Workin' 9 to 5 to make a livin… and every other minute on your startup

When lunchtime strikes, Ami Gilder mentally switches from her role as course consultant at the College of Naturopathic Medicine and puts on her business hat.

During that hour, she might update the social media pages for her health and nutritionist company Buckthorn Health, talk to clients or send emails as she tucks into her homemade quinoa salad.

Gilder is one of thousands of people across the UK juggling their day job with setting up and managing their own business. Though it’s a tough journey carving a side-project into a company while holding down a salaried job, it’s a sacrifice many entrepreneurs are willing to make.

For those mastering it, every spare moment counts. For Gilder, that might mean spending evenings and weekends hosting nutritional classes, having face-to-face meetings with clients, taking part in webinars, preparing for a lecture, or researching the latest ‘superfood’. So how does she balance her two roles?

It’s all about getting into a routine, she says. “I can only achieve all of this by being really organised and planning in advance. I write up what I need to do that week and make sure I put time aside for it, such as writing an article. Ad hoc things might crop up, such as a call with a client, so I allow time for that. I designate slots of time in my diary to particular tasks and make sure there’s no procrastination.”

Abi Ramanan, founder of South Indian food company Papi’s Pickles, juggles her company and her job as a London food poverty campaign coordinator for NGO Sustain.

She, too, says she has to be organised. “When I’m working at Sustain I maximise my time by having lunchtime meetings or meetings after work. I also try and schedule things together, so when I’m offering samples, I try and coordinate the drop-offs. The same with phone calls – I organise them one after the other.” She admits she’s a bit of a night owl: “I work best at night so I’m often working till 1am or 2am.”

As business starts to grow, startups may wish to speak to their employer about cutting down their hours in order to achieve their business ambitions.

Gilder has done this, reducing her time as a course consultant to four days a week so she can devote one full day to seeing clients. With her day job and her business combined, she now clocks up 60 hours of work per week, on average.

Meanwhile, Ramanan has cut down to a three-day week to meet the growing demands of Papi’s Pickles.

Of course, not all employers are able to be so flexible and budding buisness owners should take their work responsibilities into account when setting up a venture.

A spokesperson for the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) recommends that the would-be entrepreneur first checks they wouldn’t be breaching any terms in their contract.

“It is usually a good idea for an employee to talk to their employer if they want to start a business as this reduces the risk of concerns down the line and an informed employer may even offer support and flexibility,” adds ACAS.

Also, entrepreneurs should make sure they are still getting the amount of breaks and rest required under the Working Time Regulations.

Ramanan says: “Once I started running my business in early 2014 things started moving quickly. I was working full time at the Fairtrade Foundation, but the nature of the business – doing street food, catering and pop ups – meant I was struggling to meet all of its demands. I couldn’t see all my clients, source new markets or recruit new chefs. So I ended up switching to three days a week.”

Ramanan says she’s lucky to have had her employers’ support. “Fairtrade was amazing, with really empathic managers. Also, Sustain is a big food hub with a similar ethos. It might have been trickier if I was in a corporate job.”

Radha Vyas, co-founder of The Flash Pack, a travel company providing adventures trips for 30-to 50-somethings, has gone a step further and now made the leap into being a full-time entrepreneur.

“It’s really hard working long hours and you have to sacrifice a lot,” says Vyas. “The only way to cope is to make sure exercise and diet doesn’t go out the window. I invested in personal training sessions to build my energy and stamina during that time.”

She says she set herself a timeframe for combining the two roles before going solo. “It’s difficult to focus on two jobs,” she says. “I kept reducing my consultancy work to focus on The Flash Pack; eventually I just had to jump – it really needed my full attention.”

Juggling both balls is difficult, but Gilder says she wouldn’t have it any other way as her paid job provided her with a safety net.

“Working seven days a week and long hours is tiring but because my new business is so rewarding, it doesn’t really like work. That’s how I’m able to manage it – by loving what I do.”

However, those who take the long route to starting a business need to be realistic in their vision. As Gilder says: “It’s going to take time to build up as you’re working full-time but you’ve got to stay motivated and trust that the good work will pay off.”

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