10 Hard Questions for Christian Women Entrepreneurs to Ask Themselves About Getting a Part-time or Full-time Job

Uncomfortable topic warning:  I am talking about something that you don’t want to talk about on facebook or admit in a tweet.  The topic of getting a job (part-time or full-time). It is time to get real and discuss this and we are going to shine some light by having you answer your own questions about this.  I cannot answer them for you.  You might need to get a job.  I don’t know your circumstances, family dynamics, debt, length in business or cash flow.  I know that many of the members in the National Association of Christian Women Entrepreneurs have part time and full time jobs, some due to finances, and others due to health insurance, and still others due to the fact that they are building up their entrepreneurial business “on-the-side” and preparing for the day that they can turn in that resignation notice.

The final answer is between you and God, your spouse, and/or the mouths that you feed….the responsibilities that you have in your life.  Each of us have a different tolerance for the unknown.  These questions are challenging, but as a woman who has walked this journey too, I know that I have had to answer them.

I get it!  We get it.  We have wondered, cried, prayed, looked over the classified ads, and discussed the pros and cons.  Personally, during my entrepreneurial journey, I have been asked to go on 2^nd interviews and then told them that I wanted to be taken out of the running for the position.  It became clear to me that I needed to stay right where God had placed me, for “such a time as this” and even when it is harder than I think it will be and takes longer than I thought it would take.

Here are the tough questions:

1.  If you could make a million dollars a year, doing anything from trash collecting, painting, teaching, counseling, hair styling, etc, what would you do?
2. If you got a part-time job, working 20 hours a week for a low hourly wage, would that be 20 hours of time wasted that you could have spent making the same amount or much more from your business?
3. Why did you start your business?
4. How will you feel if you give up your business?  Is that even an option?
5. If you work your business and a job, how will you manage the time?  Is that even possible without adding too much stress on you and your family?
6. What would alleviate the anxiety for you?
7. What would “move the needle” for you? (what would get you to be OK where you are right now?)
8. What is keeping you awake at night?
9. How old is your business?  How many more years do you think it would take you to “MAKE IT”?  What would it mean to “make it”?
10. What are you willing to do differently in order to NOT get a job?

I hope you take the time to answer these questions if you are in this situation.  What do you need to do?  I pray that God will make that very clear to you and that you will trust Him.  Often He closes the door to parts of our business so that we may be ready for new parts to come towards us.

One last thing that I feel I must say.  If you get a job for a season of time, it is not a failure.  It does not mean you have given up on God, your dream, or your future.   It might change the timing and your available hours for your business.  Yes, you will have to adapt, but be cautious about the black and white thinking.  Maybe the job is just the “surrender” that God wants you to get to for Him to show what He is capable of.

Diane Cunningham is the Founder and President of the National Association of Christian Women Entrepreneurs. She is a “business therapist”, plane crash survivor, author, consultant, speaker, marathon runner, and fun friend.

Find out more about NACWE and why 165 women joined in the first year at www.nacwe.org. Connect with Diane at www.facebook.com/DianeCunningham for fun updates, silly videos, and lively conversation.

Come get your FREE 7 Day Video Training series at www.nacwe.org/freetraining to learn more from Diane!