Side Business while working Full Time
December 8, 2011 1:59 PM Subscribe
BusinessDilemmaFilter: Me and a coworker have decided to start a side business doing IT work for small business's and residential work. Heres the dilemma, We both work for the IT department at our current employer and we are each on call 1 week out of the month. Even know our side business is after hours and on weekends should we inform our current boss? Pros/Cons? Whats the best way to approach this? Thanks in advance!
You should talk to an employment lawyer in your state. I am a lawyer, but I am not your lawyer, and none of this should be considered legal advice.
When you started, or at any time subsequent, you may have signed an enforceable non-compete agreement that may prohibit your moonlighting in this fashion. Your work may also be considered work product which is the property of your employer, such that if you, for instance, are writing software solutions both for your current employer and for your outside clients, your employer may attempt to assert ownership over that work.
Your lawyer may have some ideas about how enforceable such an agreement is in your state (it does vary quite a bit) and may have some further ideas about whether and how to discuss this situation with your current employer. Your lawyer will be the one to tell you whether you are likely to have a work product issue, and should be able to identify other issues as well.
Good luck.
posted by gauche at 2:06 PM on December 8, 2011 [1 favorite]
When you started, or at any time subsequent, you may have signed an enforceable non-compete agreement that may prohibit your moonlighting in this fashion. Your work may also be considered work product which is the property of your employer, such that if you, for instance, are writing software solutions both for your current employer and for your outside clients, your employer may attempt to assert ownership over that work.
Your lawyer may have some ideas about how enforceable such an agreement is in your state (it does vary quite a bit) and may have some further ideas about whether and how to discuss this situation with your current employer. Your lawyer will be the one to tell you whether you are likely to have a work product issue, and should be able to identify other issues as well.
Good luck.
posted by gauche at 2:06 PM on December 8, 2011 [1 favorite]
Per the above comments, it is totally worth the investment in a lawyer.
Does "on call" mean that you're on-site, or just that you're expected to be available at a moment's notice to travel from home to the office to fix problems? I presume the latter, so make sure that you're not scheduling yourself during your on-call times. Make sure that your customers understand that you're not both immediately available all the time.
If you feel that your boss wouldn't automatically fire you (or threaten to or otherwise hold it against you in technically legal ways) if you told him or her, go ahead and explain, in person, with your coworker, exactly what this business entails. Make sure to lay out how it in no way interferes with either your contribution to the company or the company's business (I presume your employer isn't in the business of providing IT for small businesses and residences). Ask for a performance evaluation before you start. Then ask for one after three months, specifically focusing on whether your performance has in any way suffered since the previous one. That way, if your boss changes, you have something to show the new boss that says you haven't let the moonlighting get in the way of your "real" job. Encourage your coworker to do the same.
If you can't do all this, then you will spend a lot of time worrying about whether your boss is about to find out your secret. Figure out whether that's worth it.
Make sure that you and your coworker have a very specific agreement about who does what and whether/how one or the other of you can walk away. Don't let yourself get beholden to the side job at the expense of your full-time, presumably higher-paying work.
posted by Etrigan at 2:10 PM on December 8, 2011 [1 favorite]
Does "on call" mean that you're on-site, or just that you're expected to be available at a moment's notice to travel from home to the office to fix problems? I presume the latter, so make sure that you're not scheduling yourself during your on-call times. Make sure that your customers understand that you're not both immediately available all the time.
If you feel that your boss wouldn't automatically fire you (or threaten to or otherwise hold it against you in technically legal ways) if you told him or her, go ahead and explain, in person, with your coworker, exactly what this business entails. Make sure to lay out how it in no way interferes with either your contribution to the company or the company's business (I presume your employer isn't in the business of providing IT for small businesses and residences). Ask for a performance evaluation before you start. Then ask for one after three months, specifically focusing on whether your performance has in any way suffered since the previous one. That way, if your boss changes, you have something to show the new boss that says you haven't let the moonlighting get in the way of your "real" job. Encourage your coworker to do the same.
If you can't do all this, then you will spend a lot of time worrying about whether your boss is about to find out your secret. Figure out whether that's worth it.
