Not all of us have the luxury of kissing our 9-5 goodbye when we venture out to start our own business.
Heck, some of us might be completely satisfied working for someone else while we rock our own business on the side. Whatever you're going for, don't let your full-time job be the reason you don't open your own business, especially if it's something you're really passionate about.
Trust me, I get it, working your business at the same time as your job might feel overwhelming to even think about. But it is definitely possible. And you can do it without feeling like you're going to shut down and have burnout. Here's how.
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Have A Plan, Sis
So before you start this amazing journey of launching a business while you're still rocking your full-time job, you gotta get a plan. And not just a business plan, but a real-life plan. For starters, do you ultimately want to be able to work your business fully, or keep a job on the side, even if you don't need it? I totally get it if you don't necessarily dream of being your own boss but still want to express your passions with a business. Full-time entrepreneurship doesn't have to be for everybody. Or, do you want to work your business as much as possible until you don't need a job anymore?
Whatever you decide will determine how hard you'll go and how much work you'll put in on the regular. Of course, you can adjust and radio edit as time goes on, but it's super important to have a plan instead of aimlessly wandering into this life-changing step. It doesn't take long to write down where you want your business and your career to be in six months, a year, three years, five years, and so on. It's your prerogative and it's your business. You just have to make sure it makes sense for you.
Make The Most Of Your Weekends/Days Off
If you're working a Monday through Friday job, or even a job that requires you to clock in on the weekends, you really have to make the most of your days off. If you have the standard two days off a week, then make one of those days off that you work on your business like crazy. You could even split it up and work a few hours a day on each day if you're worried about getting overwhelmed. Because as much as we love the grind, even a superwoman needs a rest day more often than we'd like. It's all about working smarter, not necessarily harder.
You can also take advantage of some evenings after work, or if you work nights, some mornings and afternoons before work. Whatever you do, just make the most of your time off and your free time in general. If you live in a major city like Chicago or New York where you rely on public transportation, you can even use those moments to brainstorm and write down the amazing ideas you have rolling around. You just have to find your sweet spot and balance between taking advantage of every free moment, and not burning yourself out. Because if you go way too hard and get exhausted, your business and your health could get the short end of the stick.
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What's Your Real Goal?
Whatever it is, go for it. The sky's the limit. The new Kanye might be on some other stuff but the old one was right when he said, "You gon touch the sky baby girl!" All you have to do is go for it. I think the best idea is to write down your dream goal. Not just when it comes to revenue and profit but also when it comes to your reach, target audience, and benchmarks you want to meet. Put dates next to them, and then write a plan on how you'll get it done.
Once you put details next to your dreams, like the hows and the whens, you'll see that they're much more reachable than you might have ever thought. For this particular point, the when is the key. Even if you have to get a cute planner to schedule and write down time you'll work on your business in the morning, on your lunch break, and whenever you see fit, you'll find that you're inching closer toward your goal; even if it is slowly but surely.
Don't Be Afraid To Ask For Help
At some point, as your business grows, you're going to need help; especially while you're working your full-time job. I love that within my group of friends, all of us have different strengths, and we let each other capitalize off of them. Whether it's me editing one of their blog posts or them helping me sit down and focus on my brand image, it's not a bad thing to use other's strengths in areas where you might be lacking; especially if you're offering your own services too.
Another way you can ask for help is to find a mentor. While your business idea is a unique one that will bring something special that no one else can offer, it's pretty likely that someone else has already accomplished something similar. Whether it's in a different industry or with a different target market, don't be afraid to reach out to someone and ask them to guide you along until you take off the training wheels.
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Rock That Budget
So one of the best parts about having a full-time job is that it can pay for your business until you're ready to fly solo (if that's what you aim for in the future). While you're working your job, use that to your advantage to fund projects, events, or anything that can help build your businesses in the long run. Even if you're just starting out with an idea and haven't been able to lay out the logistics, thanks to your job you can at least start a savings account that will serve as a pretty nice cushion when you're ready to launch.
From building a website to advertising to potential clients, business expenses can definitely add up with the quickness. So don't be ashamed of letting your hard work at your job pay for it until you don't need it anymore.
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While speaking to xoNecole, Eva shares that she’s a lot like the beloved 1994 character in many ways. “Lyric is so me. She's the odd flower. A flower nonetheless, but definitely not a peony,” she tells us.
“She's not the average flower you see presented, and so she reminds me of myself. I'm a sunflower, beautiful, but different. And what I loved about her character then, and even more so now, is that she was very sure of herself.
"Sure of what she wanted in life and okay to sacrifice her moments right now, to get what she knew she deserved later. And that is me. I'm not an instant gratification kind of a person. I am a long game. I'm not a sprinter, I'm a marathon.
America first fell in love with Eva when she graced our screens on cycle 3 of America’s Next Top Model in 2004, which she emerged as the winner. Since then, she's ventured into different avenues, from acting on various TV series like House of Payne to starring on Real Housewives of Atlanta.
Je-Caryous Johnson Entertainment
Eva praises her castmates and the play’s producer, Je’Caryous for her positive experience. “You know what? Je’Caryous fuels my audacity car daily, ‘cause I consider myself an extremely audacious woman, and I believe in what I know, even if no one else knows it, because God gave it to me. So I know what I know. That is who Je’Caryous is.”
