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How to Keep Your Day Job and Pursue Your Passion Project on the Side

by Poornima VijayashankerAugust 1st, 2017

Too Long; Didn't Read

It’s a brand new month, and we’ve got a new theme we’ll be tackling on our show <em>Build</em>! We’re going to be talking about building, managing, and growing a side project you are passionate about while keeping your day job.

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Interview with Joy Dixon Founder of Mosaic Presence

It’s a brand new month, and we’ve got a new theme we’ll be tackling on our show Build! We’re going to be talking about building, managing, and growing a side project you are passionate about while keeping your day job.

I’m sure you’re aware of all the benefits that come with a side project: you get the chance to explore and learn new skills. And if it’s 100% yours, you get full creative freedom.

However, you’ve probably heard that once your side project starts to grow you need to make a decision… You need to decide to go ALL-IN! You need to quit your day job and pursue that side project. Otherwise, you’re not really passionate about your idea, you’re not committed, and chances are you’ll appear less than focused!

But going all-in on a side project can be a real challenge for many of us that don’t have the means, really like our day jobs, and truly want to have something on the side.

Well, it turns out you don’t actually have to go all-in, and in today’s episode we’re going to tackle this myth. In future episodes we’ll talk about how to manage your time + energy when you physically can’t and what to do when your side project is facing a number of challenges.

To help us out I’ve invited Joy Dixon, who is a visionary and an entrepreneur with 20 years of industry experience. In addition to having a day job as a software engineer, Joy also runs a technical training school in Oakland, California called Mosaic Presence. So Joy is definitely someone who walks the talk!

In today’s episode you’ll learn:

How to pursue a side project while holding down a full-time job, when you don’t have the means to go “all-in”
How and why it’s important to share your side project with your current or future employer
How to respond to people who think you aren’t “focused”

Once you’ve watched the episode, Joy and I know you are going to have some concerns around going all-in on an idea versus starting something on the side. Share those concerns with us in the comments below and we’ll be sure to take a look at them and respond shortly.