I was recently talking to an entrepreneur who is really struggling in this economy. The truth is, many of us are. Yes, even me, I admit it.
One of the concerns she expressed was that she would love to take a second job to supplement her income, but if any of her clients or associates see her working that other job, they may infer that she is not successful and therefore not very good at what she does.
First off, you need to do what you need to do. It isn’t easy having your own business, and even harder if you have a family that relies on you to bring home the bacon. If you need to find an additional source of bacon, so be it.
Second, there is very little chance that many of the people you know are going to happen to come to your other job and see you. Granted, you probably don’t want to go work at Starbuck’s in the same community as you do business, since that is a place where many small business people frequent.
But hey, if you got a part-time job waiting tables at the local Pub n’ Grub, the likelihood of someone you know coming in and seeing you is not very high.
For awhile after I had started my business, I had a job at a book store. I was there for about 9 months. In that period of time, I had exactly ONE person come in who I knew. Which brings me to my third point.
Let’s say that someone does see you. So what? When they say “Oh, you’re working here now?” you say “Just to add some extra income. The economy is tough, so I do this to fill in during my slow times during the week.”
People understand. Many of them wish they could find a second job. Some of them wish they could find a FIRST job. Anyone who tells you that they are doing just peachy during these times is either very lucky or very lying. (It’s my blog, so I can use improper phrases like “very lying.”) They too may be trying to save face, and don’t want to tell you that the bank just repossessed their car. Yes, it is important to look successful, but people can often spot a phony.
The bottom line is that you can’t let what someone MAY think of you IF they happen to see you working another job interfere with your primary directive, which is paying the bills and taking care of your family.