Make sure that you and your coworker have a very specific agreement about who does what and whether/how one or the other of you can walk away. Don't let yourself get beholden to the side job at the expense of your full-time, presumably higher-paying work.
posted by Etrigan at 2:10 PM on December 8, 2011 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: On call available by phone but can be called in at anytime after normal business hours if need be.
posted by flipmiester99 at 2:25 PM on December 8, 2011
posted by flipmiester99 at 2:25 PM on December 8, 2011
Response by poster: We do not write code or produce any products. Just straight IT work at our current jobs...Routers, switches, servers, all support and implementation.
posted by flipmiester99 at 2:27 PM on December 8, 2011
posted by flipmiester99 at 2:27 PM on December 8, 2011
What gauche said. Absolutely.
posted by cool breeze at 3:12 PM on December 8, 2011
posted by cool breeze at 3:12 PM on December 8, 2011
I have not signed a non-compete, but my employee manual states I am not permitted to moonlight without prior company approval. If you have an employee manual, check that as well.
posted by pie ninja at 3:15 PM on December 8, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by pie ninja at 3:15 PM on December 8, 2011 [1 favorite]
It depends on where you work and what you signed regarding outside employment. My background is in financial services (broker-dealer, investment co, banking) and all side gigs have to be reported. I couldn't hold my realtor's license or do any outside work related to financial instruments/services. I could work retail, for example, but I would have had to report it. Review any paperwork you've signed and read your employee handbook. Any attorney will ask for these things.
Your sticky part is working during the on-call period. What is your company's expectation, does it matter as long as you're able to meet the on-call duties? You need to review company policies on that. I've worked places that had no policies and as long as you answered help desk calls when it was your turn, you were free to do whatever.
posted by shoesietart at 3:20 PM on December 8, 2011
Your sticky part is working during the on-call period. What is your company's expectation, does it matter as long as you're able to meet the on-call duties? You need to review company policies on that. I've worked places that had no policies and as long as you answered help desk calls when it was your turn, you were free to do whatever.
posted by shoesietart at 3:20 PM on December 8, 2011
BTW, talking to lawyers isn't as bad as you might think. I am not one, but have talked to them on occasion. Sometimes they are cool and won't charge you for a quick visit.
posted by markhu at 4:20 PM on December 8, 2011
posted by markhu at 4:20 PM on December 8, 2011
Things that might be relevant:
Are you salary or hourly? And when you are on call, are you being paid to sit there, paid only when you get a call, or not extra paid at all?
Anecdotal evidence: at my company, the people who do side work are often the ones who get laid off first. Might be coincidence, might be management saying "they have something to fall back on" or it might be management saying "screw those guys for not being loyal."
posted by gjc at 5:01 PM on December 8, 2011
Are you salary or hourly? And when you are on call, are you being paid to sit there, paid only when you get a call, or not extra paid at all?
Anecdotal evidence: at my company, the people who do side work are often the ones who get laid off first. Might be coincidence, might be management saying "they have something to fall back on" or it might be management saying "screw those guys for not being loyal."
posted by gjc at 5:01 PM on December 8, 2011
the people who do side work are often the ones who get laid off first. This is why you should avoid talking to your company if you don't have to. Better to beg forgiveness than ask permission. Review the employee handbook, any documents you've signed and if it's at all ambiguous, see an attorney. An attorney is a good idea anyway, if you're starting a business just to check set up, are you a partnership, LLC, etc. or if you want a partnership agreement with your friend.
posted by shoesietart at 5:41 PM on December 8, 2011
posted by shoesietart at 5:41 PM on December 8, 2011
Bring the employee handbook with you when you visit the employment lawyer.
The engineers at my job are all required to get permission before getting outside engineering work, in part because there's a concern they might work for one of our contractors at some point (double-dipping, effectively.)
posted by SMPA at 6:14 PM on December 8, 2011
The engineers at my job are all required to get permission before getting outside engineering work, in part because there's a concern they might work for one of our contractors at some point (double-dipping, effectively.)
posted by SMPA at 6:14 PM on December 8, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Jairus at 2:05 PM on December 8, 2011