hot take: being part-time doesn't make you less of a founder

hot take: being part-time doesn't make you less of a founder. Emma Chamberlain has never taken a penny from Chamberlain Coffee. Recently, on Emma Grede's podcast, she talked about how she has to nurture the other parts of her business, like creating content that allow her to support herself and continue investing in the business, which might sound crazy, but that's the reality for a lot of brands. And it also explains something I wish I understood while I was working in tech and building my sunscreen brand on the side for more than five years. My job was the thing that allowed me to build my brand on my own terms. Because July Sky, my brand, didn't have to replace my salary. As long as it was growing, I could justify continuing to build it. The problem was that I had this identity crisis because I felt like I didn't belong in either world. At work, I never talked about my brand and around other founders, I always got asked if I was gonna do my brand full time, which eventually I did, because I was burning the candle on both ends and felt like I had to choose. But I think Emma Chamberlain articulated something that I couldn't at the time, which is that having another source of income doesn't mean you're less committed to your business. Because sometimes that income is exactly what gives you the time to build something that might not pay you back for five years. So before quitting your job, my advice is to really think about why you're doing it. Like, are you leaving because your business really needs more of your time, or because you feel like being a founder is supposed to look a certain way? Because keeping your job doesn't make you less of a founder and it might be the reason that your business gets a longer runway.