323 I How To Get Your Employer's Support To Build On The Side

Are you worried about what happens if your employer finds out about your side business? 

Are you ready to stop letting fear hold you back and start turning your 15 or 20 years of experience into an impactful asset? 

Have you been wondering whether a portfolio career could be your next move, but you're feeling stuck on how to navigate the corporate boundaries? 

In this episode, I share a personal story about what happened when a previous employer found out about the coaching business I was building on the side.

 Instead of the negative response I had braced myself for, they ended up inquiring about my return-to-work course and paying me to pilot it internally! 

Handled well, this conversation doesn't have to be a risk - it can actually become your very first opportunity. Building a portfolio career isn't about being disloyal to your role. It's about moving with intention and strategically leveraging the incredible value already sitting in your toolkit.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Your expertise is an under utilised asset. The experience you have spent decades building is highly valuable. You don't need a perfect business plan, a website, or a fully formed idea to get started; you just need to realize that you are sitting on far more value than you think.
• The 4 steps to getting your employer's support. I break down the exact framework to position your side build professionally: starting on your idea first, auditing your employment contract (checking for outside interests, conflicts, and IP clauses), identifying the mutual value add, and framing the disclosure conversation around the what, the how, and the why it isn't a conflict.
• Turning corporate boundaries into career value. Discover how building a side practice actually sharpens your communication, commercial thinking, and leadership skills - ringing an upgraded strategic skill set and brand visibility right back to your day job.

Ready to build your portfolio career? 

Join the waitlist for the Portfolio Career Academy launching at the end of June! I will be sharing exclusive details about the program, how it works, and opening up our founding member cohort to those on the waitlist first. 

Invest in Yourself and Your Career:

• Community — Join our Network for mid-career women redesigning what's next in their careers
• Coaching — Apply for The Portfolio Career Academy. Turn Your Expertise Into Multiple Streams of Income & Impact Through Building A Portfolio Career.

Connect with me!

Website: careerchangemakers.com
Email: podcast@careerchangemakers.com

LinkedIn:  Janine Esbrand

Instagram: @careerchangemakerspodcast

Career Change Makers on Apple Podcasts

Transcript

Janine Esbrand (00:00)
If you've been sitting on an idea, something that you want to build alongside your corporate career, but you're not sure how to handle it professionally or worried about what happens if your employer finds out, this episode is for you. Today I'm walking you through the four steps to getting your employer's support to build on the side. And I'm going to share a personal story about what happened when a previous employer found out about what I was building because it might just change the way you're thinking about this entirely. So it's going to be a good one.

one grab your notebook and let's get into it.

You don't need a business plan, a website, or a fully formed idea before you start.

I know that there's a part of you wondering, is this really possible for me? I've been in corporate for so long, do I actually have something worth building? But I want you to hear this. The women that I work with are sitting on far more value than they realize. The experience that you have spent 15 or 20 years building, that is an asset. You don't need to start from scratch. You just need someone to help you see clearly what you already have in your toolkit and show you what to do with it so that you can build.

Beyond your current role, and that is exactly what we're going to be doing together inside of the Portfolio Career Academy. We are getting started at the end of June. If you are someone who wants to build with intention, so you can create more income and impact,

Come and explore joining us.

list is in the show notes. I will be sharing information about the programme, how it's going to work, when it's going to start, who it's best suited for to those who are on the wait list first.

One of the biggest worries for women who are considering building on the side is whether their employer will find out and what would happen if they were to find out. And I understand that instinct and that concern because What if you are seen as being disloyal? Or what if you end up jeopardizing the role that you've worked so hard for? Or what if you just don't know how to navigate the conversation? So I want to share with you what happened to me because I think it can offer you a bit of a reframe when you're thinking about

Navigating this space. When I was building my coaching practice alongside my role as a corporate lawyer, I remember having a conversation with a colleague about what it is that I was doing, and they encouraged me to mention it to HR. And I did, I mentioned it in passing. It wasn't a formal declaration or a formal discussion, it just came up naturally around what we were talking about. rather than the response being what I had braced myself for and really

Thinking they were gonna perhaps be a bit negative or wonder how I was managing to do this alongside my work. My previous employer came back with an inquiry. They had seen that I had been talking about a return to work course that I was running for new parents at the time, and they inquired about the course and they found they wanted to find out what it entail, how it worked, and they were considering offering it internally, and they ended up doing a pilot with one of the women who were returning.

