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The corporate gigs were great in terms of learning and getting paid a great deal. But they turned into corporate `jobs` and as a freelancer, and that`s when it didn`t really made sense; I was an employee without the benefits.
But doing corporate training or corporate consulting or corporate sales works as a small business owner. It`s when it becomes a long-term project...that`s when you get sucked in and end up doing work for less money because the project lasts longer. Just watch that.
I was in your same boat - do I get a part-timer or do I go forward? Here`s both sides of the coin as I see it...
You can get a part-time job anytime. They are a dime a dozen.
You may not always have the opportunity or time you have right now. If you have your plate cleared and you are ready to dive in with both feet, don`t stand at the edge of the pool scared to jump in. Just do it. Don`t use `Oh, but a steady income would be great and give me that cushion just in case.` If you invested in your business you`d probably make lots more than you ever would at a part-time job.
For me, and I think everyone else who has been there, done that, having something else distracting you doesn`t work. First, you won`t be dedicating all your energy to your business. No matter how part-time a part-time job is, it will still require you take time out of your own business. And with most part-time jobs, they`ll typically ask if you can fill in for this or that person, etc. meaning your time is really not your own.
Also remember if you have a part-time job it`ll take maybe an hour before, and possibly an hour after to get read/wind down. So that 6 hour shift is really 8 hours. If you have to commute, add in that time in too. Not to mention training, meetings, etc. etc.
That`s valuable time you can`t spend on your own business.
Life passes by very quickly.
The most important resource is time.
I`ve known lots of people who said they`d take a part-time job while they worked on their biz. But the biz scared them so much and the lure of `easy money` pulled them away, in the end the part-time job became full-time and they put their dreams on hold, never to do what they had originally set out to do.
And don`t worry about credit. I have rotten credit from a much earlier life (bought a house in the 80s when I was in my 20s and the housing market tanked.) And to be honest I`m glad, especially these days. It`s made me watch every dime, and pay for things with cash instead of financing myself up to the hilt on credit cards. That took a lot of the pressure off. I wasn`t worried about paying huge interest. I have a friend who opened a business and took out a second mortgage. They didn`t really work hard at the business, just enough to bring in income. They financed additional equipment purchases on credit cards. They now are $70,000 in debt, with a line of credit note due in a few years. Because they coasted as opposed to really work at the business (only worked maybe 4 days a week on some weeks, and didn`t do much marketing), they are far worse off than they could be.
Credit and lines of credit give you a false sense of security sometimes if you aren`t ready to give it your all. (Nothing against credit. Sometimes that`s what you need to get a business going...just be careful you know how to manage it and don`t use it as a crutch.)
I can say I`m debt free and have money in the bank and have been working for myself all these years and I`m not worried where I`m going to get the additional income to pay off credit cards.
Good luck.
I say go for it and don`t look back. You don`t want to end your life thinking, I wish I woulda...but there was this great part-time job....
