5 Tips To Running A Business When You Work Full-Time

This blog post was first published on 22 June 2019

Working full time and running two profitable businesses in my "spare time" means I have to be smart about how I spend my time. Finding the time to build a business when you work 9 to 5 is not easy, especially if you don't want to become a recluse.

In this post you'll learn tips which you can put into practice straight away to maximise the time you have and work smarter.

1. Record your time for a whole day

This is a GAMECHANGER. Did you know that lawyers record their time for each task in 6 minute blocks? 6 minutes = 1 unit. Send a short email, record 1 unit. Taking the same approach in your business for just one day will teach you a lot about yourself and the way you work. Recording your time throughout the day and being accountable for your recorded time helps you to establish how and where you're spending your time. Lawyers work this way so that they can charge their time to clients.

Once you start recording your time it can really tell you a lot about where you invest your time. A coaching call is never just going to be a 60 minute call. The call will include the prep work you do beforehand (which may include various time throughout the week) the call itself and then writing notes and any follow up tasks.

Recording your time helps you not only to see where you spend your time but helps you to ensure that you charge your worth for the prep work and not just the delivery.

2. Boss your emails

Managing your mailbox is an under-rated skill. Get it right and you'll have a streamlined business. Get it wrong and you're looking at stress, overwhelm and the feeling of not being in control. This tip could also be a blog post on its own so for now I'll simply say 'get out of your inbox'. You should not be spending time there, it can be a black hole and it’s not always profitable.

Firstly, turn off your email notifications so that you don't get distracted by new emails coming in. If you work full time then you need to use the time you do have to spend on your business being laser focused. Having emails pop-up will not allow you to create and finish the tasks which will bring money into your business.

Next, pick up the phone instead. Have you ever had those email conversations where you thought, “I could have explained this so much more quickly by phone”. Get savvy, pre-empt this. Schedule calls at a time which will suit you and discuss things by phone. You’ll save yourself a lot of back and forth in the long run.

Finally, don't over-check your emails. Looking at your emails throughout the day is often unnecessary. Plus, it can divert attention if something comes in and you can’t stop thinking about the contents of an email. Allocating yourself two or three times in the day to work on emails is a huge time saver.

3. Utlise travel time

Are there any tasks that you can assign to complete when you're travelling? Can you schedule your Facebook posts for the coming week on your way to work on a Monday? What about drafting your blog posts on the way home on a Thursday? Knowing that you are going to do these tasks on these days means that they will get done. It also means that you can free up other time when you're at your desk to do tasks which can't be done whilst travelling.

Travel time allows you to batch administrative tasks. You don’t necessary need a laptop or an internet connection. I regularly draft social media captions and work on images for social media or content ideas whilst on the train and the tube. I also dedicate the travel time to engagement on social media. The great thing about that is it’s often when a lot of my audience are online and it’s always the same time each day, so people get used to when I’ll post. It means that when I’m sat at a desk I can focus on the bigger tasks without needing to keep spinning the social media plate.

4. Get to the point

Linked to tip 3, knowing when you are going to do specific tasks is incredibly powerful in your business. I've found I stop faffing about and skirting around the edges of my business and instead get stuck straight in. You would never schedule 'spend 30 minutes looking at great workout leggings on Instagram' into your to-do list it's amazing how easily this happens when you don't have a clear plan.

Planning ahead means you don’t waste any time thinking about what needs to be done. That hour or 90 minutes after work can be full of productive work. You’ll also realise that you don’t spend any time on the less important tasks. There is a saying, “done is better than perfect”. This doesn’t mean that you create sub-standard work but it means that you get it out into the world. Providing a succinct blog post with one good image is better than crafting the perfect piece with five incredible images that you never get round to finishing and never press publish on. Block out the time and get to work.

5. Delegate

The art of delegation. As entrepreneurs we are generally rubbish at this. In a bid to save money and to prove that we can do it all we try to do it all. My approach is to outsource the things that someone else can do better than I can. Let’s take legal as an example. It is probably going to take you at least five solid days to research what you need for your business and then draft up just the basic legal documents. Or you can come to me, download Get Legit - Legal Essentials and get the key legal documents for your business for £397. If you work at an hourly rate of £100 an hour and it was going to take you 20 hours to draft the documents yourself you’ll save £1,703 by delegating the task and getting ready made templates. Plus you’ll have the piece of mind that the documents have been drafted to include everything you need.

Do you juggle a business as a side-hustle? I would love to know your tips.

Lucy

Do you run an online business? Have you got the necessary legal protection in place? Take a look at how I can help you protect your passion and ensure you have the mandatory policies in place.