Putting Your Day Job into Perspective

How do you feel about your day job? Do you love it, hate it, or are you somewhere in the middle of those two extremes? Our job is a pretty significant part of our lives. We spend the majority of our waking hours at it, especially if you count our commute time.

We identify a large part of ourselves with our field of work.

One of the first things we ask when we meet someone new is “What do you do?” We base much of our first impressions of someone based on how they respond. We can be quite a judgmental bunch, looking at someone differently if they say “brain surgeon” versus “freelance rapper.” We shouldn’t, but we do.

As for those of us who run handmade businesses in addition to our day jobs, there are a couple of ways we tend to regard the 9 to 5. I often hear one or the other from the colleagues I’ve spoken with.

You often hear the first group say, “If only I didn’t have to work my day job, I would…” [insert completed goal, dream reached, Mount Everest climbed, etc.]

This group tends to their of their jobs as a necessary burden. They don’t like them, but their handmade businesses are no where near the point of being able to financially support them on their own. So the job is a necessary evil, providing temporary cash flow while restricting the ability to reach the larger entrepreneur goals that “could be,” you know, “if ONLY.”

Then there is the second group. This group may or may not like their days jobs. That’s not the point. The point is, they view their day job as a means, not an inhibitor.

This group (also the kind of people who view the glass as half full, as you have probably guessed), think of their day job like this: it’s an opportunity to make money while still being able to work on building their business in their spare time. This group knows that while operating a business while working full time may be hard, it is still entirely possible.

The first group, the Debbie-Dowers, will use their day jobs as an excuse to not work on their dreams. They act sad about it, but really, they are using the 9 to 5 as an excuse to not even try. It let’s them off the hook you see, as failure is always an option.

The second group views their job as a means, as well as a safety net when considering the possibility of failure. They refuse to use their jobs as an excuse to quit working towards their dreams, and move full speed ahead. The first group ends up with a job they despise and blame for the regrets of all they things they didn’t try.

Which group do you want to be a part of?

Tagged: artfire, bsuines, business success, day job, employment, etsy, failure, goals, handmade business, selling handmade, work