Entrepreneurship: Side Hustle Vs. Day Job. Should you Quit One or What Way?

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Is your life at a crossroads?  Maybe you’re wondering whether you should be an entrepreneur or maintain your day job while indulging in entrepreneurship.

It could be in your career, relationship, business or goals at large. The psychological truth is that you can love two people simultaneously but not with the same intensity. 

Given a choice, would you prefer that arrangement? We are accustomed to being binary and, therefore, must make decisions between A and B. It’s either this or that.

The Way it is

I advocate doing things differently in the digital age, especially regarding our careers. I champion freelancing as opposed to the traditional office arrangement.

So what’s the deal? Do we jump into the 5-8 arrangement? Where you work less for more, perhaps.

Here it’s more about the output. It’s more about productivity than sitting in one place for hours on end with output that may not march the hours you spend. 

Entrepreneurship Vs. Day Job

For a long time, I have been thinking about jumping ship and taking a side between the 5-8 (entrepreneurship) and the 8-5 (career). I shuffle on both currently. This can’t even be a conversation for those already into entrepreneurship full-time. Their question would be, “What are you waiting for?”

But the bottom line is not everybody wants the same things. However good of a salesperson I might be, I can’t sell my products to everybody because not everybody wants everything. People have different tastes and preferences and only go for what resonates well with them. 

What’s your Goal or Motive?

Some people want to build a career and reach its peak. In contrast, some prefer to plunge into entrepreneurship. 

Still, some handle both building a career and entrepreneurship together. Neither of these options is better than the other, but we must face some hard facts here.

If your goal is to be rich, you have three options. You either become one through inheritance, real estate or entrepreneurship. The latter is an option anybody could take, work hard and become massively successful.

You want to examine your motive to leave the 8-5 before joining the 5-8 full-time. 

The 5-8 Vs the 8-5

However, before making that lifetime decision, you will need to weigh the pros and cons of taking either route and decide whether to do both for now or to pick aside. 

Here is the good thing about keeping your day job. 

1. Pays the Bills

Life is getting expensive by the day, and jobs that pay well aren’t easy to come by. Having an 8-5 hustle gives you the benefit of managing your daily and monthly needs well.

2. Your Paycheck is Guaranteed

Unlike business, where the input equals the output, a day job is based on a contract that assures you of a monthly payment unless otherwise determined by your employer. 

3. You have an Opportunity to Learn

Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither will you. You won’t grow in one day because learning never stops. There are damn expensive courses that your organization or company can afford, which on your own you wouldn’t. Such an arrangement allows you to learn and build your skills professionally, which could go a long way in giving you the skills you need in your entrepreneurship pursuits. 

4. Your Paycheck Allows you to Borrow a Loan for Business or Investment

If you are just out of college and starting, banking institutions wouldn’t be willing to give you a loan since you have no collateral or a good repayment plan. However, once you get that payslip, you can leverage it to access huge chunks of credit you could use to build and grow a business. Still, you could opt to invest it and reap the rewards later. 

5. You Have the Opportunity to Network

Employees can leverage huge brands of their companies or organizations to network and build meaningful and long-term working relationships with other professionals across the divide. A budding entrepreneur may not have this privilege since they still make a name or portfolio for themselves. 

Benefits of the 5-8 (Working Online)

We are in a digital age, and it’s not only about freelancing but also the aspect of e-commerce. If you are thinking about doing this full-time, here are the advantages. 

1. You are in Control of your Time

Employees sell their time for a salary. Your employer wants you to see you in the office from 8-5 whether you could be doing something meaningful or not.

Let’s say your output is only 3-4 hours of your time. The rest gets wasted. A freelancer has the freedom of time and can use this to their advantage. 

2. You can Handle Several Projects/Clients at the Same Time

You call the shots here. So you decide the breadth of your projects or how many clients you want to handle at one given time, depending on your time.

Of course, this won’t be a tall order for you since you could build a team. 

3. You Have More Earning Power

An employee’s lucrative idea in a company could earn them a $200 bonus, as their employer would determine.

However, if you are an entrepreneur, a lucrative idea to your venture or business could pay you much more and open more room for growth. 

4. A True Sense of Job Security

As long as the hiring and firing decision is in the hands of someone else, you can’t presume to have job security. Even a permanent and pensionable job could end up in headwinds.

However, working as a freelancer on anything online or brick and mortar cushions you against your employer’s decisions that they could make against you.

We can’t downplay the fact that clients could turn you down or forfeit your contracts. But you are in a better position to bounce back than one being fired from their job. 

5. You Have Extra Time to make Other Things, you Love

You can work less for more if your 5-8 pick up well. This gives you the privilege of allocating your time to more important projects in your life.

You could be involved in voluntary activities like missions, charity work or spend more time with family.  

Some Signs you are on the Right Path.

Do you feel confused lately over what direction you should take?

The good part is that even in that confusion, the universe has an amazing way of giving you pointers to the right path that will ultimately lead you to your destiny.

These signs don’t only apply to your job, career or business but other areas of your life as well. Take a look. 

1. You encounter tale-tell signs along the Way. It could even be a pop-up on your computer, a road sign or a random notice board somewhere.
2. You have an overwhelming gut feeling.
3. You get reassurances from people along the Way
4. Things unfold with little effort
5. Your core values align with your choices
6. Fresh opportunities come to you when you least expect them
7. You fall in love with a place, a person or a thing
8. You don’t get bothered by people’s opinions or judgments over your life.

Wrap Up

I have chosen not to choose between the two divides until God, and the universe tell me otherwise. I hope you find the best path to your destiny. I will be expounding on the pointers mentioned above later. Whether you are into entrepreneurship,  keep your day job or handle both, you are the only person who can best make that decision.  

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