Do you have a job that you’re dissatisfied with? Maybe you don’t like the company you work for, the long hours you have to be in the office, or the people that you must interact with on a daily basis? A little bit of frustration or unhappiness on the job is expected, and even truly amazing jobs have their downsides. But many people continue working at a job they don’t like simply because they want and need a paycheck, which essentially makes them miserable.
That was me in 2009. I was working the 8 – 5 grind every day at an office and I was completely miserable with life because of it. However, that misery caused me to take action and truly change my life. You can use your frustration with your job for the same purpose and build yourself a growing online business like I have.
At this point, you can remain unhappy or you can vow to make a change. Because of the variety of jobs and industries out there, there’s really no reason to continue doing a job you despise. Why not find something different—or better yet, create it for yourself by starting your own business as an affiliate marketer?
Actually, while you have a different job is the perfect time to do affiliate marketing as a newbie. Affiliate marketing has a bit of a gap between when you start the business and when money actually starts rolling in, so this will give you the time to build up your biz without resorting to only ramen noodles and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for dinner.
But let’s face it: having any kind of project outside of a full-time job is exhausting. It drains you of mental and sometimes physical energy, leaving you feeling like you never have any time for yourself.
The key here is finding a balance between what you’re doing at work and the additional work you’re doing for your new business.
Find The Balance
The best thing you can do is to start sectioning out your time on your calendar and dedicate a certain amount of hours—whatever amount you find reasonable—to your new endeavor. If you can only manage one hour a night, then great! If you can fit in ten hours each week, decide where that time will go.
But remember that it shouldn’t be all work and no play. Also schedule some time for things that aren’t related to either your full-time job or your new affiliate marketing business. Going out with friends, visiting museums, and exercising will keep you inspired, energized, and happy.
Sit Down Every Week And Assess Your Progress
It’s easy to set a goal and then to let it get lost in the jumble of all of your thoughts. But just like you have weekly status meetings at your full-time job, it’s vital for you to sit down and take a holistic look at what you’ve worked on in the past seven days. Make a note of your business goals as well as what actions you took to reach them.
This isn’t time to beat yourself up—remember, you’ve got a lot on your plate! But it is a great time to look at your efforts thus far and practice some constructive criticism. What’s been working and what hasn’t? And more importantly: how can you improve?
Take Small Steps
It can be tempting to look at other affiliate marketers and feel frustration that you aren’t able to move as quickly as they can. When you’re also working another full-time job, that means you’ll have less time to put out new content on a blog, send out newsletter campaigns, create YouTube videos, or whatever other strategies you use.
But in the beginning, affiliate marketing is slow for everyone. No one gets through their first month as an affiliate and takes a weeklong vacation in Bali! So don’t be afraid to take things a little slower to make sure you set up your business correctly and run it the way you want. If you pay close attention to the early days of your business, you’ll be paving a smoother, straighter road that will lead you to success much easier than if you rush into things.
Use Money Wisely
Chances are, if you’re dedicating a few hours each week to your affiliate marketing business and working a full-time job, you won’t have much spare time to get out and spend loads of money at the bar. But you’ve started a business and if you have money coming in from one source, who’s to say it can’t go directly into your new job?
If you want to do affiliate marketing while you have a full-time job, then you are, in many ways, much better off than people who have quit or lost their jobs and are just getting started. Those people likely don’t have much to invest in the early stage of their business. But you’ve got a steady stream of income that you can then funnel into your new work, which can then increase your profits.
Use your money to buy your own hosting and domain name, a proper domain email address, a good email service membership, a site design, and any educational courses you need to get started. Those small things alone can make a huge difference to the way that people perceive your business. You might also consider getting nice film equipment for YouTube videos or buying some products to feature on your blog.
Just because you’ve started your own business doesn’t mean you should never have fun out with your friends again, but it will change the way you think about your spending habits.
Give Yourself At Least One Full Day’s Rest
It’s so easy when you already work full-time and start a business to just carry your work into the weekends. There’s nothing wrong with that, and as I’ve emphasized before, affiliate marketing isn’t the easiest business to get going. But although I’d commend your enthusiasm, I’d also advise you to take some time off—at least one full day per week—to recharge and focus on anything but work.
When you’re in work mode all day every day, you will eventually get burnt out. You will run yourself into the ground with everything you do, and this can take a toll on your mental and physical health. So take a weekend, or at least take one day, where you sleep in, watch television, run errands, and relax. It’s a way to give yourself some more energy to keep up with both of the jobs you’ve got!