Turning back to work. So let that land for a minute. I was concerned about how they might take the fact that I was building this coaching business alongside my legal career, and what ended up happening is the thing that I was building on the side became something that they wanted to explore, bringing in-house, and that they essentially ended up paying me for.

Scenario reminded me of something that I now tell my clients handles well this conversation doesn't have to be a risk, it can be an opportunity. and if you move with intention and you're fully prepared, you can influence how this conversation goes, and you may well find that your employer turns into one of your first clients, or you may well find that your employer.

Refers opportunities to you. If I think about my early roster of clients, a lot of them came from my firm. They were either peers, they were colleagues, they were people that referred me, and so being open about what it is that I was building it helps me get my business off the ground. So obviously, every circumstance is different, your situation may be different, but I wanted to share that with you as an example of what is actually possible.

And today I want to break down the four steps that you should be taking so that you can put yourself in the best position when it comes to building outside of your role.

Janine Esbrand (05:21)
step number one.

Is to start on your idea first. Before you have any conversation with your employer, get clear enough on your idea that you are able to actually articulate it. You don't need to have a finished product, but you do need to have more than a vague intention around what you're planning to do. Walking into a disclosure conversation with I'm thinking about maybe doing something on the side will definitely put you on the back foot.

Because you sound uncertain, and uncertainty creates concern. But if you walk in with a clear, considered description of what you're building, even though you are in the early stages, that will signal that you're a professional who's making a deliberate decision and you're not someone who hasn't really thought it through yet. So spend the time getting your idea out of your head and onto paper. What problem are you looking to solve? Who is it for? What form will it take? Are you considering

Doing consulting or building a course or doing some coaching or doing some advisory work or sitting on a board, or what is it that you are planning to leverage your expertise to do? You don't need to have all the answers, but you do need to know enough to speak about it with confidence, and that clarity will serve you in both the conversation but also everywhere else, too. So as you start to build, you being clear on what your focus is is going to help you to

Really narrow in on the specific tasks and focus that you need to have moving forward. So that's the first thing.

So get clear on your idea first. And I know that's easier said than done, which is why I have created the Portfolio Career Academy so that I can guide you through the things that you need to be thinking through and doing to get the clarity around your idea so that you can get started. go and get yourself on the wait list if you know that you want to start building. But this has been the initial hurdle. what would I even do? We're going to be covering that off in the academy.

me

The second step is to check your employment contract. Once you have clarified what your idea is, you want to go and look at the contract before you do anything else. And you may be thinking, I've been working at this organization for years, I have no idea where my contract is.

I encourage you to go and request a copy of it from HR so that you can have a look at the specific clauses that are relevant to this situation. So you want to look at clauses around outside business interests, conflict of interest, and intellectual property. Those are the three main areas. And I will say quick disclaimer, even though I am a lawyer, I am not.

In this circumstance, so I'm not giving you advice around your contract, you're gonna need to have a look at this for yourself. And if you feel like you need to go deeper and get some legal advice, then you can do that. But for most people, just having a look at the contract and the wording is sufficient to let them know what they can and can't do or what they must do going forward. But here's the thing:

Most people assume the worst without actually checking. So some contracts can be quite restrictive, but others may not. And in order for you to have the right type of conversation and get clear on what needs to happen, ⁓ you need to make sure that you know what you've already agreed to and what your boundaries are, what your parameters are, and then from there you can figure out what needs to happen. So the three things that you want to look for.

Are any clauses that require you to disclose or get approval for outside work, any non-compete or non-solicitation language that is essentially saying that you can't do anything that is a conflict of interest or that is going to compete with the work that you do on a day-to-day basis for your organization?

You're going to look at any IP clause that could assign any work that you create outside of your role to your employer.

So those are the three clauses that you want to make sure that you look at and then you're clear on what you are able to do and what you're not able to do. Third step is consider how what you are moving towards doing could be a value add for your organization.

