Hi everyone, for those of you who started your business as a second job while keeping your regular full time job. How did you handle telling your employer? I work full time at a law firm and have been with the firm for 6 years now. They basically think I'm the bomb at work, so that is good .

However, I'll have to double check my employee manual but I believe that they don't like you to have a home business (though others do) but this VA service would entail doing some of the same things I do for my employer. While I'm not marketing to our clients, and can run names of potential clients through our conflict system and deny the work if the firm represents them. I'm still feeling apprehensive. I believe this one worry along with the lack of sleep has caused this stress I'm feeling in my back . Mentally I'm still excited (with a few moments of anxiety and doubt) but physically I'm spent and just not feeling well at all (hot weather, lack of sleep, not eating, haven't exercised all week) ugh!

In your honest opinions, (the fact that I'm even asking people that I don't even know tells me answer, but here it goes anyways) should I sit down with one of the attorneys I work for and tell them about this business before I get any further into this? I can't afford to leave my job right now, its our main source of income and insurance for my whole family. However, I also don't want to give up my dream of starting this business because I strongly believe I can make it successful.

Thanks for any feedback you offer.

I don't tell them anything they don't need to know. However, my supervisor is also a friend so she knows and as long as my reviews for my current position stay stellar, she doesn't care.

I "try not to" openly conduct VA business at my desk, though time to time I have to make phone calls. I think it would only be a problem if I was somehow using their knowledge base to directly grow my busines.. i.e. gaining contacts, compete or stealing office supplies. Other than that they support entreprenuership here and that comes in handy, but of course being a business, it CANNOT disrupt the flow of what you do for them.

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Tamika R. Johnson, MBA, Principal
administrative partners, llc
www.administrativepartners.net | http://adminpartners.blogspot.com

I was working for a global firm with very strong rules about moonlighting. I spoke to a manager I could trust and found that we had a form I signed which certified that what I was doing was not a conflict of interest. I didn't tell others what I was doing until I was ready to cut back on my schedule so I could spend more time building my business. I went to half-time for 4 months, then quit and worked full-time in my VA practice.

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Lorri Morin, CPVA
www.virtualsynergy.net

I worked in HR for a long time, and although my department had an employee manual that discouraged "moonlighting", honestly don't think, legally, they could do anything about someone who was going to do that.

I can't imagine that any employer could possibly tell you what you can and can't do with your off hours.

Now, if you were conducting business during THEIR hours, or if what you were doing in your moonlighting job conflicted in any way with your employer's company, then they might be able to say something about it. But otherwise, I wouldn't say a word.

You might want to check the employee laws in your state to find out what the legalities are for someone moonlighting.

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Kathy Harmacek
Your Virtual Aide
http://www.your-virtual-aide.com

Thank you for the responses so far. I guess I will sit down with one of the attorneys to discuss it. Its kind of hit or miss with her (but she is my biggest alli there) sometimes she is very understanding and helpful and at other times a real..... but she hasn't been for a really long time. .

Wish me luck, with their blessing I'll feel like I can really market this openly and not feel so much anxiety about it. I haven't put my full name on anything yet except my business cards that I haven't handed out to anyone but a potential client so far. All of my other marketing pieces have just my first name, PO box address and cell phone number (that is the number I'm using for the business for now). Phewwww it will be a relieve. Just the decision to go ahead and discuss it with them has relieved some of the stress that settled in the middle of my back recently.
Thanks for such quick responses. You guys here are the best!

I know this is an old thread, and don't know if I will get any responses, but I was wondering how it turned out with your attorney bosses. I am just starting out and am going to do this part time for a few months to see how much business I can generate before quitting my job and going full time. I have not, and will not tell my boss until the time comes to quit. I will not conflict with the business that I am now doing, so don't see that as a problem. But was wondering what would happen if I did tell. My boss is a real pain and I feel she will probably fire me. Not exactly what I want to happen.

I work in HR, and our employee handbook says it's okay to have another job as long as it does not interfere with company business.

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VirtuallyDee

Hi Marietuc

I am actually in a very similar position to you!

My "day" job is that of a legal secretary. As my firm basically specialises in conveyancing work we had a meeting about 6 weeks ago where the boss said there may be a possibility that because of the current climate our hours may be reduced.

This panicked me because I'm living (like most of us) on a very tight budget and the thought of bring home less money was quite upsetting! When I calmed down I sat and thought about it and thought what I could do as a "plan B" should it come to that happening and that's when I thought about being a freelance secretary/VA.

The boss wanted to talk to each of us individually to assess what our financial situation was before making a decision (!) So rightly or wrongly I told him that I if my hours were to be cut I would need to earn money in another way and that I was going to do some freelance work. I had to assure him that this work would be keep strictly "out of hours" (i.e. when he wasn't going to pay me) and that it wouldn't impact on my main job which will come first.

He was a little worried about the conflict of interest issues so what I have done on my web-site's T & C's was to write in that if I was doing legal work that all parties needed to be identified before I could take on the work.

I am lucky that I do not live too far away from work so I can go home and check my emails etc. in my lunch break. The Office Manager is aware that I have a "Plan B" but to be honest I have kept it fairly quiet.

I am hoping to build up a client list (I'm still awaiting the first one) so that I will then be able to use them as referees and not my boss. Although he wasn't against the idea I think it would be better protocol not to ask him!

Gosh! That was a much longer answer than I expected to give!! LOL!

Avocet

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Secretarial Service with a Smile!

Just make sure that you let prospective clients know that you have a job in addition to your business. This will help them to understand why you may not be available to the at certain times depending on your work schedule.

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DeAnna Troupe's VA Service
http://www.deannatroupe.com