While I am the co-founder, I hold myself to the same standards as every employee and work alongside everybody as a team.

If an entrepreneur is able to hire people they trust, grow a strong team, and build a system of processes that work, you can then use yourself as an employee!

PlaybookUX

If you’re willing to put in the time you can test the business’s viability before going all in on it and quitting your day job.

If you get a few months in and realize the new business isn’t going to work, you can shut it down and go back to your day job without missing a beat.

When you’re an employee and entrepreneur everything starts and ends at your ability to manage your time.

There are 3 primary stakeholders that you’ll be accountable to and have to manage your time to accommodate.

Your employer, your partner in business, and your partner in life (of course, your customers always get prioritized as well).

Finding the time, energy, and focus for these three stakeholders will always be a juggling act.

Managing these commitments will force you to adopt unmatched time management skills.

The best way to ensure you’re giving sufficient time to all is scheduling your days and weeks, and when you’re focused on one, stay focused on that one.

Pick 3-4 mornings a week before 9, 2 evenings after 5, and one weekend morning for dedicated startup time.

A few hours here and there adds up quickly and when it’s the same times every week it’s easy to slip into that mode.

Automate and outsource as much as you can in your business.

If it’s not paying you a full-time salary, it shouldn’t be a full-time commitment.

Get yourself out of the day to day as much as possible and set up automation at every possible opportunity.

When the business is profitable, invest the cash in outsourced work so that the time you’re spending is working on the business, not in it.

Flashpacker Co

In reality though, I think it is a bad idea. To me, that is like asking if you can be buddy-buddy with the people that you have hired and pay salary.

Being a boss does not imply that you should not be friendly with employees, but trying to be, and to act as, a fellow employee will rarely work.

If someone attempts it, they will find that their instructions and advice to their fellow employees will go un-heeded.

There must be a clear separation in which employees understand who they work for and perhaps why.

In my career, I have had many long time employees and greatly liked and respected most of them.

They have looked out for our company, just as we look out for them.

Sperry West