How To Transition From Self-Employed Back To Full-Time
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Revenue had been growing at a steady rate for the last year, and my business partner and I were beyond excited at the prospect of being sustainably self-employed at the age of 24. Little did I know that just a few months later, I’d be making a very difficult decision to return to full-time employment.
I had been doing freelance content marketing on the side to help augment my income, while we focused on keeping funds in the business and reinvesting in new inventory. However, splitting my efforts and working an easy 70-80 hours per week was rapidly becoming less and less sustainable for the results we were seeing with our company. My performance was suffering for both my freelance clients, and with my own business. Something had to change.
When we took a hard look at the numbers, we simply weren’t generating enough profit to sustain two people’s lifestyles. It was the perfect amount of income to support one of us, but not both. As an entrepreneur who never wanted to work for someone else again, this was a big pill to swallow.
So, I made the difficult decision to take myself out of the business, move to San Francisco (to work at CreativeLive!), and start a new adventure. It wasn’t easy, and a lot of lessons have been learned along the way. If you’re in the same boat – or maybe just considering making the shift back from freelance to full-time – here are some of the lessons I learned. Maybe they can help you along the way.
1) Choose a Job That Inspires You
Coming from working for myself and being intrinsically motivated to do my absolute best on everything, this was absolutely imperative.If I’m going to be investing 50-60 hours of my time each week into building somebody else’s product, I needed to be absolutely certain that I was in love with the product and mission of the company. Luckily for me, I landed at CreativeLive where I get to help other talented entrepreneurs around the world reach an audience of people who are motivated to learn and improve their lives.
When you choose your first job out of being self-employed, don’t just settle for the first opportunity that comes your way. Pick something that’s going to challenge you, motivate you, and help you get to where you want to go next.
2) Focus on Building Your Core Strengths
Since you’ve been out on your own, you know how hard it is to launch and grow a business into something that can sustain your lifestyle. It takes an impressive amount of skill, knowledge in your industry, and a meaningful network to leverage in getting your business off the ground. Because my goal is to eventually get back to working for myself, I very consciously chose a type of company and position to go after that would allow me to essentially get paid to become better at the skills I’d need to strike out on my own again.3) Work Less, Live More
With your new job, you’re (likely) no longer solely responsible for the success or failure of the business you’re in.Don’t immediately burn yourself out by putting in the number of hours you were doing at your own company beforehand. Yes, still work hard and help take your team to new heights, but learn how to bring balance back into your life. You’re here to contribute, learn, and be part of building something great.
Justin Barker, one of my former co-workers here at CreativeLive learned an incredible amount about working hard and living more. Now he’s back to freelancing, and loving it.
4) Set Realistic Expectations for Yourself
It’ll take time to adjust into your new role, and your employers (should) know that. Don’t expect to move mountains in your first few weeks of work while you get used to your new product, teammates, and goals you’re being measured against.Re-learn how to effectively work against the goals that now matter most in your job, and develop a system that’ll help you feel like you’re getting wins and making meaningful accomplishments early on.
5) Keep a Passion Project on the Side
If you’re like me, then you’re already thinking of the next business
that you want to get started on. Having an outlet to express your
creativity outside of work, test your ideas, and learn what your next
venture is going to be, is essential to remaining sane. Be careful not
to let your side project interfere with your performance at work.For more, see my post on how to start and grow your business while working full-time.
This transition, while very beneficial in many important aspects of my life, was very difficult. It was hard to come to grips with the reality that I had failed, to some degree, to achieve the goals I had for myself. However, that experience taught me more in one year than I learned in two years of working before I started that business.
What’s important is that I kept moving forward, and in doing so, I’ve discovered new passions, honed my skills, and have become much better equipped for my next venture. Join me at ryrob.com.
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