“So, what do you do?”
It’s the first thing most people ask when meeting someone for the first time—and for me, the answer isn’t short. For starters, most people don’t know how to pronounce Nectafy (rhymes with rectify, FYI), and, until fairly recently, they didn’t understand how I worked remotely for a company headquartered in a different time zone!
Then, in 2017, I took a hobby that had grown beyond hobby status to the next level and created my own business, Emily Nix Photography (ENP).
So now when I answer that question, I get to talk for quite a while about both of my jobs, including how this unique work situation works and what I’ve learned from it.
I thought it’d be interesting to discuss that here, specifically from the perspective of being an employee of Nectafy while owning another business, including how it works for me as both an employee and a business owner and what makes it work. I hope that you’ll be able to see how it can be beneficial to both employers and employees, and consider doing something similar in your own company.
The Backstory
I began writing at Nectafy in late 2012, back in a time before “remote work” was in common parlance. I had to explain to literally everyone what I did, that I worked for a real company, and that no—I’d never met my boss, Lance, in real life (at that point). It was—and still is—fun to gauge people’s reactions to learning about what we do at Nectafy and the fact that our entire team is fully remote!
Within my first couple of years at Nectafy, Lance began encouraging me (and all his employees) to consider how we as individuals might become entrepreneurs. There was never one big meeting or official team announcement about doing this; it’s simply always been part of our company culture.
I had already been toying with the idea of turning my photography hobby into a legitimate business, as more and more people were asking me to take their photos. Shooting and editing began taking up considerable amounts of time, and it was work I really enjoyed. When the topic came up in a meeting, Lance wholeheartedly encouraged me to jump in, make the business official, and start making money. He also recognized that I didn’t want to leave Nectafy and was good with it.
For me, that was a lightning rod moment.
My boss is willing and eager to let me continue work that I find valuable at Nectafy while encouraging me to also do another kind of work?! It was, and is, a nod to Lance’s visionary nature that our company—and all companies—are better off when employees can see things from a business owner’s perspective (more on that later).
Fast forward to 2024. I’ve successfully grown my photography business and I’m still employed by Nectafy. Here’s how:
How Being An Employee & Owning Your Own Small Biz Works In Practice
I typically work four days a week (at Nectafy, we have Fridays off). The structure of our company is such that I have flexibility to schedule all my client meetings, interviews, and writing time when it fits within my life schedule. We do have standing meeting dates as a company, and those are built into our weekly calendars as fixed events.
Calendaring out everything on my company-facing calendar also allows me to schedule client photo sessions during the day when I don’t have any client or company meetings. While a majority of my photography work is done in the evening, I do photograph newborns and milestone clients in the studio during typical “work hours.” A traditional office environment wouldn’t give me the flexibility to leave for a couple hours in the middle of the day to do a different job. But at Nectafy, everyone is given the autonomy to work in a way that aligns with our life goals, which for me, includes growing my photography business.
It’s not uncommon for members of our team to jump out in the middle of the day for a walk, a lunch with friends, or, in my case, photography sessions. The expectation is that we complete our work to a high standard, and if we do that, there’s no need to sit at a desk for an arbitrary number of hours per day.
Other than that, Nectafy’s work environment is like most others. The team communicates daily. We have weekly team meetings, post updates for other team members in our project management system, and “sign in” every day on Slack, where we have channels for general watercooler talk as well as specialized channels to discuss clients and other projects.
In addition, Lance and I meet monthly in a one-to-one meeting. Nectafy is the main topic of discussion, but Lance has also made it a point to ask me questions about ENP. I get some of my best encouragement and ideas from him. (If you’re a business owner looking for a visionary consultant, I recommend scheduling a meeting with him. You’ll have fun, too!) One of the coolest experiences brought about by this unique work situation was a job that blended both Netafy and ENP: Lance hired me to photograph his family. To me, that ask encapsulates Lance at his core. He’s someone who prioritizes his family, strives to bring his ideas to life, and wants to ensure that his employees are also able to do the same.
What Makes This Blend Of Work Work
Lance has built his company to be entrepreneur-friendly. The key aspects of his business that support employees in pursuing their passions are:
- Flexible scheduling. So long as our work is accomplished, we work when and where we choose. Nectafy is also closed on Fridays, which gives employees an extra day to devote to our own businesses or ideas.
- Outcome-based performance measures. Our performance is evaluated based on outcomes, not hours logged at a desk. When our work is accomplished, we are free to log off.
- Transparency. Employees don’t have to hide their other work. In fact, Lance enjoys brainstorming, problem-solving, and ideating right alongside us to help our businesses grow.
- Strategic hiring. This model of employment wouldn’t work without employees who are self-starters and trustworthy. Nectafy employees must be reliable and driven in order for this model to be successful.
How does encouraging entrepreneurship benefit Nectafy?
As owners of our own small businesses and side hustles, Nectafy employees deeply understand what it takes to make Nectafy run. We’re also more likely to buy into important company decisions and strategy changes because we feel like we have a stake in the outcome of the company. All of the work we do in the business is important to its long-term viability. The same is true for our client work.
When we accept a new client, the work isn’t just about getting an email written, website copy completed, or blog posts published—we’re driving business to make a difference to your company, and we take that seriously. As business owners, we know you’re paying for work that moves your business forward, and we take personally the success of each client and task we are assigned.
When I talk with my clients, I understand the anxiety they feel when embarking on new projects and the excitement that comes with completing projects that have been a long time in the making. I can also empathize when frustrations like timeline hold-ups, interview delays, or other content creation obstacles pop up in the course of a project. (Side note—that’s also why we work so hard to avoid and minimize these bumps! We know how painful they are!) Owning my own business has made me a better employee.
Ultimately, I’m very grateful for the unique opportunity I’ve been given: the chance to do work as both an employee and a business owner. I’m sure my answer to the question “So, what do you do?” will continue to evolve, though I hope I’ll always deliver it with a smile and a lengthy response. At this point, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
