The hardest thing about wanting an untemplate life is dreaming about it while sitting in a sea of cubicles, dealing with people that too-closely resemble characters from Office Space. You know there’s a better way, and this site is proof. But getting there, with the responsibilities that are a part of the real world, make it harder to get out of the rat race. There’s one solution that I’ve found to make it work: take on a 5-to-9 job.
I define a 5-to-9 as a business (or a series of businesses) started to achieve the goal of moving into operating it full-time. This can be starting a few consulting gigs, forming a high-potential start-up or doing an apprenticeship that can give you the skills and contacts to eventually make it a real gig. These have to be things that you love and are willing to sacrifice a great deal to do. The short-term pain is worth the opportunity to live the exact life you want to live.
I started my 5-to-9 three years ago after a spectacular business failure, forcing me to find a standard 9-to-5. While I was fortunate to land something that was both interesting and paid the bills, my laser-like focus on entrepreneurship let me to begin consulting with start-up companies (writing business plans, developing brands and brand strategies, etc.). I eventually helped to found a company, working 20 hours a week to develop and implement a marketing strategy launched on four continents.
This experience has been a huge help in my 5-to-9 career. The success of that one project has led me to network with other start-up companies where I live, which has also led to other consulting gigs. I’ll have the opportunity to make this my career, with a mixture of consulting work and forming a couple of start-ups in industries I love.
What does it take to have a 5-to-9?
Here are a few things to guide you:
- Passion – 5-to-9 jobs are stressful and sometimes overwhelming. If you’re not passionate about what you’re doing, it will be very hard to get the energy you need after a long day at work. If you’re killing yourself to make it happen, you have to know it’s worth it.
- Money – Do you need to be paid and, if so, how much? In many start-up type projects, getting things off the ground is about sweat equity rather than earning cash. If you’re helping someone else with their company, get your hands on some equity. If you have to be paid in cold, hard cash, research others’ fee structures to figure out what you’re worth on the market. Don’t undercharge — you’ll end up resenting the project that you’ve committed to.
- Time – Determine the amount of time you have available to do the work. You might have to work weekends or on your lunch hour to make it happen. The more realistic you are with yourself, the better job you’ll do and the more likely you’ll be able to make the transition to your passion full-time.
- Energy – Working a 5-to-9 take an incredible amount of energy, stamina and focus. Energy drinks won’t be able to carry you through –- you have to be able to handle the load. That means developing the type of mental and physical toughness to handle up to 18-hour days.
- Stress tolerance – You’ll have to be able to handle inflexible deadlines, the constant nagging in the back of your head that you need to be completing a project, and the inevitable bumps that come with working with others. Find ways to increase your stress tolerance, whether it’s meditation, regular trips to the gym or some quiet time in front of the tube.
- Finish line – Establish your finish line. It could be a specific date on the calendar or an amount of money you need to collect every month to make the move. Constantly remind yourself of this goal by posting it in your cubicle, on your bathroom mirror or, a trick I’ve learned — set the background image on your mobile phone to remind you to make it happen.
Bottom line — the 5-to-9 isn’t the easiest job to do, but it is incredibly rewarding, especially when it gives you the opportunity to live the Untemplater life. Once you’re successful, you can make the jump to full-time on your own terms, giving you the type of flexibility that you can’t find in cubicle hell.
Great read. I don’t have much to comment on except I know exactly what you mean. This was a very matter of fact post. The 5-9 isn’t easy, but the goal and little victories like your first sale while you’re sleeping, or first post with 10 comments…they carries mental weight that propel you to keep following your passion, keep writing about what you care about and keep trying to make a difference. It’s a lot more rewarding, even if you enjoy your job than clocking and out and solving corporate nonsense problems.
Albert – The good thing about this site is that it acts as a support group for those who are looking to get out, or who have gotten booted out by the template lifestyle.
You’re right about McKinsey grads who go on to do their own thing. I just wonder if it’s impossible to do both well. Isn’t that the key? Balance?
Wouldn’t every 28 year old love to make $200,000 at strategy consulting firm X, while having their own business, and travelling the world for 1.5 months a year?
My advice: If you’re going to do a 5-to-9 in addition to a 9-to-5, make sure you’ve got a timeline or an exit strategy. I’ve been doing freelance as a way to make some extra cash for 3 years now, and I’m exhausted. I feel like I have little to show for all this work besides the bags under my eyes. Have a plan for when you will transition your 5-to-9 into your real gig.
Also, make sure you schedule time for sleep, friends and hobbies. And no, your 5-to-9 doesn’t count as a hobby!
