The Young Professional’s Guide to Staying Focused on a Side Business

I would love to start a business on the side, but I just don’t have enough time.

I wish I could run a business, but I’m far too busy with my other commitments.

If only I had what it took to start my own business I would be so successful.

Does this sound like you?

Too many young professionals are guilty of over dramatizing the amount of work that they do. We act as if we work all day, every day, build houses in Ethiopia on the weekends, and then go back to saving the world with our day jobs. That’s just not true. We all waste time. We all have more than enough time to get stuff done. We all have the ability to start a side business and stay focused with a 9-5 gig.

As a young professional it’s easy to get distracted with life and everything that comes with it. It’s also easy to make excuses. It’s even easier to blame the world for your problems and delay taking action. Since you read Studenomics I know that you want more out of life. You want to know how you can start a side business and remain focused on it.

I wanted to show all the young 20-somethings that read Studenomics how you can stay focused on building a side business while still living life:

Focus on what matters with your business.

Yes I know that this common advice. We think that we focus and laugh when someone suggests that we focus. The problem is that none of us actually really focus. We pretend that we’re focused, but the odds are that we have a few distractions at all times.

• Tagging photos on Facebook while you do “business research” is not focus.
• Writing articles while you watch funny videos on YouTube is a distraction.
• Texting while you drive is not focus.

It’s really easy to get caught up the minutia. I can spend hours on Twitter chatting about nothing sometimes. I try to justify this as “networking,” but deep down I know that I’m just killing time.

If you want any success at all in this world you need to learn how to focus, even if it’s only for a little bit. There’s two strategies that I recommend for extended focus:

1. Do work in batches. This is where you buckle down and don’t get up until a certain amount of work is done. Bloggers can use this tip to write more articles.
2. Set a time schedule. Set aside anywhere from 20-60 minutes to get work done. Grab a bottle of water and set a timer. Twenty minutes doesn’t sound like much, but it’ll add up over the months.

Are you ready to be more focused on what matters?

Get your work done first and then go out later.

As tempting as it is to go out and do something fun, you must remember to get your work done first. I get dig very deep into this point but I won’t because it’s simple. Do your work and then go out. That’s it. You’ll thank yourself when you’re out with a big smile on your face because you know that you got everything done.

Stop reading, start producing.

My biggest problem for the longest time was that I would read like crazy. I would read any personal finance or entrepreneurship book that I could find. Then I would check out the suggested titles in Amazon to get more books to read. I was consuming like a mad man. I wasn’t producing anything.

My suggestion to you moving forward is to read less and do more. Give it a shot.

Avoid the trouble.

You can easily get yourself in trouble in your 20s. You can rack up massive amounts of credit card debt. You can marry the wrong person. You can buy a home that you can’t afford. You can get arrested for doing something dumb unintentionally. There are many ways that you can get in trouble. If you avoid the negativity and stay positive, you have a higher chance of growing a side business.

Turn your mind off.

If you’re working a part-time job to pay the bills or if you’re in a company that you hate 9-5 then it’s best that you turn your mind off and just coast until you get home to work on that side business that drives you. There’s no point to stress out about the petty issues in life. You’re better than that. You have the ability to turn your mind off and not let the world’s problems get to you.

That’s the quick-and-easy young professional’s guide to running a side business and always staying focused. You don’t need to read any more books or blog posts for now. Start getting work done right now.