fired for having a side hustle?
Yes, actually—your company can fire you for having a side hustle. Here’s what to do instead:
I’ve signed a few employment contracts in my day.
I've handed out hundreds more as an HR pro.
Let’s be honest: sometimes we’re so excited to join a new company that we don’t read the fine print line by line.
But even if you did read it, chances are, you still signed something that said:
→ You won’t compete.
→ You won’t share trade secrets.
→ You won’t profit off your role outside your role.
And honestly? I don’t blame your employer.
They hired you in good faith.
They bought your time, your talent, and your execution in exchange for:
- (Perceived) stability
- A paycheck
- Group benefits
- PTO, training, and the promise of growth
So if you take that same expertise and start offering it to private clients—with a shiny website and public-facing content?
Yeah…that can be problematic.
Put yourself in their shoes:
What if you gave someone a role with great pay in exchange for exclusive rights to their brilliance,
And now they’re building something else on the side?
You’d feel two-timed, too.
Right about this point in every conversation I have about this topic, someone always says:
“But Mary, you teach women how to leave their 9–5s and run their own businesses!”
I do.
But here’s the critical part most people miss: the order of operations.
First, you learn the frameworks
Then, you build the business.
THEN, you leave the 9–5.
The next day, you run the business.
Finally, you rewrite your life.
In most cases, you should not launch a public-facing consultancy in the same industry as your 9–5 while still employed.
(Contractors and freelancers—you have different rules.)
But you can build a business in the background.
Quietly. Carefully. Strategically.
You can:
- Brand yourself and your business
- Build your systems
- Create months of content
- Learn inbound marketing and lead gen
- Set yourself up for a clean, powerful pivot
None of that violates your contract.
And no boss can stop you from preparing for something bigger in your own time.
That’s why I teach in the shadows.
My private FB group? Locked up.
My live office hours? Members only.
My DMs? Full of high-performers tired of corporate roulette.
You may not see the likes.
But the quiet builders are here.
And I help them calmly change their lives—without the dramatic “I hit rock bottom” moment between their last paycheck and their new purpose.
Because nothing hurts more than running out of income before you’re ready to launch. Ask me how I know. (Yikes.)
So get building while your paycheck still funds your life.
No rage quitting.
No burned bridges.
Just a clean exit and a powerful story:
“I did X at a high level for Y company. Now I do X for my own clients—through a business I built.”
That’s what I help women do inside The Radiant Resistance.
You don’t need to go rogue.
You just need:
- A plan
- A playbook
- A private place to build
That's it.
Curious?
xo,
Mary
