Employee vs. Entrepreneur: Do you really have to choose between staying safe and taking risks?

Do we really have to fight over which one is better?

In the battle between stability and opportunity, who wins?

Let me let you in on a secret: I didn’t finish college.

I mean, it’s not much of a secret but… it was the driving factor for my career decisions later in life.

I was too lazy to go to school. From where I come from, universities place a lot of emphasis on what we call “minor” or “general education” subjects.

That was off-putting for me. I thought why would I study again things I’ve already learned in high school?

I dropped out twice. Once in Fine Arts where I majored in Advertising and then Political Science.

I wanted to focus only on what I was passionate to learn about.

But in Advertising for example, the minor subjects like Life Sciences and Theology were very demanding of my time and energy.

They took me away from the subjects that I feel mattered at the time: Advertising Practice and Art Techniques.

I had decent grades back then. On top of that, I just got accepted in the school journalism team. It could’ve been a colorful memory, but it ended up short-lived.

If I had to pick what I should sacrifice on, I’d choose the major things and not on the minor ones. I remember feeling a bigger pressure not to fail the minor subjects than the specializations. I lost interest.

I thought school was broken. So why bother?

And this attitude has led to so many discrimination years later down the road. For not having a degree, for having no credentials to support my expertise.

Don’t get me wrong, I love learning. I’m a constant learner. I have enrolled myself in technical courses in web design, animation, marketing and other things… just not college.

But no matter the experience and short-term credentials, you won’t get hired in the Philippines for that. But luckily for me, remote work happened. And I get to work globally with companies who value my worth.

But here’s the thing…

Even if I went the less traditional path, I still value full-time employment.

I know a lot of people like me who mock on traditional jobs. They’d say it’s a waste of money. That even after years of working they’re still not done with the college debts. That 9–5 is unrewarding.

And I kid you not, I hear the same from the traditional ones as well.

My professional service is a business, not a job. It’s unstable. They wonder if it’s even a profession to begin with.

Still, I work full-time hours. I still value working for a company for long-term. Even with my entrepreneurial endeavours, I keep things stable.

Thing is, we all hustle.

The “hustle” narrative is glamorized by society. Both the solopreneurs and nine-to-fivers have their take on this.

For some people, doing the thing they love to the point of it being their job would ruin it for them. For others, long term stability is the key to peace of mind.

I have a friend who doesn’t believe in the 9–5 culture, even if he’s having a full-time job. I guess it’s just that toxic. Or maybe human nature — we’re never contented with what we have!

I also found many others, some here on Medium, complaining about working freelance. Some having too many side hustles and others just wanting to settle in the stable 9–5 once and for all.

This cold war is everywhere.

From influencers telling you to “hustle hard” to sales letters telling you to “quit the 9–5”… It’s a jungle out there.

But like many other things in life, there will always be choices to make. Some of them as hard as choosing which direction to go when it comes to income choices.

People will always tell you to “succeed” in ways they know works for them.

Here’s the boring truth: there exists no one definition of success.

Neither of the two polarizing ideas on earning money will ever define what “Success” means to you.

Breakeven or Long-Term Vision?

We should stop canceling people based on their income choices. Truth is, it’s hard to know the real motivation behind starting something.

As long as you’re not keeping your job or starting a business to feed you’re ego, then it might still be worth considering.

Every income stream is valid as long as the income is worth the capital and effort.

But if you only look at an opportunity for the direct monetary returns you get now vs. the capital, then you might lack some long-term vision.

An income stream is still valid if even if it doesn’t give monetary ROI as long as it promises long-term returns. Some of them might not be as tangible as money. They could be in the form of network, knowledge, experience or market data.

For example: you may have a full-time job and do selling digital art on the side. Your side income may not seem worth your time (employed hourly rate).

But if it’s still a good means to get to the next big hustle, then it’s still valid.

The reality is that we are all on our own unique life path and there is no one-size-fits-all way to get to your version of success.

Success is not about money.

It should never be about money.

Money isn’t bad though. Money is neutral. Enjoy having it, spend it, give it.

Money is a tool. Let that sink in.

If you have a wrench in your toolbox, it only sits there waiting for you to use it. Your opinions about it isn’t significant. It can’t change your outlook in life. It. simply. sits. there.

We could all use some resources on our way to success, and money is a great vessel to get there. USE money wisely to get to where you want instead of letting it use and control you.

If there’s one definition of success for me, it’s the journey between points A and B.

Success for me are the connections, experience, skills and lessons. The things that make you a different and better person than you were before you took the first step.

Whatever success means to you, it should be something that puts more to YOU than to your pockets.

There’s no shame in pursuing a stable career, as long as you’re passionate with what you made out of it. There’s also nothing wrong with getting into business ventures, as long as it adds value to your ultimate business goal.

I didn’t feel successful when I reached the peak of my income.

Ironically, I felt I achieved the most in life when I was earning average.

I was working on so many challenging projects. It was during the onset of the pandemic and I just had enough to get by. I started to charge low, knowing that small businesses were in a tough spot and people needed my help.

After the burnout… I made new skills that’ll keep me relevant for yrs to come.

It’s not about whether you’re employed or hustling. What’s important is that you’re pursuing your dreams. Don’t let other people’s definition of success affect how you view yourself or your goals.

Here’s my take: You don’t need to choose. You can do both.

I used to love the idea of having short-term relationships with clients by only working freelance. “Less emotional attachment to the work, the better,” I thought.

But then as the years went by, I longed for stability. A long-term working relationship, the feeling of working with a team towards a common goal.

However, I’m also the kind of person who’s always looking to learn something new and get stimulated with new ideas.

And I love the idea of building a business around my expertise. So I started several side hustles, validating each one of them. A lot of them didn’t work, some floated. Regardless of the effort I put into testing them out, I enjoyed it!

In the process of learning to build my side hustles, I learned some skills that tremendously helped me in getting better at my job.

This is how I started side hustles besides my usual 9–5, and I always recommend this path. As long as you love it, as long as you can.

I always love the Buddhist idea that there’s a middle way of doing things. And that the best way to start anything is to validate it first. You don’t need to jump on the bandwagon and take risks.

Love your job? Keep it. Thinking of starting a business? Do it on the side.

You’re doing yourself a favor by doing what’s important to you while you continue to serve on a job you love.

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