Want to Be an Entrepreneur? Get a 9–5 Job Out of College
Your dreams of entrepreneurship will thank you.
You just graduated from college. You have a business idea you think could disrupt an entire industry. And, after binge-watching Gary Vaynerchuk videos, you are ready to CRUSH IT and go ALL IN ON YOU! Hell yea!
YOU are going to be an entrepreneur.
Except…hit the breaks.
Youthful enthusiasm is great. It has been the catalyst for more than a few powerhouse companies, unicorns, and successful startups.
But, if you want to be a smart entrepreneur, you would be served well by succumbing (at least for a year or two) to the beast that entrepreneurship tries to slay: the traditional 9 to 5 job.
That’s right: if you are truly adamant about your desire to launch a successful entrepreneurial venture, you can gain an edge on success by working a 9 to 5 job in the industry you want to disrupt.
Here’s why working a 9–5 job out of college can be your key to success as a young entrepreneur.
Cash is King, Baby
Some people get energized by the idea of only eating ramen noodles seven days a week and syphoning gas from their neighbor’s Camry just to get to a meeting downtown.
And to those people I say: more power to ya!
But after four years of living as a poor college student (and with student loans looming), the idea of spending more time salary-free isn’t very appealing to most young people.
The beauty of landing a 9 to 5 gig out of college is that it gives you and your business idea two critical advantages: regular cash flow and a long runway.
Of course, there is the caveat that your job will take time out of your day that you might otherwise spend working on your business (I will address that in a moment). But what you get in exchange for lost time is substantial cash coming in every month. And if you are willing to make the right sacrifices, everything after living expenses is money that can be invested back into your business idea.
This means that you will have the money and time to feel your way through building your business. If you screw up with a client, you don’t have to worry about if you will have money for food at the end of the month. It also means that you will have the cash to pay for your inevitable pivots, re-thinks, and product iterations that come with starting a business for the first time.
Successful entrepreneurs will tell you that cash is king. Ironically, cash is exactly what a 9 to 5 affords you.
Insider Industry Info
What exactly is this job that is giving you substantial cash flow every month? Ideally, it is a job in the industry (or a related industry) that you eventually hope to disrupt with your business idea.
Working a 9–5 means spending 40 hours a week studying the industry, seeing who succeeds (and why), who fails (and why), and learning all of its inner workings. You can see things operate from the inside, try out ideas in the real world, and learn from those who are already successful in it.
When you are ready to strike out on your own, that information, experience, and learning could be the difference between success and failure.
“9 to 5” is No Longer 9 to 5
You can succeed at a 9 to 5 and have a successful side-hustle. In fact, it is downright common.
Companies want the best talent, and to attract the best, they are giving their employees as much autonomy over their schedule and working hours as possible. Work from home policies, remote teams, flex-schedules, and unlimited vacation have re-defined what “9–5” actually means in practice.
And the flexibility and freedom of the modern workday creates an opportunity for full-time work and side-hustle to easily co-exist.
Now, I am not suggesting using company hours or resources in order to bring your business idea to life. What I am saying is that in an era of flexible working hours, it is much easier (and even encouraged by some companies) to find time to dedicate to a side-hustle, passion project, or side-business while holding down a traditional job.
What you will likely notice is that both your side-hustle and full-time job will benefit from the time you spend on the other. The information you learn through your side hustle can be applied to your day-job, and vice versa. For your side-hustle, this can lead to a much steeper learning curve, shortening the time to success. For your day job, it will set you up to bring more value to your employer, something your boss is sure to notice.
Take advantage of the opportunity that flexible work hours afford you. Both your day job and side-hustle will benefit. Just make sure to do it ethically.
Preparing a Backup Plan
Let’s imagine, as often happens, that the business idea you thought was a sure thing had a few fatal shortcomings you hadn’t originally anticipated. Now what?
Well, if you had chased your dream straight out of university it would mean that you are now a few years removed from college without any tangible work experience except for trying to start your own company (which provides debatable value when searching for a traditional job).
In short, this is not a great position to find yourself in, especially on the cusp of what should be the most lucrative professional years of your career.
However, if out of college you worked in your industry for a few years — — and built a foundation of experience in your industry (along with the industry knowledge and connections that come with it) — — before striking out on your own, you are going to be far more prepared if your idea fails and you need to launch a traditional job search.
Listen, I know what you are thinking: A true entrepreneur doesn’t have backup plans. A true entrepreneur doesn’t accept failure. They find a way to make it happen.
Unfortunately, failure doesn’t really care if you “accept” it. Failure will throw your ass right back into your parents’ basement with empty pockets and the carcass of a failed business idea.
By forming a foundation of industry experience through working a 9–5 out of college, you may be forfeiting the use of #AllIIn and #BettingOnMe on social media. But in return, you are preparing an experience-parachute that will help catch you if you do fall.
You may not be the next Elon Musk, but there are a lot of people much closer to Earth who, after a few years in their industry, become entrepreneurs as consultants, freelancers and business owners. They are able to do so because they took the time to see their industry from the inside, experienced the pain points of the industry through the company they worked for, and built their professional network.
And when they were finally ready to take the entrepreneurial leap, their chances of success were far greater than they if they didn’t have that experience to lean on.
Got a hankering for more? You can read more of my posts on Letters to a Young Professional, you can check out my blog 12HourDifference.co for my thoughts on launching an international career and you can connect with me on LinkedIn or Twitter to chat about…whatever you’d like!
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