Balancing an 8-5 Sales Job While Still Being an Entrepreneur

"In the end, living a fulfilled life means to me being able to have the freedom (in all aspects) to choose. To have choices and options."

Very recently, I started a new job at a Fortune 200 company in a sales position--while still maintaining the growth and flow of my business Elite Skate Wear, as well as my various projects including the Young & Ambitious Podcast, this blog, and overall content creation on my creative platforms. A notion I often hear is that it is bad to balance multiple jobs outside of a corporate job, especially if it's related to entrepreneurship (or just being your own boss). In fact--I was blatantly told by a CEO [of a medium sized business] that it is a red flag that I am an entrepreneur and that it is difficult for me to work at another corporate job while being a business owner.Well guess what? I'm doing exactly what I was told I shouldn't/couldn't do. I am extremely fortunate to be living in an era where society is continuously pushing for individuals to think outside of the box and break glass ceilings. Ten years ago, if someone were to say that they were working a 9-5, while working on their own business outside of work hours, a lot of people would've said that's fucking crazy. Today--it is almost fully embraced by American society and culture.Fortunately, I have always had a strong knack for time management and consistently sticking to my calendar, day after day, week after week. With this skill going into my new corporate job, it allowed me to already have a head start in being efficient with my time, both in and out of the office. In other words, I was already planning out my week from the Friday beforehand--from which evenings I'd be packing my dresses, times I'd be dropping off at USPS, content planning with my social intern, emailing new wholesale partners, and etc. All of which I am working around my corporate job schedule. So yes--that means some days I am going to bed at midnight after a long day of meeting sales clients, only to come home to finish up more work for my business, prep shipments, work on podcast episodes, and ship out my packages at 7am before heading to the office.It might sound insane, but it's certainly not impossible. So many people have asked me, how do you do it? WHY do you do it? What motivates you to keep it all together? My answers are pretty simple.For starters, I am a firm believer in that whatever work I do and financial success I achieve from 22-30, it will also set the trajectory of my economic standing as I continue on in life. With that being said, I want to be grinding my ass off at this age, while of course, enjoying my life (gotta work hard andddd play hard), if I want to have a certain economic fulfillment. *And remember, not everyone has the desire to have the same or similar financial standing, so it doesn't apply for everyone. How do I do it? Time management, planning ahead, and prioritizing. From the morning I wake up to the moment I close my eyes at night, I'm focused and maximizing my time throughout the day and making sure I am doing the most important tasks during my peak energy moments. When you have so much on your plate, you have to fucking choose your priorities wisely. If you catch yourself just snoozing on Netflix or video games, that's just your choice--it's not that "you don't have enough time". Kobe Bryant has the same 24 hours as me, you, and everyone in this world...so what did he do differently?Why I do it? I just graduated college about six months ago. It's the perfect time for me to not only maximize all areas of potential income (instead of one stream), but give myself opportunities to capitalize on. As a business owner, I am already a salesperson. I understand the adversity that comes with owning a business, as well as the selling aspect. So with that in mind, I knew sales would be a great fit for me. And vice versa, for why I stay managing my business. For my creative work and podcast platform, I just love helping the audience in any way I can and have been able to witness all the value the audience has absorbed, so I am grateful to have that community to continue to give back to.What motivates me? It's funny, because after all this, I think most people would presume it is money. You know, it's kinda close but not really. In my eyes, money has and always will be, a byproduct of my work. For my personality, monetary value never was the final push or goal for me. However, it is a key part in my ultimate motivator. What pushes me out of bed every morning and keeps me loving each day is my strive for living a fulfilled life on my own terms. For me, a fulfilled life is simply being able to choose what I naturally want and love to do. Sometimes that could be just buying the car I want, traveling to exotic locations, or eating at upscale restaurants. That all involves having the financial freedom to do so--but those are also things I naturally love to do. The act of doing it fulfills me, not the attainment of it. In the end, living a fulfilled life means to me being able to have the freedom (in all aspects) to choose. To have choices and options. And often times, that will require having the money to do so, but money in itself does not motivate me. So if you're in college right now or perhaps also a recent college grad, maybe it's a good time to reconsider how you want your financial trajectory to be. Again, we all have our own preferences, so to each their own. But--the "figuring it out" part does not have to be scary. When you internalize the life you truly want to live, write it down, and work backwards from there. xx