Before you frame the conversation, really think genuinely about what your outside work could bring back to your organization and name it. So if you think about your employer's instinctive concern, it's gonna be will this affect her performance and could it create a conflict? So the moment that you answer those questions front and center and show what's in it for them, the dynamic shifts entirely. So you're not

longer asking for permission you may be instead proposing a value exchange so look for how what it is that you're doing is potentially helpful and sometimes it's not clear on the surface so this is why you want to really do some thinking around this

I'll give you some examples here. So if you're building a coaching or consulting practice, you will be sharpening your communication skills, your commercial thinking, and your client management skills just by way of building and running such a business. So

it's not about the tangible product or service that you're building that you would offer to your organization. It's the skill set that you are going to require and how you're going to grow as a person as you go on this journey of building. And that skill set can be of value to your organization. If you are developing, say, a personal brand or you are speaking on stages, you are going to be building some industry visibility that will reflect well on your organization as well. You're affiliated to

your organization if you're going around making some great contribution and and creating impact on stages or on platforms you're connected to your organization right so they get to leverage some of that brand equity that you are building just because you are essentially an ambassador for your firm as you move around.

⁓ and then the other thing to think about is advisory or board roles. Like if you are taking on a role at a higher level than you currently operate within your organization, then you're gaining strategic exposure and a level of expertise that you wouldn't have had because you haven't had that role yet within your organization, but you're able to bring that insight and that experience back to your

company. So all of these things can be value ads and it's for you to really identify what those are and connect the dots for your employer. Okay. When I shared my story earlier, it's a good example of the unexpected happening, right?

I I didn't intend to sell my employer on my service, but actually being transparent and sharing what it is that I was doing led to me being able to offer a a course to someone who was in need within the organization. So there really is power in you understanding what it is that you do, who it is that you're helping, and how it can add value in different spaces so that when conversations are coming up, you are able to lead those conversations with conviction and with purpose.

Then the last step, step four, after you have taken the time to establish what the idea is and you've had a look to see if there are any restrictions in your employment contract, and then you've considered how this course of action could add value to your organization, then you are ready for the conversation. And in that conversation, you want to make sure you're focusing on the what, the how, and the why it isn't a conflict. So really structuring your conversation around that, where you're able to share.

What you're building, how you're gonna manage it, and why it doesn't conflict with your role, this is gonna be key to your success. A well-framed conversation protects you professionally, it's gonna build trust, and it's gonna position you as someone with integrity. Regardless of the outcome of the conversation,

you still want to position yourself in a way where you are respected for even bringing the conversation to the fore.

And if you think about the years that you've taken to build your reputation inside your organization, it's an asset that you've been building for a long time. So we wanna make sure that we are not just going in without the right preparation, which could impact your reputation. We wanna maintain that reputation and then also share what it is we want to share. So go in with a clear, concise description of your idea. Ideally, you'd have one paragraph of what it is that you're planning to do.

And then you can go into addressing the how. When will you be working on it? What boundaries will you keep around your contracted hours? And then what resources will you not be using? You know, so just answer the questions that are likely to be in their brain. Just let's not have elephants in the room, just bring it out and answer the question. I work from 9 to 5 in the office. I'm planning to work on this once I get home between 7 and 10, or I'm gonna work on the

weekends on my business like or or on on this project whatever it is you are gonna make it clear that you've thought about it and you've anticipated how there could be some challenges with managing work and this but you've thought about it and you have a plan you don't want to wait for them to raise their concerns around any conflicts or any time challenges you raise it first

Okay. And in terms of conflict, if your idea doesn't compete with what your employer does, then say so explicitly. Make it really clear that you are operating in a different space entirely or for a different type of client.

So that's how you want to frame the conversation. And then once the conversation is done, follow it up in writing. Send a simple email that says something along the lines of thank you for the conversation. As discussed,

I want to confirm I have your support to pursue X, fill in the blank with what it is that you're building in my own time, and I'll continue to ensure it has no impact on my work here. That's it. Just needs a sentence, and you want them to just respond to that and confirm it so you have it on record that this has been approved.

So that's really the approach. So to put it all together, you start by getting clear on your idea because clarity is going to give you confidence around what it is that you're doing. Then you check your contract so that you know your your actual starting position, not your assumed starting position. And then think about the genuine value your work could bring back to the organization and then frame the conversation around the what, the how and the why it isn't a conflict. Okay.

what you're gonna do, how you're gonna do it and why it isn't conflict.

The fear most women have around this conversation is almost always bigger than the conversation itself. And my experience has shown me that when you handle things with transparency and preparation, you might find that your employer becomes your first inquiry or your first hot lead. So I want you to go into this with a positive mindset versus a fearful one. And I'm excited for you to take the next step