Episode 43: Balancing a Full Time Job and A Side Hustle, Unrealistic Expectations, and The Power of No with Adrienne Martin

Small business

Sep 8

In this episode I’m sitting down with Adrienne Martin, Founder of Mighty Bean Co., who shares her experience of balancing a full-time job and a side business. Both she and I get asked constantly how we manage our time, and I was pleasantly surprised to hear we have completely opposite approaches. Adrienne is all about simplicity and I really enjoyed hearing her perspective.

My favorite part of our conversation centers around unrealistic expectations. After COVID when we all collectively realized that we could monetize our passions, it felt like overnight successes became a dime a dozen. As a result, we started to model our expectations off what we see online. But, as we know, all good things take time. Adrienne and I are diving deep into setting unrealistic goals, why we do it, how to handle when they inevitably don’t happen, and how to appreciate the actual growth that you’re experiencing, no matter how seemingly small.

Of course I couldn’t let Adrienne go without asking her if she plans to take Mighty Bean full time, and she brought up a good point. Why do we have to choose? I think people expect those with side hustles to eventually make it full time, because why else would we work ourselves to the bone? But Adrienne calls herself a multi-hyphenate and she prefers to quietly sell. It's possible to find joy and fulfillment in both a full time role and a side business. Also, side note, if you were still on the fence about listening to this episode all the way through, Adrienne is hitting you with the social media hack that will get you engagement like never before. She’s tested it herself and it works.. I’m definitely trying it.

This conversation provides an interesting perspective on balancing a full time job and a profitable passion. It’s great for anyone who is currently doing both, or someone who’s looking to start a side hustle. The conclusion we come to is that the beauty of life is that we can pursue whatever we want and we don’t actually have to choose.

Here are the key takeaways from the episode: