This economy has a lot of people thinking about starting a side business. Starting a new company, freelancing, and contracting are all great ways to bring in some extra money while reducing your costs. If you do it the right way you can see if the new business idea is really going to work while maintaining stability at your current gig.
Over the next four weeks I will talk about the various things you need to consider before launching a start-up side business or taking on a second job.
First: To Share or Not to Share
One of the first things you will need to decide is whether or not you are going to tell your employer about what you are doing. If you decide to go the stealth route keep in mind that you probably want to keep it mum from the entire office. Co-workers tend to talk and word will probably get back to your boss at some point unless you tell absolutely no one.
Remember to Check your Contract!
Before deciding to ‘fess up, you should also take a look at your employment contract (if you have one). Many employment contracts limit an employee’s ability to get a second job. Sometimes contracts require employees to jump through hoops like such as getting the employer’s written permission before taking on any other employment. If you don’t follow the rules you expose yourself to being fired for cause.
If your contract seems limiting but you are still interested in working at a second gig and your contract discourages this you can always approach your employer and negotiate with him or her.
Once you know where you stand and how up front you are going to be, you are ready to consider the type of work you will be doing and how that work product may affect your employer. Stay tuned for next week’s post on this issue and how to navigate it.