NFIB

No One Ever Said Moonlighting Was Easy, Part I
04/ 20/ 2001

A high percentage of home-based businesses are started as second jobs -- moonlighting in the evenings and on weekends. At first enthusiasm is easy to maintain. But new businesses take time to establish, and as the months go by, it gets tougher to muster up the energy to go back to work in the evening after working all day. In today's and next week's Workshops, Jeffrey Moses provides a few tips for keeping the moonlighting momentum allowing you to become successful in your new line of work.

There are several key factors that can make moonlighting hard. First and perhaps foremost is the energy factor. Not many people have enough energy left after a full day at the office or in the field to eat dinner then begin another round of work in the evening. Fatigue usually manifests first as lack of enthusiasm, then as irritability and finally as lack of interest. It is probably the single most common reason new businesses don't get off the ground.

To combat this natural fatigue factor, you need to establish and maintain a comfortable, practical pace based on your body's own level of energy. It's usually necessary to push a little, to motivate one's self. But when a person pushes too much, the body and mind rebel. At this point, illness can result, or you may simply lose enthusiasm completely. That's usually the death knell of a new business.

It's also important to maintain some normality in your life. Working two jobs will certainly limit time with family members but don't tip the scales so much in favor of serious work that your personal life suffers. Downtime for spouse and children, recreation and entertainment need to be part of your overall plan.

So take it easy. Find your own best schedule, and stick to it. Don't push yourself to work every evening, or all day every Saturday and Sunday. Progress in your new business will come step by step. Consider the example of Tiger Woods. When he first joined the professional golfing tour, there were only a certain number of tournaments left in the season, and he had to earn enough money during those few tournaments to earn automatic exemption status for the following season. If he didn't receive such status, he would have to qualify for each and every tournament he entered. He competed in a few tournaments, but was not successful enough to earn his exemption. Then, with only a few tournaments left, he took a week off. Most people would have pushed on. He realized, however, that he was putting too much pressure on himself, leaving his mind and body exhausted. The following week, refreshed by his short vacation, he won the tournament he entered, automatically earning his exemption not just for the following season, but for the following two seasons.

In next week's Workshop, Jeffrey Moses continues this discussion by offering a few additional tips on overcoming some of the natural obstacles to successfully starting a new business through moonlighting.

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