from left to right: stephanie Pierce, carly broderick, paula doroff, me. photo: thank you christine ong!

This past week, I was honored to sit on a panel on life transformations. The host, Stephanie Pierce of thestephpierce.com, asked the 50 or so women in the audience how many people were considering a life change. Almost every hand shot up! Transformation may be in, but it’s not one-size-fits-all. My fellow panelists, Paula Doroff and Carly Broderick, have made complete departures from the corporate world for entrepreneurial ventures. Our host, Steph Pierce, is an HR Director turned executive coach and event leader. And the founder of the Modernwell venue, Julie Burton, was once a writer. Then there was me – the one with a full-time job and a side hustle. I felt like a bit of a fraud(!) but from the audience reaction, I realized there are many of us for whom doing something on the side – for whatever reason – is where it’s at right now. So, if you’re thinking of launching a new venture while you earn your daily bread (or making it your daily bread), here are five of the ideas we shared for making it all work.

1. Choose your path

Work hard print - schoolhouse, tank - nation ltd, belt - isabel marant

When I started this blog, it was out of an urge to write inspiringly about topics close to my heart. (My job is all very challenging, but I’m not getting to share lifestyle tips working in food and ag!) But figuring out exactly how to turn a passion into a vocation wasn’t so easy. I used Blinkist, a sort of contemporary Coles Notes, to listen to books like “Solve for Happy” during outdoor runs. Carly, who went from Target exec to entrepreneur to small business COO, did “Carly off-sites” – sessions where she plotted how to get from where she was to where she wanted to be. Whatever your approach, if you’re going to invest time, energy and sacrifice in a passion project, you want to know its true love.

2. Set your expectations

For now, never too busy is a hobby. My reward is feeling I’ve shared something helpful with you! But as Paula pointed out, if your passion is now your business, you need to treat it as such. Paula counseled would-be entrepreneurs to have a plan. That includes a financial plan for how you’re going to weather the unpredictable-income storm. Paula went from orphan in Brazil to BlackRock VP to Life Design Strategist – so she knows what she’s talking about. But even if you’re not quitting your day job, you need to set expectations. Keeping up this blog is emotionally easy but logistically hard. If only I could pause work, my kids and my hubbie! You’re going to hit low moments, so you need to remember why you’re doing this to see you through.

3. Make a start

Mark Twain’s quote, “the secret to getting ahead is getting started,” played a big role in moving me from dreaming to doing. I read it in my Five-Minute Journal one day and it would play in my head, like Britney Spears’ Toxic, reminding me something needed to happen! Paula puts it this way:

“If we wait for confidence, we will never get to that next step…Now courage is having the ability to act despite the presence of fear.”

— Paula Doroff

Confidence may not come. And spare time may not come. But if you just begin establish a habit, eventually it’s easier to keep going than to give up.

4. Assemble your toolkit

one of my favorite quotes from the five-minute journal

Whether you’re adding something on the side or switching up your full-time gig, change is hard. So why not get a spot of support for your discipline, learning, organization or spirits? Mark Twain may have been an inspiration but taking an online blogging course was the true catalyst for starting this blog. The discipline of twice-weekly lessons where you graduate with a living, breathing website was just the kick in the botty I needed. Everyone is different, but the three tools I’ve found to be indispensable are:

The Five-Minute journal – a quick way to set your intention for the day and enjoy an inspiring quote.
The Productivity Planner – helps you identify your most important tasks and break them down into manageable, 25-minute sprints.
Productive – an app that rewards you for sticking to your habits, say “advance business plan,” or “map tomorrow’s priorities.” If you’re goal oriented, this is akin to catnip! So, know what motivates you and select accordingly.

5. Make peace with time

clock - anthropologie, blazer - iro, shirt - banana republic

Since we’re all busy, it’s likely you already feel there aren’t enough hours in the day. Add in a side hustle and the time pressure may make you feel like you’re about to combust! Difficult periods, conversely, can feel like they last forever – like the long four months Carly described as she waited for her business to take off. Doing something on the side may yield even slower results, since you may only have time for your core activity and little left for growing your business or audience. Here are some of the ways I’ve found to manage or find peace with time:

Radically prioritize – this can include prioritizing the things you already do, like spending an hour designing your website instead of watching the Crown, or saying “no,” to new things that come along, like an adult ballet class. Maybe someday, but not necessarily now.
Regard time as fluid – if you have flexibility in your day, you may want to use it. For example, it’s better if I take blog photos during daylight (of which there is stunningly little in mid-winter Minnesota!). So, I may take my lunch hour on a work-from-home Friday and use it to take pix – knowing I can make up the time later when it’s even more cold and dark!
Have a mantra – what’s going to get in the way of you succeeding? Personally, I find the less time I have, the more susceptible I am to chaos. So, I choose to recall John Wooden’s quote, “If you haven’t time to do it right, when will you have time to do it again?” That keeps me, say, tidying or completing short tasks in the moment so things don’t pile up.
Make peace with your rate of progress – even for the panelists who were pursuing their vocation full time, success was hard won. Working on tip #2 and remembering why you’re expending all these hours, energy and effort can help!

I hope these tips have been helpful. And if you’re launching your own venture, I wish you the best of luck! Do share your hopes and dreams with a comment. I also want to thank Paula, Carly, Steph and Julie of Modernwell for providing such inspiring guidance. These ladies are amazing examples of what’s possible when you follow your dreams!