A question I’m often asked is, “How did I go from being a jobless university graduate, to an employee in the marketing field working for two great organizations, to successfully working for myself for the past five years?

The answer is simple.

Instead of waiting for the right opportunity, or the best time in my life to make a career move; or the perfect moment when all the stars aligned; or when I finally felt I had read enough books and gained enough expertise; or I had put in enough years to gain some experience for my resume; or I had saved enough money for my venture; or I had tweaked my business plan enough until it was just right…..

Instead of all that, I simply started my business on the side.

Each night, before bed, I spent a few hours laying bricks. Whenever I had some free time, instead of watching TV, I worked on my business. I started testing. I started building. I started selling.

It all happened on the side. The day my business was successfully paying me more than my day job, and I was still receiving paychecks while employed at my day job; I continued to work there, for six more months, to ensure my business had the legs it needed to stand on.

It’s almost five years later and the legs are still standing.

You could spend forever waiting for that single perfect moment when everything is just right, but that perfect moment might never come.

Or, you could do it on the side.