Should I tell my boss about my startup?

[huggytree]

i still dont get why you want to tell him?

just because you 'think' your boss is nice doesnt mean he will be in the future...the boss i had was the 'nicest' boss i ever had...until he fired me and wouldnt even let me take his van home to unload my tools.....and until he wrote a letter to the union accusing me of stealing

things will change between you and him as soon as you tell him....and the changes wont be positive...all the changes will be negative to YOU!

take a longer lunch hour and handle YOUR business from 12:00 to 1:00......Tell your boss the truth and you may find yourself training your replacement

list the advantages and disadvantages

advantages.
1. you will feel honest

disadvantages
1. everything

[bacterozoid]

The problem is that I need more than just a lunch hour to take care of business. I need at least one afternoon off a week so I can handle various matters during business hours. I have no idea how to float a convincing story that could get me that - unless I'm honest (or just partially honest, as Bill suggested) about what's going on.

[huggytree]

figure another way........ask the boss to work 10 hour days and take Friday off....if you think about it there are probably a dozen ways to solve your problem....i wouldnt tell the boss until i was ready to be fired...

when i started out i worked m-thur 10 hour days for my boss and worked f,s,sun for myself...i came up with excuses why i could only work those days for my new customers....it worked for 8 months........i called people back during my lunch 1/2 hour and morning break.....i found a way to make it work...so will you

i doubt most bosses will say 'ok thats great....your working 2 jobs and going to be leaving the company soon....awesome......ill do everything i can to help you succeed and leave my company'.....is that how its going to go?

[KristineS]

I think there are really two separate issues here. One is should you tell. There are pros and cons to that. Really, if you're working on your business on your own time, it's your time and what you do outside of work shouldn't matter one way or the other to your boss. On the other hand, if you know you want to build the business and there is a possibility that your boss might find out from another source, it's probably smarter to get ahead of things and share at least part of what you're doing. In reality, only you know your boss and your relationship with him and only you can judge whether or not telling him is a good idea.

Where it gets sticky for you is the fact that you want time off from your work day to work on your side business. As I said earlier, if everything is basically confined to your hours when you're not working the day job, then a case could be made that it doesn't matter whether or not you tell your boss because your non-work time is yours. If you do want to adjust your work hours to accommodate your business, however, you're either going to have to lie or tell the truth and accept whatever happens. If you try to conceal the truth, you're going to be dealing with the added stress of worrying about being found out in addition to the stress of starting a new business. There may be ways to make that work, but if you want to adjust your work time, it seems to me the only way to make that happen is to be honest with your boss.

[huggytree]

your free time is your own, but some bosses would not like your free time to be used WORKING....your not going to be a very good employee if your working 2 jobs 14 hours a day.....nor would they like that your full time job is now less important to you....all your thoughts will be on your new business...

i wouldnt like my employees to be working long hours....when i work long hours i make more mistakes....

[bacterozoid]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts on the matter. I haven't decided what to do just yet, but if I do tell my boss I'll update to let everyone know how it went.

[SC93]

As crazy as it sounds......I agree with all the replies. lol But the thing you are doing is putting the cart before the horse. Just think of this as another side job... because in reality... IT IS! If it works out to be more... great... but do you realize how many dreams are shattered each year because things don't work out? Treat it as a side job... hopefully it gets busy.... hopefully soon you need to take off 2 days a week.... then 4 days a week.... but right now it's still just a side job so don't make a huge deal out of it.

[Reflo Ltd]

It seems to me that you are working as a freelancer with the potential to some day become and independent business..... however, the keyword is "potential". I would say to keep it as casual as that. If you one day become so popular and in demand that it warrants your starting a full-time business, then address that matter when the time comes. in the meantime, be the casual freelancer that you are.