It can be hard to find time to start a side business. Everyone is given the same 24 hours in a day. How you choose to break up your day or prioritize your schedule can help make or break your business.
Whether you're a busy parent, full-time student, or working two jobs, this article will help you find time to start a side business. Pick the suggestions that work best for you and your lifestyle. If you're committed to achieving success, nothing and no one can stand in your way.
So let's take a look at how you can find time to start a successful side business.
1. Keep Your Day Job Separate
While you might spend eight hours of your day at your workplace, keep your day job and your side business separate. Don't work on your side business at the office. The company you work for is essentially paying your bills and your start-up costs.
It's important that you remember not to blur the line between your day job and your business. Though it may seem obvious, don't focus on your business during your work hours. Also, refrain from using company resources for your personal business. By focusing on your personal business during working hours you risk legal action as well as losing the trust of those you work with.
2. Dive In Now to Make Time to Start A Side Business
It often feels safer to hide behind books and other learning materials instead of taking the plunge to start your side business. Sometimes you just have to put the book down and test things out for yourself.
Reading or listening to audiobooks can take up a lot of time. They also don't sink in as well as learning on the go. Many entrepreneurs don't read books to educate themselves, they use it as a form of procrastination. Don't fall for the trap.
It's okay to be afraid of failure, just don't become paralyzed by that fear. No book will give you the magic business answer you're looking for. Everything you need to succeed is already in you. Take a leap of faith, and start working on your business.
3. Divide Your Time
Successful entrepreneurs structure their schedules in ways that maximize productivity. Some break their day into very short intervals to maintain sharp focus on priorities.
By organizing your schedule this way, you'll ensure that you keep a focus on time. If you only have five minutes for a meeting, you'll only focus on priorities and avoid getting side-tracked with chit-chat. It helps you keep a strict schedule so that you focus your energy on what needs to get done.
The Pomodoro Technique
Another technique to help you find time to start a side business is the Pomodoro Technique. This technique requires you to first prioritize your daily tasks. Then, you set a timer for 25 minutes and take a five minute break between sets. After completing four 25-minute sets you can take a 20 minute break.
This allows you to have laser focus on a task for 25 minutes and disconnect from your work for a five minute break. This is helpful for those who need to check their phones constantly.
80/20 Rule
The 80/20 rule, also known as the Pareto Principle, suggests that 80% of your results come from 20% of your output. To find time to start a side business, you need to determine which things are producing the results.
You can also use this principle to determine which part of your daily routine isn't producing results for you. For example, if you spend your weekends marathoning shows on Netflix, sleeping in, or going out, you may have better results cutting back to make time for your side business.
Don't Work on Time Wasters
To find time to work on your side business, avoid spending time on things that don't bring results. Some people spend an entire week designing a logo or crafting the perfect 20-page business plan. However, those tasks don't generate money for your business.
A business plan can start off as a one-pager and be modified along the way. If you lack design skills, you can outsource your logo design, or use tools such as online logo maker, which are extremely simple to use.
Or if the task can be modified or changed along the way, there's no need to overspend time on it. Create a list of priorities such as creating ads, partnering with influencers, producing unique content such as blog posts or social media posts or managing your finances. Then, focus your workload on the top priorities which yield the best results.
4. Set Firm Deadlines
Setting firm deadlines for projects forces you to make time to work on your business. What goals do you want to achieve? When do you want to achieve each goal? Write down exact dates. You'll find that more often than not, you're able to achieve your goals by the deadline.
Without setting realistic deadlines you might find yourself getting distracted or losing motivation. Try to set daily, weekly, and monthly goals and understand what you need to do to attain them. It's important to set smart goals, those that will help you boost productivity. By having defined goals you'll be able to stay on track and keep moving forward.
One thing to keep in mind is that you don't need to spend too much time on creating the perfect plan. Stay flexible and keep it realistic, there's no point in overt-thinking every little detail in your plan. Stick to your deadlines, hold yourself accountable, and don't make excuses for yourself.
5. Don't Waste Time on Social Media
Social media can be addicting. Most of us have the tendency to check our news feed repeatedly throughout the day. You can download the Chrome extension News Feed Eradicator to help prevent you from getting distracted for hours on social media channels.
The tool blocks your news feed without you having to delete or deactivate your accounts. If you know social media is slowing down your business' progress this is a great quick fix solution. Stay focused on your goal, and don't let yourself get distracted.
6. Get a Business Partner
Getting a business partner allows you to delegate some of the workload to help ensure you get all of your tasks done. It also forces you to be accountable to your business because your co-founder will expect you to deliver as an equal partner.
You can even ask a friend, family member, or romantic partner to be your business partner. Oftentimes, people gravitate toward others in a similar industry or with complementary skills. You can also hire someone and outsource some of your workload to allow you to work on priorities while allowing you more time to start your side business.
7. Make Sacrifices When Necessary
Sometimes the only way to find time to start a side business is to make sacrifices. You might need to wake up earlier if you're a morning person or go to bed later if you're a night owl. You might need to see your friends less by only being there for the big moments such as birthdays, weddings, or engagements. You might limit your television watching to a couple of hours per week.
The important thing is that you stay committed to your goal. It'll be challenging to start a side business, so you need to set your priorities and stay focused.
8. Make Use of Your Commute
Your commute to your 9 to 5 job, especially if long, can be a great time to work on projects for your business. You can answer customer emails on your phone. You can write product descriptions or blog posts in a Google doc and add them to your website once you're connected to the internet.
