Ask small-business owners how much time they spend on the job and the answer is usually the same: all of it.
Yet, some entrepreneurs manage to launch a start-up on the side without quitting their day job. While it's a lot like leading a double life, many say the rewards are worth it -- namely, extra income and the chance to test out a new, often more enticing career without losing steady paychecks and benefits.
"Starting a business on a part-time basis is one of the most efficient ways of finding out if a business will work for you," says Paul Edwards, co-author of 16 books on self-employment, including "Finding Your Perfect Work."
Educators Buy Alpacas
The drawbacks of juggling a full-time gig and a start-up are many, however, and there can be a steep cost to one's personal or family life. "There is a period of about two years in my life that are lost," says Donna Binder, 53, a longtime educator in the Houston schools who decided to start an alpaca-breeding business on the side in 1997.
Within a period of months, Ms. Binder and husband Laurence, also an educator, sold their city home, moved into a rental, broke ground for a new house on an 18-acre farm, and acquired five alpacas.
And that's when "our lives spiraled out of control," she recalls. "We were on the road two-and-a-half to three hours a day. It was build, drive, work, build, drive, work." It didn't make sense for them to give up their day jobs and lose their pensions.
Now, almost 10 years later, "it is still an out-of-control life, but manageable," she says. Ms. Binder cut down her hours, and works part time as a counselor to the deaf, while her husband remains a full-time assistant superintendent.
The alpaca businesses, she says, is booming. The two have made it work by hiring help and starting a cooperative-farming system to pool resources with other alpaca breeders in the area.
Life is also busy for Nanda Holz, 32, a mechanical engineer for a San Jose, Calif., networking company by day, and proprietor of road-bike distributor Spin Cyclz on nights and weekends.
Mr. Holz has cut back his work schedule at the networking company, typically logging in 30 hours between Monday and Thursday. And while he might answer a bike customer's email or two during the day, he always shuts off his cellphone. "You have to try and stay focused at work," he says.
Finding the Right Balance
Balancing a day job with a side business is stressful, though. "You're thinking about two things at once," says Richard Stim, an attorney and author with Nolo, a Berkeley, Calif.-based publisher of self-help legal books.
In 2004, Mr. Stim decided to start a side business, an audio-book production business. It was part of his research for "Whoops! I'm in Business," a guide he wrote on turning a passion or hobby into a business.
The new studio landed a contract almost immediately, and "boy, you really freak out once you've got a contract," he says. One concern: "How do you not blow it at both jobs at once?"
Mr. Stim says he's able to swing both by working for Nolo from home, which saves valuable commuting time, and by enlisting his wife as a partner at the sideline business, Sutro Studios.
One tax benefit to the side business: He can write off the cost of audio equipment, which he enjoys as a long-time music-production enthusiast. If the side business is something you love, there's nothing like it, Mr. Stim says. "It augments my income, and it gives me something fun to do."
Moonlighting as an entrepreneur requires commitment and planning, says Mr. Edwards, the writer of self-employment books. "The primary thing that comes to mind is having a consistency of effort," he says. He recommends that people spend at least seven to eight hours a week on the venture -- and not invest too much money at the outset. "The investment you make is more time than money."
Make sure you come up with a business plan, outlining who your customers are and how you can market your products. And especially if this is a new career path, make sure you acquire the necessary training and experience, he says.
Because of the drain on your free time, be sure to involve family members in the decision-making process. "Without the proper amount of family consent, this can torpedo the relationship with the family," Mr. Edwards says.
• Colleen DeBaise is an associate editor of SmartMoney.com. Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.