You know how I've preached here in the past about treating your business as a business and not as a hobby. After all, that's a big key to success for any home business. I've now had a chance to read a rather thought-provoking blog entry about making your job your hobby by Dave Lorenzo, business and career coach.
What's the Problem - You or the Job?
I know that many of you have dreamed about the day you could quit your day job and operate a successful home business, and some of you have been blessed to have been able to actually do so, as I have. But, if a home business is still a dream for you and you find yourself continually hating your day job even after you've changed jobs several times to do something you thought you would like better, the problem may be more with your attitude and approach to the job than the actual job itself.
Experimenting on the Job
Lorenzo tried an approach where he finally tried to see his job as a hobby. Something to help pass his time while earning pay and receiving benefits that kept his family afloat. While he was on the job he tried a 30-day experiment - to think differently about how he looked at things. He says, "The plan was simple – my job is now my hobby and my full time job is to enjoy my life."
The idea was to put less importance on what reward he was getting from his employer and more importance on what made him happy. He had to take a new approach - to look at his time spent on the job as a chance to become a smarter, healthier, and wiser person.
Lorenzo went on to look for ways he wanted to improve himself and then set about working on those things at his job. He decided to focus on the simple joys of each task. he says, "By hating my job, I was assuring myself that I would eventually branch off and create my own business. I didn’t want to like my job because then I might be tied to working for the “Man” for the rest of my life."
While that attitude has spurred many people into starting their own businesses, Lorenzo learned to find ways to make himself much happier while he was on the job and he now views his work as a necessary evil, but something to find some joy and opportunity for making a series of small improvements in his life. He had to do some self-examination to find out what makes him tick and what he enjoys and then find ways to reward himself for positive behavior.
Keeping Your Job and Starting Your Business
If you're thinking of starting a home business but will need to start on a part-time basis, as many of us have, thinking of your job as a hobby and as a way to improve the skills you'll need in your own business venture is a great approach to take. Not only do you get additional rewards from your day job, but you can reduce your stress levels, which will also benefit your entrepreneurial endeavors.
An additional benefit is that you might be able to experience the best of both worlds - the support of a full-time day job that provides you and your family with important benefits combined with a part-time home business that allows you to pursue your passion while minimizing your risks and maximizing your tax deductions against your self-employment income. Instead of experiencing the iniital years of struggle caused by reduced income from leaving full-time work and poor cash flow, you increase your income through your home business earnings. Sort of like "Having your cake and eating it, too". And with the cost of health insurance taking an increasing toll on the self-employed working your home business on a part-time basis can make loads of sense. Your day job gives you an out, but if your part-time business venture explodes you can also work to take it full time.
Even if you're already running your small business full time, you can benefit from Lorenzo's suggestions. Find joy in the things you do - in your home business (if you have one) and in your day job (if you have one) and you'll likely find your entire life much more fulfilling as a result.
