My Business Strategy to Build One-Person Business As A Part-Time Creator
You don’t need to quit your 9-5 job
Letting go of a dream that you had for 10 year
I have worked my ass off for the better part of my decade-long career.
I took extra responsibilities, did the work that no one picked up, overtime, and late nights, managed stressful and demanding clients, and took up more than I could handle.
I was there to lead.
To manage.
And to do my absolute best.
For years I thought, success means chasing the highest title.
I burned out myself out in the process to achieve this one goal.
I pushed myself relentlessly.
There is no other way out.
This is how it is supposed to be.
I was convinced that this was the only path and that everyone went through similar struggles.
When I engaged in conversations with executives and VPs, their unanimous response reinforced this belief — “This is how it is.”
This is how it is…..is it?
That was the answer to everything.
Until 2021, I felt extremely burned out and had a sudden realization that I am surrounded by mediocre people who are getting by doing the bare minimum.
And ultimately the realization that a higher title doesn’t translate to being talented, skilled, a good leader, even compassionate about other people and your work.
I was broken down inside.
I felt empty.
I knew that I didn’t want this.
I felt like a fool.
I believed in something for my entire career and it happened to be all lie.
The lie you may be all living in.
“Everything is hard, but you choose your hard. You don’t choose whether or not you’ll suffer, but you do choose what you want to suffer for.” — Brianna Weist
You do things because everyone doing them.
I felt hollow, confronted by the fact that I no longer wanted to be a part of this cycle.
I felt foolish for dedicating my career to something that seemed like a lie — a lie many of us may unknowingly be living.
Society often follows a predetermined path, an unwritten rulebook that dictates life’s milestones.
We’re programmed to stick to a set sequence:
- Obtain a good college degree.
- Secure a decent job to pay the bills.
- Get married and have children.
- Purchase a house and a car.
- Labor for 40 years.
- Retire at 65 to sip margaritas in the Bahamas.
These are the things you tend to do.
Anyone who deviates from this seems like what the hell they are doing with their life.
We all judged them secretively.
There is no free will, your life is exactly planned for you.
Your lives are preordained.
Your limitations become self-imposed.
“Nothing in life that’s worth anything is easy.” — Barack Obama
You are your limitations:
I procrastinated on many things in my life because of what other people will say.
Or I don’t know anyone who has done it before. What if.. something worst happens.
When I moved to the USA 7 years back all by myself, all of my friends, and family said, I am going crazy.
No one in their right mind will do this.
Everyone around me was either getting married, having kids, or buying houses. I am supposed to be focusing on doing exactly this.
And here I am going across the sea to restart my life all over again.. all by myself.
In retrospect, that leap of faith turned out to be one of the best decisions of my life.
If you are in a similar boat, the only thing that’s holding you back is yourself and your beliefs.
And the good thing is beliefs, your mindset can easily be changed with the right perspective.
That’s where the growth happens in those moments when you decide to look differently.
If you think you can’t do something, probably you never going to be.
“If you quit on the process, you are quitting on the result.” — Idowu Koyenikan
People will say things that you don’t want to hear
When I began writing online two years ago, I shared my articles with friends who responded with skepticism:
- “Why are you wasting your time?”
- “You won’t achieve success.”
- “Who would read your work?”
- “The world already has great writers.”
But I kept going and going.
I persisted.
It took me two years and 391 articles for people to notice me.
And now same people come back to me every other day asking how they can also start.
And my writing helped them in their life.
My writing has impacted their lives in many positive ways.
Teaching me that believing in myself, even when no one else does is all you need.
So believe in yourself, even when no one is.
I know it sounds like a bit of cliche advice, but it works every time.
Create something that you love:
Starting is not always easy and you already know.
It takes time to build anything good.
Breakthroughs happen in business when you keep doing the work consistently.
When I created my first digital product which was an e-book, I thought who will read it?
It wasn’t easy. But anything worthwhile is hard.
But to my surprise. I got 100+ downloads in one week.
It let me believe that there are people and audiences for my work.
Every reader counts.
If you’re going to spend 10+ years of your life trying to create freedom, invest 2–3 of those years in breaking free of your limiting beliefs.
The strongest prisons are those we create for ourselves.
Utilize your 9–5 job the best way you can:
Now you may ask, 9–5 is demanding with endless zooms, reports, and client requirements, and by the time you end up the work you are exhausted and you are due to catch up on Netflix’s new show that everyone talking about in zooms.
There is so much to talk about And Just Like That.. latest episode.
Yeah, people are also talking about Barbenheimer.
So you have to catch up with that too.
I get all that.
I have been in that situation.
But as people say, there is a will, there is a way.
Find blank spaces in your day to do things that matter most to you.
Don’t fill the void with binge-watching, unintentionally scrolling, or gossiping on the phone for hours.
“The limiting factor on your success is not the size of the obstacles, but the size of your dream.” — Orrin Woodward
How you can do it:
If you’ve got a 9–5 job, you’ve got a head start.
You already have a structure and routine in your day.
You don’t need to quit your job to start creating online or start your business.
1- Use transferable skills:
- Writing great emails
- Negotiations
- Graphics, visuals,
- Storytelling.
All these skills I learned at my job.
See what skills you currently use at work, and put them to some good use.
If you like creating presentations you can create
- kickass book covers
- blog covers
- something visually appealing posts.
2- Use 6–8 PM:
When you start creating on the side, you need to spend some time.
Cheat on your 9–5 job.
Start creating content on the side.
I use my 6–7 PM time to write two headlines and one LinkedIn Post.
Leverage the time you have to ultimately own your time and get the freedom.
“Expect the best. Prepare for the worst. Capitalize on what comes.” — Zig Ziglar
What to write about:
I also stumbled to this question every day, on what to write about.
There is nothing extraordinary happening in my day.
My favorite topics to write about:
- My journey as a part-time creator
- Ways to live a sustainable life
- Mindfulness and life lessons
Start Today:
If you have a laptop. phone, an internet connection, and a social media account.
- Talk about topic(s) you can speak non-stop.
- Publish something online every day to build consistency.
- Connect with people through comments and DMs.
- Build an audience and a following over time.
There is no shortcut. This is the only way.
Sooner or later you will find opportunities coming your way.
Showing up is your new superpower.
“I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it.”- Thomas Jefferson
Repeat and Repeat:
To build a one-person business, you need to show up every day.
It’s all about living a lifestyle that you want to live.
For me is to have freedom over my time so that I can spend more time traveling, connecting with random people, and writing.
Truthfully, forever.
And there is no retirement in between.
It’s about building a lifestyle that I want to live without thinking of retirement.
It’s all about doing something that you love and are passionate about.
And you know that when you love doing something, it never felt like work. :)
Be Bold
Be Courageous
Be Your Best
Read more on writing online and side-hustle:
