Our founder Beck Wadworth started An Organised Life in late 2013, as some of you may know she was working full-time with leading Australian fashion designers Bec & Bridge, 3 years later she stepped back to part time and eventually to full time on the brand & hiring a small team.  She knows a thing or two about running a business while working a day job, we asked her top tips to stay ahead of the hustle and make your dreams a reality…

1. Commit to your idea

If you don't believe in your idea, no one else will. Follow your gut & take the time to really figure out what you want your brand or business to be, how you want it to look and what your core values are. Know your idea inside out and put the time in the evenings & weekends to really feel confident about it. 

2. Know your strengths & weaknesses

When you have a limited amount of time each week to work on your business / brand it's important to identify your strengths & weakness to be your most productive. Sometimes putting in hours on something you really struggle with is realistically a complete waste of time.

For me I really struggled when it came to accounts for my business. I used to spend hours trying to do lots of spreadsheets, & invoicing etc only to work out I had done it all wrong. I realised this early on that I was better to invest a little bit of money into Xero & someone to handle this side of my business. My time & effort was better used on my strengths - design, marketing/sales, production & the social media side. Although I wasn't paying myself - it was worth it to pay for an accountant from my day job wage. Everyone's different but all I can say is knowing your strengths & weaknesses can save you a lot of time - when you don't have a lot of it! 

P.S. make the most of your friends & family connections where possible. Sometimes they are happy to help you out for a cooked dinner or a discounted rate when you are first starting out. 

3. Set Yourself Goals

When you work full time & are growing a brand or business, it's important to set aside goals for you to achieve that are inspiring yet realistic. There are only so many hours in the day, so think wisely about what you want to focus on and prioritise reaching this goal over & above all. What will help take your business to the next level?

It can be long term, short term & weekly goals - there are no rules. For me when I first started it was growing my brand & pushing my product out there while learning about business, production & dispatch. During the next year it was growing my social media & wholesale business (& everything that goes along with it). Obviously these goals are very broad, but within them I made clear milestones I wanted to tick along the way. 

4. Prioritise your time & get organised!

It may sound simple but learning how to prioritise will make you much more productive with your time. Create a routine that works for you and have a to-do list ready so you can make the most of your time - before you go to bed every evening, dedicate 15 minutes to planning your day ahead in line with when you’re most productive. Maybe it’s getting up a little earlier to check emails & plan while having your morning coffee, utilsiing your morning commute or lunch break, or if night time gets your creativity flowing dedicating a hour each evening to working on your goals,  or dedicating a day on the weekend to work and having more balance during the week. If you know what you want to achieve during these times you will be able to kick those goals and move onto the next one - growing your business step by step.

Tip: Avoid procrastination & wasting time at all costs. 

And.....

No matter how tired, or stressed you are during the 'hustle' stages of running & growing your business, always remember to be realistic and take the time to celebrate your successes along the way & relax when your body is telling you to. Don't let yourself feel defeated or deflated. The hustle years are the hardest, but they are also the most amazing & rewarding. 

It's crazy how much you can achieve in a year when your passionate, motivated, hard-working, and willing to learn. It's worth the risk, good luck! x

Ready to start setting goals? Download our Goal Planner or get your hands on one of our diaries or notebooks & your ideas into action.