Who wouldn’t like to earn a full-time income while working part-time hours? You’ll get to spend a whole lot more time with yourself and your family without sacrificing the amount of money you’re making each month. And on top of that, you can finally start to enjoy the 5 work benefits of part-time workers.
That being said, it’s not as easy as it sounds and you’ll definitely still need to put in some effort to make this dream a reality. You need to create and stick to a routine that you follow religiously every day.
So, if you want to learn how to make a full-time income working part-time hours, keep on reading below.
1. Don’t Work for Free
As obvious as this sounds, this step is often overlooked or completely ignored. Putting a monetary value on your working hours is good for the growth and sustainability of your business.
While helping others out is completely okay, you need to set firm boundaries regarding your work and what you want to be compensated for. Trial work is normal and helps potential clients get a sense of what you can do, but that does not mean you have to do it for free.
Your time is valuable, and any client worth doing business with will not mind paying you for your time. If they do, chances are they would not be a good client to work with anyway.
You may end up turning away potential clients over disagreements about being paid for your time. The important thing to remember is that it is okay. It is the client’s loss and not yours at the end of the day.
When you are just starting out, it is fine to do freebies here and there to build up your experience and portfolio. However, once you are established, become firm on your pricing because your time is very valuable.
2. Have Different Streams of Income
Having different sources of income is a key part of working fewer hours and making more money. If all of your income comes from one source, you might experience significant drops during slow periods, which can be detrimental if you do not plan for them.
When you are looking to have a year-round, full-time income, you want to focus on multiple products and services that you can offer to clients. Try not to pigeonhole yourself into one niche or limit yourself to one client. You can also provide tiered rates that increase per stage of your service.
Another separate source of income to look into is passive income streams, like investments. This may seem like it is overall more work, and sometimes, it will be. It is worth it, though, to ensure that you always have a steady full-time income throughout the year.
3. Let Your Value Increase
Allowing your value to increase means more than just simply raising your rates every so often. While raising the rates you charge is a standard suggestion, it does not always work out. This is especially true if you are not also increasing the value of your work for your clients.
If your value does not match your rate, clients simply will not want to pay more. To increase your value, focus on gaining and perfecting new skills related to your field of work. You want to ensure that you are trying to deliver more than the basic standard.
Clients will be fine with paying more when they are getting better results than they expected. Working less and making more is not about being lazy. It takes a lot of effort and drive.
4. Hire Help When Needed
Eventually, you will get to a point where you would benefit from hiring someone to help with small tasks throughout your workday. There are menial things that take up your time when they should not, especially as your business grows and becomes more established.
Hiring someone to do small tasks, like checking your business’s emails or answering phone calls. A virtual assistant can free up time for you to focus on the main part of your business, which is whatever you are selling to clients.
Start small by hiring one person for a simple position and build from there. You can always add more responsibilities as needed and train your virtual assistant to help achieve specific goals you set for them.
Extra help is so beneficial for your own schedule and the growth of your business. Always ensure that you are prepared to compensate whoever you hire properly, as you would not want someone to devalue your work either.
Conclusion
Working part-time hours while making full-time income takes a lot of work and is truly a privilege to achieve. A ton of effort goes into making this possibility a reality.
Maximize your work hours by planning your schedule accordingly and setting appropriate rates and boundaries for yourself. Always price your services to reflect the value of your work and never undervalue yourself. Remember, you want to make a profit from your business.
Try not to view your business as busy work, especially if you have set goals and want specific results from your hard work. Make a step-by-step plan to slowly accumulate and grow your income while putting in fewer hours as you go
