having almost nothing going on to having way too much.
Here is what I have learned in the last few months as an aspiring entrepreneur with 4 jobs:
Not working on your business full-time is not a failure. There’s no reason to give up a steady income stream if you don’t have to - and if you don’t yet have a proven business, you really shouldn’t. The best way to build a business is with as little pressure for success as possible. Take your time and quit the other work when you know you’re ready, not when you feel like you “should”.
Done is better than perfect. If you want to make progress, then progress needs to be your highest priority. I know that connecting with people is one of the most important things I can do for my business right now, and I can do that without being perfect, having a perfect pitch down, or delivering a perfect email (btw, for those imperfect but exciting emails, subscribe here or at the bottom of the page!). In fact, by showing up knowingly imperfect, you will be more ready to be open to feedback (because you know you need it) and customer responses that actually tell you exactly what they want so you can deliver it in the future. Imperfection is your friend.
Connection is everything. Your product needs to be good, but it doesn’t matter if no one wants it (or if no one wants to support you). Think of how many people’s businesses or fundraisers you have supported just because you know them. How many brands do you buy at the grocery store just because you’ve seen them before? I have made miles more progress in one lunch meeting than I’ve made in hours of tweaking my website or crafting a reel.
Slow progress is progress. I used to believe a real work session had to be at least an hour. That is so wrong! If you commit to working 5-15 minutes a day on your goal - and especially if you spend one of those short work sessions plotting out what you’ll do with each 5 minute session in the coming week - then you can crank out consistent progress that really adds up.
Just keep going. Successful people are the ones who don’t quit. Rarely does your very first idea end up being the idea. It is by continuing to show up and try and connect and make things that you will eventually figure out your winning idea.
I spent a ton of time creating my first email campaign to send to everyone who took my coworking survey and expressed interest in the coworking project. And I think it went to almost everyone’s spam folder.
This was so discouraging! But I know the only thing to do is keep going - so that is what I will do. Watch your inbox because I am going to be sharing REALLY exciting coworking news there and a free resource that I made for you :)