I was accepted into a 14 week pre accelerator for my side hustle - Should I inform my job?

15 Comments

1. AnonymousFebruary 11,2023 at 5:11PM UTC

   If you work full-time from home and can work this around your full-time job duties (including meetings), I don't see why you need to inform the current job. You may want to take a week or two of PTO (vacation) at the start to see how it might work with the job duties before you let them know what you are doing. If the side hustle in any way will compete with your current job or have mutual clients (even if it doesn't compete), it is probably best to keep it quiet until you are ready to launch your business and resign from your current job. I wish you all of the best in your new endeavor.

2. AnonymousFebruary 12,2023 at 2:57PM UTC

   Thank you for the reply!

3. AnonymousFebruary 12,2023 at 2:10PM UTC

   if you are not ready to go full time with your side hustle do not tell your current employer. You have no idea how they will react. With your job being remote they will likely assume that you have been cheating them by working on your hustle during work hours. Take vacation time or unpaid PTO if you can’t fit this in while working. Good luck on your entrepreneurial goals!

4. AnonymousFebruary 12,2023 at 2:57PM UTC

   Thank you for the reply. That makes sense.

5. AnonymousFebruary 12,2023 at 6:37PM UTC

   Having had two side-by-side careers for many years now, is it possible to work during the day and set aside evening and weekend hours, with perhaps some pieces being done as needed during the day? That’s how I manage to make it work. I have no idea how the program works, though, so I’m just shooting in the dark, lol

6. Jacqueline JonesFebruary 13,2023 at 5:04AM UTC

   If you can manage your full-time job and your accelerator assignments that would be best until your side hustle can become your fulltime income source.

   You boss just wants to know you can complete the job assignment. At the time you cannot you would let them know and they may work with you or let you go. You know best.

   Good Luck

7. AnonymousFebruary 14,2023 at 1:40PM UTC

   I believe this is partly dependent on how much your current boss cares about your outside life/future. If they want you to be solely focused on your current job they may not be too amenable to you having commitments for another outside job. But if they care about you/your life outside of work then they should be ok with it. If you do tell your boss, just be sure to mention you don't want to leave the company, just expand your skill set to help your current company. They love that and can't really argue against it.

8. AnonymousFebruary 14,2023 at 1:59PM UTC

   I am going through the same thing right now. I’m going to start taking certification courses while working remotely and start focusing on my side gig to pivot my career. I am not notifying my boss. My workload is late right now and I’m doing everything well getting things done and it’s a perfect time for me to do some thing like this. I’m hoping it’ll stay slow enough for me to continue to have a job while I focus on creating this new career for myself.

9. AnonymousFebruary 14,2023 at 2:05PM UTC

   Does your workplace code of conduct require that you disclose outside business activities? If so, then yes, have the conversation with your boss and fill out the appropriate paperwork. And if you think your participation is going to lower your ability to perform to your normal level at work definitely have a conversation with your boss.

10. Tamara WebbFebruary 14,2023 at 2:12PM UTC

    Any thing that will take someone who had made a commitment to another person, is not living up to integrity (my opinion). It may mean that a person will need to commit extra time; such as getting fewer hours of sleep, in order to accomplish a goal.

11. AnonymousFebruary 14,2023 at 2:42PM UTC

    Don't quit your main job until you are fully ready. Put the work into your side hustle in the hours not committed to your main. Use your vacation/sick days for the time you have a scheduling crunch. Keep your main boss in the dark until you are ready to move forward into the side hustle. It will reflect badly on you for your main if they know there is a competing interest.

12. AnonymousFebruary 14,2023 at 2:45PM UTC

    It depends on your relationship with your boss but do what's best for you. In fact, if you do they might slowly take away your work and eventually let you go. That's a risk of telling them. As long as you can complete your tasks on time with same quality it doesn't warrant you notifying them. You will however 'feel the heat' once you're in the program. Make the decision then based on your energy and prospects. It's also a direction I've wanted to go in so GOOD LUCK!!!

13. sjones9392February 14,2023 at 5:09PM UTC

    Eh it's not ethical really do work like this while working on your full-time job. Think of an accelerator as being in a grad program. I've done TechStars and it is a full-time job and the people in the program will also likely actually be working their full-time job. There's additional social outings and pitch activities that are outside of the accelerator hours too. I'd honestly sit down with myself and think long and hard on quitting the full-time job. If you don't believe your company will get funding and take off from this experience, stay I suppose, but I wouldn't waste my time in the accelerator with one foot out of the door.

14. AnonymousFebruary 14,2023 at 6:20PM UTC

    Honesty is the best policy. I think letting your manager know you have been offered this opportunity is best. Let them know that you want to do it and that you are happy to shift working hours to do both and then sit down with a calendar and put dedicated work hours on there to do your regular job. You will reinforce that you are still committed there and that you also want to follow your dream. If she asks about the potential for your leaving let her know that is not a current thought and that at the end of the project you will know how you feel about making any kind of change. You want to be referenceable there just in case you end up with the short end of financing or none at all. 20K doesnt last very long and won't pay your rent and food for very long. Congrats and be sure to balance time for taking care of yourself too.

15. Farah BajwaFebruary 14,2023 at 8:39PM UTC

    If you're doing this on personal time (ie taking vacation time), then what you do on your personal time is your business. I did a paid side project after work hours once and didn't feel the need to disclose since it was on my time and my weekends.

    If it will interfere with company time, disclosure is best. Since there is no conflict of interest, and if they are a company that cares about personal growth, they could be accommodating. I had a once in a lifetime opportunity to be on national tv but it would take away 1-4 weeks of work. It was a competition so I couldn't tell the exact time away from work. I spoke with my boss and was surprised how supportive she was so that I could get this experience.