If you drive to work you can listen to podcasts to learn new skills and ideas. You can also move your workday, employer permitting. Instead of starting at 9, you can start at 7:30 a.m. to avoid rush hour traffic and reduce how long you spend commuting.
Small changes in your day-to-day life could end up making a big difference to your business in the long term.
9. Learn to Say No
Richard Branson once said, "Business opportunities are like buses, there's always another one coming." So while it might be tempting to say yes to every opportunity, saying no often may actually work in your favor.
Saying no gives you time to work on things you say yes to. It can help improve your productivity while also creating boundaries. Avoid agreeing to every opportunity or trying every tactic at the same time. Having a laser-like focus can help you achieve your goals faster because you'll learn how to master things quickly.
10. Make Use of Your Weekends
Use your Friday nights to relax if you need a break after a long week. However, spend your Saturdays and Sundays wisely. Your weekend is your big opportunity to work on your business. Wake up early to work on your business and work late.
If you work long hours during the work week, spend your entire weekend creating content such as social media posts, blog posts, ads and automating them. This will allow you to spend your weekdays processing orders or answering customer questions. You'll still need to work during the workweek but it'll be easier to manage if divided this way.
11. Be Proactive
Starting a side business is tough work. Know the difference between not having time and not wanting to make time for your business. Sara Blakely was a sales representative selling fax machines when she first started building her Spanx brand. Mark Zuckerberg was a college student when he founded Facebook. Most people don't start their business with all the time in the world to devote to it.
Successful people aren't rewarded with more hours in the day. How they organize their schedules and what they focus their energy on has played a big role in their success today. The truth is: your need for time is going to get worse. As your store grows you'll have even more work to do, more orders to process, and more customer inquiries to respond to. Be ready to work hard to make your dreams come true. It's worth it.
12. Start a Side Business That Doesn't Take Too Much Time
With dropshipping, you'll have a side business that works well with busy schedules. The business model has a low time commitment as you won't be required to ship out packages yourself. All of your time will go to marketing, processing orders, and answering customer questions, making it the perfect business model for busy people. You can start a dropshipping business for free with DSers. It’s even less time-consuming if you choose to begin with a one product store.
Another low-maintenance option is working with print-on-demand services. These providers handle manufacturing and shipping, allowing you to focus solely on design and promotion. This model works particularly well for creative entrepreneurs who want to sell custom products without inventory management.
13. Validate Your Business Idea
Before investing significant time into your side business, take steps to confirm there's actual demand for what you're offering. Testing your concept early can save countless hours down the road.
Start by identifying your target customers. Who exactly would buy your product or service? Understanding this group helps you focus your efforts where they'll have the most impact. You can create profiles of ideal buyers to guide your decisions about products and messaging.
Research is essential at this stage. Talk to potential customers through surveys or informal conversations. Look at what competitors are doing and identify gaps you could fill. Check online forums and social media to see what problems people are discussing that your business could solve.
Consider starting with a small test before going all-in. You might create a simple landing page to gauge interest, or sell a limited batch of products to see how people respond. This approach lets you learn and adjust without major time or money investments.
Pay attention to industry trends and search volumes for your product category. Understanding the broader market helps you position your business for success. Look for underserved niches where you can stand out rather than competing directly with established players.
14. Do You Need to Quit Your Job?
If your business grows too quickly, it may be time to quit your job and run your store full-time. You'll want to ensure that you're generating enough profit to ensure your business is sustainable. You may not be paid as well as your current 9 to 5 job in the beginning. However, your whole life can change for the better by taking the plunge and running your business full-time.
Many successful entrepreneurs actually recommend keeping your day job while building your business. This approach reduces financial pressure and gives you stability while you test and refine your concept. You can transition gradually as your side business revenue grows and becomes more predictable.
Before making the leap, ensure you have several months of expenses saved and that your business income is consistent, not just a one-time spike. Consider whether you can reduce your hours at your current job rather than quitting entirely. This middle ground gives you more time for your business while maintaining some income security.
Finding the Time for a Side Business FAQ
What Are the Best Ways to Plan for a Side Business?
Finding the time to start and maintain a side business is one of the big initial challenges of that kind of hustle. Creating a solid plan and making a schedule helps with the issue of time. Make sure to define clear goals to motivate you when time is of the essence (and tight). Also, block time in your day and commit those hours and minutes to making progress on your side business. You can even be productive during your commute to work or other commitments, or find time at lunch. Remember that consistency is key, as otherwise you may give yourself more anxiety finding different times every week.
How Do You Prioritize Tasks?
Setting priorities is important when creating a side business. You have to delegate tasks that take up too much time or distract you substantially. One of the most important words you can learn along the way is “no.” It’s perfectly ok to protect your precious time and decline tasks or requests that don’t support your goals and priorities. Focus on the things that have the most impact and automate repetitive tasks that you aren’t able to delegate.
What Are the Best Ways to Optimize Your Time?
The truth is that there is only so much time available in any given day. You should be prepared to make sacrifices if you want to make your side business work. That means scrolling less and putting off that TV show you wanted to watch. You may also have to work during down time, like at lunch or when you’d otherwise be social. If you need extra hours, wake up an hour early and carve out a portion of your weekend. There is more time in your week than you’d think, but you have to commit to working during that time.