You mean fighting with CSS and SQL queries isn’t a hobby? Then I’ve been wasting my life!
Hah! I just mean you need something else, or you tend to go a little batty. Not that I have experience with that or anything.
Dawn — couldn’t agree more. You HAVE to set your finish line. I don’t care what anyone says, 12-to-16-hour days are not healthy nor sustainable. Plus, I know that I don’t want to look back on this section of my life and say, “all I did was work.”
Nice 1 Albert. I had to do a double take on the title. I guess I have a 7-10pm kinda life with my site. It’s just fun really. Good to multi-task while watching sports or a favorite TV show.
What do you ultimately want to do? And when do you leave the 9-5?
What do I ultimately want to do? I don’t know yet. I was asked this a year ago for a newspaper article, and I said that I wanted to learn as much as I can helping others get their companies off the ground so that, when I figure out my dream, I’ll (hopefully) have enough experience to make it work. I think that still applies.
As for when to leave … I think there are so many factors to this point for folks, it makes it very hard to answer well. The recession has made it much harder to take the plunge (though, I feel strongly that having 5-to-9 experience on the resume makes it easier to find a job), so that would legitimately hold some back. For me, it’s a matter of finding the thing I really want to do. If that is embodied in another role in my current 9-to-5 or another role somewhere else, I’m open to that.
Carlos’ recent post about letting go of control speaks to what is a very important part of this lifestyle, and that is that you really never know who you’re going to meet or what’s going to happen. You might get discovered Hollywood-like by a successful entrepreneur and get recruited to his company, or you might get four amazing referrals to your services that could pay the bills ten times over. I believe that, if you’re not open to new relationships and opportunities, even if they come from unexpected places, you’re not going to get to take advantages of a lot of the chances presented to you.
Hopefully you will focus your ultimate wish by the time you graduate. Def is good to have the 5-9pm experience under your belt.
Do you think there would be LESS Untemplater-type people if there was no economic downturn? In other words, do you think this arse kicking we received from the economy dislodged many people from working their dream template lifestyles and are forced to do something else?
Oh, who knows when it will happen, if at all. I have a project now that is as close to a “dream” project as I’ve had, which is exciting, and doing it with a team of friends makes it that much better.
Interesting question. I’ll say this — I think it is safe to assume that the risk associated with breaking the template (i.e. leaving a stable job for the wonders of self-direction) is what holds back the people who might aspire to an Untemplater life. The recession did two things: 1) it changed the risk element (i.e. you can’t find a job or don’t have the stability you originally thought you had), and 2) it changed what matters (if I’m doing all of this work for a chance to get laid off with two weeks of pay, then why wouldn’t I just try to do this on my own and do the things I want to do).
For those already leaning toward breaking the template, the recession helped push them over the goal line. For those who were laid off or are otherwise unemployed and are selling themselves as a “consultant” as a way to land the next job isn’t really a strategy to live the Untemplater life, so I’d say there’s a difference between the two.
Haha, we ran out of replies, so I have to reply to my own 🙂
What I think you’re bringing up is the considerable difference between motivation and realism. And I think it is a point that the writers on this site should probably keep in mind.
About six years ago, I decided to break out on my own working as a consultant after working at a Fortune 500. Within 18 months, I was going to my $25/mo gym to shower because I couldn’t afford the $150/mo gas bill (this is where I learned the difference between the asset accounts “accounts receivable” and “cash”). Should I have taken the risk? I don’t know — I’m sure I could be in a different place in my career had I made a different decision. But, the experience was incredibly important to understanding the right way to be an entrepreneur.
There’s *nothing* wrong with the template life. “Different isn’t bad, different is simply different.” But, for some, the template lifestyle isn’t for them, and having a community of others who see the world similarly is both helpful and inspiring. In some ways, I’m almost jealous of those folks who are lawyers or financial analysts who work hard and eventually make partner.
As for the McKinsey example — there are a lot of folks who take their McKinsey experience and launch something on their own, which is a testament to McKinsey’s ability to develop people. I think if you’d interview a lot of those people who are now on their own, they would probably say that they went into their role at McKinsey with the goal of being solo.
Very good points on the untemplater lifestyle. On the internet, everybody is a success and nobody has lost money in the stock market. However, we know that for every 1 “success” there are many other failures.
Do you think there is a risk that an untemplater movement might wrongly encourage those in the template life to take risks they shouldn’t?
