The Power Of A Good Bridge Job

Good BJ, take one.

Have we gone downhill? Hey, it's Marie Forleo and you are watching MarieTV, the place to be to create a business in life you love. One of the obstacles that holds so many people back from starting their own business is a fear of not being able to make enough money. It's understandable because after all, it's not always easy to make a business profitable. It takes a lot of time, a lot of hard work, and during that time period, you still have to eat and keep a roof over your head. Now, some people solve this problem by finding investors, and other people actually thrive when they're in a sink or swim situation. Either they figure out how to be profitable fast or they're toast. But there's another group of us, a more risk averse group perhaps, we're called bootstrappers. People who prefer to use their own money to build something from the ground up nice and slow.

Nice and slow.

I consider myself a bootstrapper. I've never been a fan of borrowing money. Plus, I'm kind of a control freak and I don't want anyone telling me how to run my business. That's why I'm a huge fan of getting a good BJ, a bridge-job, some job that you can bring in money and keep yourself on track financially while you build your dream business on the side. Bet you didn't know this one. I had multiple bridge-jobs for close to seven years while I was building my business. In addition to my coaching practice, I was a bartender, I was a waitress, I was a personal assistant, I was a choreographer, I was a hip-hop dancer, I was a striptease instructor, I was a fitness personality. You name it, I did it.

I think so many people hugely underestimate the power of a good bridge-job, but here are six reasons why they rock. Number one, you get free business training. When you have a boss, it teaches you a lot about how to be a boss. And on the flip side of the coin, when you're an employee, it teaches you so much about how to hire, how to train, and how to treat employees. You can learn a ton by just paying attention to what's happening around you. Number two, you get more done. Ever heard this one? You want something done, ask a busy person. And having a bridge-job makes you pretty darn busy, which makes you get a lot done.

How many times have you heard someone taking off for a year to work on their music, and then at the end of 12 months, all they have to show for it is a little bit of extra poundage from watching TV and eating lo mein? Number three, you meet awesome people. In just about any job, you're going to meet a ton of people you wouldn't normally meet and it's a chance to make awesome connections. In fact, some of the key people in my life I met when I was making pineapple sage margaritas or teaching them Beyonce booty pop. Pulling down. Uh-huh (affirmative). I call this move my Tutu. That's right, and march it out right here.

And sometimes it's a great chance to tell people about your business. Now of course, you've got to the boundaries, know who's interested and who's not. But if someone asks you what else you do, that's a perfect chance to market your business. I know when I was slinging drinks and when I was teaching fitness classes, I got people on my mailing list at every turn. Number four, you can invest in your business. Look, if you need money to build out a website or get professional photographs taken, you can actually afford it. When I first started, I knew that I wanted to do a self published version of Make Every Man Want You and that cost money, so I saved up for designers and to do the initial print run and it was about 10 grand, but it was so worth it. Number five, you get a mega dose of CGH.

This is not FDA approved, but it stands for cojones growth hormone. Having a bridge-job gives you the confidence to take more risks in your business. I know for me, I was able to try some unconventional things, and then I didn't have to worry about whether or not I'd be able to feed myself. I knew that on account of my bridge-job, if I took a risk and it failed, sure, I bruise my ego, but I'd still have a roof over my head. Number six, steady income equals Speed Stick for your soul. When you've got money flowing in from your bridge-job, that emotional security keeps you from reeking of desperation. That worked wonders for me, especially when I was just starting out as a life coach because I didn't want to be desperate for clients. Having that bridge-job and having the money coming in really work to put me at ease and just not stress out over money so I could focus on being the best coach I could be.

So there you have it. Six reasons why bridge-jobs, BJs, are great for business. One final thing before we wrap this up. So many people feel a sense of shame and embarrassment about their bridge-jobs. It's as though you're a failure if your business isn't fully supporting you yet. That is a huge load of horse crap. Bridge-jobs are empowering. They're not embarrassing. It is totally okay for you to have another job on the side that helps you bring in some money so you can build the business of your dreams. Now, I would love to hear from you. Have you had a bridge-job while building your business? If so, what was the best thing about it? And conversely, if you built your business another way, I would love to hear about your journey. There are so many different paths to success and it's vital that each of us finds the one that works best for us.

Leave a comment below and let me know. As always, the best discussions happen after the episode over at marieforleo.com, so go there and leave a comment now. Did you like this video? I did. If you did, subscribe and share it with all your friends. I think they'll really enjoy it. And if you want even more great resources to build a business in life that you love plus some personal insights from me that I only talk about in email, get your buns over to marieforleo.com and sign up for email updates. Stay on your game and keep going for your dreams because the world needs that special gift that only you have. Thank you so much for watching and I'll catch you next time on MarieTV. B-School is coming up. Want in? For more info and free training, go to joinbschool.com. My version of English is not necessarily everybody else's. I'm a professional. I work. I'm a professional. I work. Who's in charge of the girls? Cutting. Cutting.