Sydney Twichell LLC

There seems to be this narrative I’ve noticed lately on social media when it comes to entrepreneurship. If you get a 9-5, you’ve failed. 

You need to quit your job, be your own boss, and rely entirely on the dream you’re building. What we don’t hear often are the stories of entrepreneurs working their 9-5 jobs while still building their business. Or, like in my case, getting a 9-5 after starting the business when economic realities shift. 

I was afraid that working a 9-5 would be me giving up on Clever Girl. Like I was failing by not giving every piece of myself to it. The reality is though, getting a job didn’t suffocate the flames of my business, it gave it the room and fuel to burn right. 

My business no longer bears the burden of covering my monthly expenses, instead it now has the room to grow and thrive at its own pace instead of me trying to rush the process for my survival. 

Your 9-5 Can Actually Make You a Better Business Owner

When I got my 9-5 something unexpected happened: I started learning again. I am enrolled in an online university, so it’s not like I haven’t been learning, but I started getting hands on experience in ways I wouldn’t have in a university. Working in a corporate marketing position has given me the opportunity to flex the skills I’ve gained working freelance for so long, but it’s also given me a lot of opportunities to learn new skills that I can apply to my business and the work I do for my clients. Because I have set hours and a regular paycheck, when I sit down to work on Clever Girl I actually want to be there working on my business instead of it feeling like a burden. 

You Don’t Have to Choose

If you’re an entrepreneur who has been quietly considering getting a 9-5, you’re not alone. And I want you to know that you don’t have to choose between traditional employment and being an entrepreneur. Maybe your business doesn’t cover all of your bills, or maybe you need health insurance. Whatever the reason, you getting a job doesn’t minimize what you’ve done, it doesn’t make your business less legit or professional, and it certainly doesn’t mean you’ve failed. 

Sometimes, the best decision is to choose a path where stability can open the doors for better opportunity. That’s what I chose for Clever Girl, and the pay off has been immediate. 

Since starting my new job, I have gained new clients while maintaining my existing clientele. My socials have been pretty quiet lately, but that’s because I’ve been silently building behind the scenes. As my work for clients increases, so does my enthusiasm and passion for the work I do. I am doing more work for clients now than I ever have before, and that’s because I decided to take the pressure off of my business to succeed by putting in the extra work by getting a 9-5. 

This is a season I was not expecting my business to enter, but I couldn’t be happier. With Q4 approaching, I am being far more intentional with the work I take on. Not because I am desperately trying to stay busy, but because my time is valuable and my clients deserve the highest quality work I can provide for them. 

So if you’ve been following Clever Girl for a while, and telling yourself you’ll reach out “eventually”, eventually might be a bit sooner than you think. 

Clever Girl is here to stay. I’m just constantly changing the way I do things. And I am just getting started.