But the mom of three isn’t the only one in the family who enjoys acting. Eva reveals her daughter Marley has also caught the acting bug.
“It is the most adorable thing you can ever see. She’s got a part in her school play. She's in her chorus, and she loves it,” she says. “I don't know if she loves it, because it's like, mommy does it, so maybe I should do it, but there is something about her.”
Overall, Eva hopes that her contribution to the role and the play as a whole serves as motivation for others to reach for the stars.
“I want them to walk out with hope. I want them to re-vision their dreams. Whatever they were. Whatever they are. To re-see them and then have that thing inside of them say, ‘You know what? I'm going to do that. Whatever dream you put on the back burner, go pick it up.
"Whatever dream you've accomplished, make a new dream, but continue to reach for the stars. Continue to reach for what is beyond what people say we can do, especially as [a] Black collective but especially as Black women. When it comes to us and who we are and what we accept and what we're worth, it's not about having seen it before. It's about knowing that I deserve it.”
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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Fortunately, five simple words have simplified my dating process and ushered in clarity faster: “Would my husband do this?”
A couple of years ago, I met an entertainment lawyer who was tonguing down a twenty-something-year-old woman for breakfast while I slurped my green smoothie and chomped on a flatbread sandwich. Okay, Black love, I grinned and thought as I sauntered out of the Joe & The Juice. As soon as I stepped down from the front door, a torrential downpour of Miami summer rain cascaded and throttled me back inside to wait out the storm.
I grabbed a hot green tea and vacillated between peering out the wet door and anxiously checking my watch. My lengthy agenda started with attending the Tabitha Brown and Chance Brown’s “Black Love” panel, and I was already late. That’s when the lawyer introduced himself to me, after he made a joke about neither one of us wanting to get soaked by the rain. His female companion had braved the storm, leaving us to find our commonalities.
We both lived in L.A. and had traveled to the American Black Film Festival to expand our network. He represented various artists, including entertainment writers, while I was working as a writer/creative producer in Hollywood.
While there is no shortage of internet advice on how to strategically meet a prominent man at conferences, if I spend my hard-earned funds on career growth, I have tunnel vision, and that doesn’t include finding Mr. Right. So, I stowed his contact details away as strictly professional.
Keep It Cute Love And Hip Hop GIFGiphyAs the humidity and mosquitoes were rising around L.A., two months later, another suitor-turned-terrible match cooled off after three unimpressive dates and a bevy of red flags. I posted what some of my friends called a thirst trap, but it was really me wearing a black freakum jumpsuit with a plunging neckline to my friend’s 35th birthday soiree despite feeling oh, so unsexy and bloated on my cycle.
I’d been waiting to post a sassy caption and finally had the perfect picture to match: “You not asking for too much, you just asking the wrong MF.”
That’s when the entertainment lawyer swooped into my DMs and asked me to dinner. I was quite confused. Is he asking me on a date? Or is this professional? Common sense would’ve picked the former. Once it clicked that this would in fact be a date, I told my mentor, who’s been happily married for over twenty years and has often been a guiding light and has steered me away from the wrong men.
Upon telling him about how we met, he emphatically stated, “He ain’t it.” He followed up with a simple question, "You have to ask yourself: Would my husband do this? Would you tell others that you met your husband, tonguing down another woman, and later married him?"
Aint It No Way GIF by UFCGiphyOuch. The thought-provoking question cleared any haze. Prior to going out with the lawyer, the first thing I inquired about was the woman.
“You saw that?” He said, taken aback that I’d witnessed his steamy PDA. Surely, anyone with two open eyes peeped him caressing her backside as he kissed her in the middle of the coffee shop.
He brushed her off as a casual someone he’d gone on a couple of dates with but had since stopped talking to. He said he hadn’t been in a serious relationship in over three years. Though I was still doubtful, dating in L.A. is treacherous and ephemeral. Making it past three months is considered a rarity.
With my antennae alert, I dined with him at a cozy beachside steakhouse restaurant where we were serenaded by a live jazz band. I’d emphasized forming a platonic friendship first.
Break Up Friendship GIF by TLCGiphy“I’ll come to you,” he obliged. I liked that he had made me a priority by driving over 50 miles to see me. I also liked the effort he made to check in with me daily. But I still couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that he initiated on a professional pretense and then alley hooped through the back door on a romantic venture, which bombarded me with confusion.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my dating life, God is not the author of confusion; any man who brings confusion, rather than clarity, is simply not The One. It doesn’t matter how many boxes he checks–eventually, that confusion will manifest itself into bigger problems, in time.
After diving into deeper conversations on the phone, post our first dinner date, I quickly realized this man was indeed not The One for me. But I’m grateful for the valuable lesson I learned.
I don’t expect some unattainable fairytale of a husband; we all have our own flaws and conflict is inevitable, but after dating for two decades, through failure and success, I’ve realized that the person I ultimately marry must mirror the values I exert into the world. He must reciprocate kindness, patience, and respect. He must be quick to listen and slow to respond. He needs to be forgiving and trustworthy, practice healthy communication, and be a man of his word at the bare minimum.
If I’d had “Would my husband do this?” in my toolbox when I was dating and floundering in stagnant relationships, in my twenties, it would’ve saved me a lot of precious time. But now that I’m equipped with the reminder, it’s allowed me to ground myself in my non-negotiables and set/maintain the standard for the special person, I’ll one day say, “I do,” to.
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