Since I earned my very first buck, I have wondered about how to make more. I wake up in the morning and dream of being an entrepreneur. I really would like to own my own business and be my own boss. Not because I have a power trip or because I absolutely want to manage a company; just because I am always thirsty for freedom!

We all have financial obligations. Some bigger than others. However, it all comes down to the same thing; we are afraid to quit our day jobs to pursue the dream of becoming an entrepreneur. I would hardly leave my day job at a bank to work on my own knowing that I am the only bread winner in the family.  My wife and 2 children (and my mortgage!) count on me to bring home the bacon.

So the solution I found as a compromise was to create a sideline (my online company) so I can keep my day job and still increase my income significantly (I have replaced my wife’s income with my online income). Finding balance between day job and my sideline is not always that easy. As requested by a fellow blogger, Financial Samurai, I am sharing how I was able to balance my sideline with my day job while keeping both at a high performance standard.

Finding the money

We started our online company very slowly because we didn’t have any money to chip in at first. The hardest part about creating a additional income stream is that it usually requires a cash injection to start. My partner and I thought of starting websites as it doesn’t require much money (a server at first and that’s about it!). Therefore, we were able to start something at a very low cost. At first, I thought it wasn’t possible to start a small business with $100… but we did it!

Finding the time

Time was and still is probably the biggest issue we have to manage. While you don’t want to lose your day job (we both still need it!), you want your company to grow at a decent rate (after all, we’re not in it just for the giggles  ;-) ).

I established a fixed schedule as to when I work on my company and have made it fit into my existing schedule. I think the key point is to seriously consider your sideline and to invest the time required to get results as it was for your day job. Don’t under estimate the power of a sideline. My wife was able to stop working because I have replaced her income with my online company revenues; everything is possible! However, you must remain disciplined about your project.

Don’t start by “doing it when you have the time”. The truth is that we don’t have extra time for anything. We have to make it a priority and do something with it!

My Schedule

In order to manage more than one blog at a time, I have created a fixed writing schedule. The time of day when I am the most productive is in the morning. This is why I write for a solid 30-45 minutes every morning. I prepare a list of topics I want to write about so I have don’t have to seek inspiration at 5 AM every morning!

In order to keep up, I have also kept Laura as a writer on Green Panda and I am looking for another writer at the moment. This should free up  enough time to concentrate on promotion and general improvement of the blogs.

Motivation

If you start a sideline that doesn’t motivate you, it will difficult to succeed. Like every other other field, the internet is a rough market and it is not always easy to grow your sites. It requires time, effort and if you don’t love what you do, you will quit at one point or another.

Final thoughts

If I had 3 “magic” rules to creating a sideline and balance it with your day-to-day life, they would be:

#1 Find something you love

#2 Take it seriously

#3 Blend it into your schedule.

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