I think it’s important to live life now, and with NO regrets. Yet, I wonder if there will be many who will regret not leading the template lifestyle, even though Thailand was a great boondoggle? Who says having a template lifestyle is bad anyway? Or, is it just more fun being cool?
Why not work at McKinsey & Co making $200,000/yr at age 28 AND doing something on the side?
Funny enough, my 5-9 (which was more like 7pm – 2am) allowed me to eventually build a business and go out on my own. But there was a lot of work before that happened. And it was touch and go for a while before I even knew if it would ever work.
Hopefully, there’s a little room for sleep in there! 🙂
Kidding aside, this is an awesome way to start any side hustle and turn it into a great business. It lets you “test” things out and get your feet wet without jumping in completely.
Haha, well, it depends on the day 🙂
One thing that might not have come across in the post is that I don’t think this is a healthy idea long-term. It’s actually quite difficult to keep the pace going no matter how good someone is at time management and stress reduction. I’m not someone who thinks that working 16-hour days all the time deserves bragging rights.
However, you hit the nail on the head about testing things out. I think that’s the strength of the strategy — you can test out the job, your team, your strengths/weaknesses and your ability to manage your own life. I’ve discovered that the time and stress management skills I learned while jam-packed helped me to work more effectively when things are more calm. In the spirit of Untemplater, your goal is to NOT have to kill yourself in order to live the life you want … it just might take some sacrifice in the meantime.
I love the idea of a “5-to-9,” as you put it. 🙂 Definitely going to take advantage of my new-found spare time after we move and work on a project like this.
Wow, this is an incredibly timely post. I have been debating for some time the ability to start my own nonprofit while WORKING at a nonprofit full time. Very challenging. I think you give some incredible insight into this process without the sugar coating. I really appreciated this post and took a lot to heart. Thanks!
I don’t know exactly what your role is at your full-time non-profit job, but I’ve found that the after hours stuff can be an energizing way to get fulfillment out of your career in ways that your regular job might not be able to provide. It can also be a confidence-builder, which works well at your current job and for any future ones you might be looking for.
I’d suggest perhaps instead of doing it solo, talking to a few folks and pulling a team together that is inspired by your vision. Having even just one other person on the team makes it so much easier than trying to do everything yourself. That way you get to execute your vision while staying sane in the process.
Awesome post!! The funny thing is my slow butt automatically thought you had a typo when I first read the headline!!! I am currently trying to set up my own 5 to 9 business and hopefully have it fully running by the end of this year. Last year was rough year for my because I allowed my cube to keep me bogged down but I decided that for the new year I would try to gain some experience in start ups by helping people out and hopefully transform into a business that would provide some income on the side. I would document this process through the blog I just started this week. If you have the time Albert, I would like to discuss some ideas with you and gain some pointers. Thanks again for the post!
You sound like a great case study for the idea!
Consulting projects are, in my experience, the best way to do it because it reduces risk — if the relationship doesn’t work (the client is uncomfortable with the time you have available or you’re having trouble with the work-life stuff), you’re more easily able to walk away. If it’s something where you’re getting something tangible (equity in a start-up, for instance), the commitment is considerably deeper.
Feel free to shoot me a line! I’m more than willing to bounce some ideas around.
This is great advice that can be applied to other situations as well. Many of the things that you identified in this post should be considered before applying to a part-time graduate program.
A 5-9 job means walking the walk and taking control of your happiness. The difference between those who succeed and those who don’t is taking your life into your own hands and doing something. Great post!
Nice timing!
I was beginning to wear down with the combined stress of college deadlines and blog posts (mostly college deadlines I’ll admit), this reminded me that there’s light at the end of the tunnel somewhere. Thank you 🙂
I can absolutely identify with wearing down. I’m by no means perfect or Superman, and my default is to get cranky. I tend to lose focus at those times, wasting a ton of energy on being frustrated with what I need to do rather than actually using that energy to get it done. It’s hard, but I’m honest with myself about my limits.
The absolute best trick I’ve learned is putting whatever is the actual “light at the end of the tunnel” as the background on your cell phone. For me, it’s the logo of a company that I’m helping to found, reminding me that I need to do something with that every day help me and my team get to where we want to be. Since I’m on my phone more than I care to admit, it ends up being a constant reminder of what I’m doing it all for.
Yep, I can definitely relate to getting cranky Albert; I don’t really like that it happens, but it’s a good indicator of when I really need to take a break!
Hadn’t thought of using my phone background for that, but it seems like a good idea. Since I’m in my email more often than I’m on the phone I might adapt it to make a custom theme there or something. Thanks for the tip 😀