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There’s a popular narrative around starting a solo business: quit your job, take the leap, figure it out along the way. It sounds bold. It also ignores what many successful solopreneurs actually do: start while they still have a paycheck, figure it out, and then<\/em> quit.<\/p>\n I freelanced alongside my 9\u20135 for two full years before going solo full-time. That runway gave me time to figure out my offer and ideal clients, build a portfolio, and develop the confidence that I could make it work. As a result, the transition didn’t feel like a free fall.\u00a0<\/p>\n If you’re thinking about solopreneurship, a side hustle might be a smart way to get started.<\/p>\n {“blockType”:”mv-promo-block”,”data”:{“imageDesktopUrl”:”https:\\\/\\\/images.fastcompany.com\\\/image\\\/upload\\\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\\\/wp-cms-2\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/work-better-1.png”,”imageMobileUrl”:”https:\\\/\\\/images.fastcompany.com\\\/image\\\/upload\\\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\\\/wp-cms-2\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/work-better-mobile-1.png”,”eyebrow”:””,”headline”:”\\u003Cstrong\\u003ESubscribe to Work Better\\u003C\\\/strong\\u003E”,”dek”:”Thoughts on the future of work, career pivots, and why work shouldn\\u0027t suck, by Anna Burgess Yang. To learn more, visit \\u003Ca href=\\u0022https:\\\/\\\/www.workbetter.media\\\/\\u0022\\u003Eworkbetter.media\\u003C\\\/a\\u003E.”,”subhed”:””,”description”:””,”ctaText”:”SIGN UP”,”ctaUrl”:”https:\\\/\\\/www.workbetter.media”,”theme”:{“bg”:”#f5f5f5″,”text”:”#000000″,”eyebrow”:”#9aa2aa”,”subhed”:”#ffffff”,”buttonBg”:”#000000″,”buttonHoverBg”:”#3b3f46″,”buttonText”:”#ffffff”},”imageDesktopId”:91457605,”imageMobileId”:91457608,”shareable”:false,”slug”:””,”wpCssClasses”:””}}<\/p>\n A side hustle while you’re still employed gives you something incredibly valuable: the ability to experiment without risking your livelihood. <\/p>\n You can determine what services you plan to offer and validate whether there’s demand. You can pitch potential clients, test different pricing, and figure out what \u201csticks\u201d\u2014all while a steady paycheck covers your bills.<\/p>\n You’re also building proof that you can do the work. Future clients want to see what you’ve already done, not what you plan to do. A portfolio and a few client testimonials go a long way when you’re ready to announce that you’re open for business full-time. <\/p>\n The tough part is juggling both. I had a lot of late nights and weekends when I took on freelance work alongside my 9\u20135 job. But I knew it wasn\u2019t forever, so it was worth the period of overlap.\u00a0<\/p>\n Before you quit, you need to know how much you need to earn\u2014and have some evidence that you can get there.\u00a0<\/p>\n Start by calculating the minimum you need to cover your business expenses, taxes, and your cost of living. This is your baseline, and it’s more useful than a salary comparison because it accounts for the realities of self-employment: quarterly tax payments, software subscriptions, and the fact that you’re now paying for things your employer used to cover.<\/p>\n The day I went solo full-time, I knew what I needed to earn. I didn\u2019t need to replace my 9\u20135 salary right away (though that was certainly the goal). I also knew how much more work and how many more clients I needed to get from side-hustle status to running-a-business mode.\u00a0<\/p>\n A side hustle with a paycheck is also the easiest time to build an emergency fund. Set aside your side hustle earnings while your 9\u20135 covers your day-to-day expenses. By doing this, you can afford to earn less when you initially go full-time as a solopreneur, because you can draw from your savings.<\/p>\n Side-hustle time is when you set up the systems that will run your business. Contracts. Invoicing. A basic website. Pricing. All of these things are easier to figure out when your income doesn’t depend on getting it right the first time.<\/p>\n You’ll also start learning how to manage client relationships on a much smaller scale\u2014like communication and setting expectations around project scope. When you make the switch, you’re able to scale up much more easily.<\/p>\n Starting a side hustle shrinks the gap between employed and self-employed. By the time you leave your 9\u20135, you’ve already started your business.<\/p>\n Not everyone has the luxury of a gradual transition. Sometimes, a layoff or life circumstances force the issue. But if you have the option, use it.<\/p>\n {“blockType”:”mv-promo-block”,”data”:{“imageDesktopUrl”:”https:\\\/\\\/images.fastcompany.com\\\/image\\\/upload\\\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\\\/wp-cms-2\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/work-better-1.png”,”imageMobileUrl”:”https:\\\/\\\/images.fastcompany.com\\\/image\\\/upload\\\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\\\/wp-cms-2\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/work-better-mobile-1.png”,”eyebrow”:””,”headline”:”\\u003Cstrong\\u003ESubscribe to Work Better\\u003C\\\/strong\\u003E”,”dek”:”Thoughts on the future of work, career pivots, and why work shouldn\\u0027t suck, by Anna Burgess Yang. To learn more, visit \\u003Ca href=\\u0022https:\\\/\\\/www.workbetter.media\\\/\\u0022\\u003Eworkbetter.media\\u003C\\\/a\\u003E.”,”subhed”:””,”description”:””,”ctaText”:”SIGN UP”,”ctaUrl”:”https:\\\/\\\/www.workbetter.media”,”theme”:{“bg”:”#f5f5f5″,”text”:”#000000″,”eyebrow”:”#9aa2aa”,”subhed”:”#ffffff”,”buttonBg”:”#000000″,”buttonHoverBg”:”#3b3f46″,”buttonText”:”#ffffff”},”imageDesktopId”:91457605,”imageMobileId”:91457608,”shareable”:false,”slug”:””,”wpCssClasses”:””}} There’s a popular narrative around starting a solo business: quit your job, take the leap, figure it out along the way. It sounds bold. It also ignores what many successful solopreneurs actually do: start while they still have a paycheck, figure it out, and then quit. I freelanced alongside my 9\u20135 for two full years<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13166,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-13165","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-brand-spotlights"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13165","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13165"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13165\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13166"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13165"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13165"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13165"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}The 9\u20135 is your (temporary) safety net<\/h2>\n
Know your number before you leap<\/h2>\n
Build your operational foundation<\/h2>\n
The jump gets smaller<\/h2>\n
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Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"