The dominant narrative around passion projects often falls into two unrealistic camps: the bold leap of quitting your job to "follow your bliss," or the polished myth of the "5-to-9" entrepreneur who effortlessly builds an empire after hours. The reality for most of us is far messier, more exhausting, and infinitely more human.

‍

It's found in the quiet moments stolen from a demanding schedule.

‍

For us, Ola and Riza, On Way Storytellers is not built in a sun-drenched co-working space on a Tuesday afternoon. It's built on the tram during the morning commute, with research notes typed out on a phone. It's built during hurried breakfast catch-ups, aligning on a creative direction before the day's first corporate video calls begin. It is built in the long, quiet evenings after our 9-to-5 jobs in tech are done, when the world has gone still and our shared curiosity finally has room to breathe.

‍

This isn't a complaint; it's a realistic portrait of what it takes to build a soulful project in the margins of a busy life. And it's a journey we know many of you are on, or are dreaming of starting. Here are a few principles we've learned that make this "juggle" not just manageable, but meaningful.

Reframe "time" – from scarcity to intention

The biggest illusion is that you need more time. While more time would be lovely, we've found the real key is intentionality. A focused 15-minute conversation over coffee can achieve more than two unfocused hours scrolling for "inspiration" in the evening.

‍

We don't have endless hours, so we treat the time we do have as sacred. The tram commute becomes a "podcast university." The weekend morning becomes a "deep dive research session." By reframing these small pockets of time as valuable opportunities for progress, we shift from a mindset of scarcity ("I have no time") to one of intentional action ("What can I build in this hour?").

Lean on complementary strengths – the engine and the heartbeat

A project like this, built in the margins, would be nearly impossible to sustain alone. Our partnership is our superpower, largely because we are wired differently and have learned to lean on each other's innate strengths.

‍

Ola is the architect and the engine. With Gallup strengths like Discipline, Focus, and Analytical, she thrives on creating the systems that give our passion structure. She builds the Notion databases, maps out the "Content Seasons," and does the deep, methodical research that forms the backbone of our stories. Her "Achiever" drive ensures we are always moving forward, turning ideas into tangible articles.

‍

Riza is the steady heartbeat and the visual soul. With strengths like Ideation, Positivity, and Communication, he brings the warmth, the artful perspective, and the intuitive connections. He is the one who sees the unexpected beauty in a photograph, finds the perfect piece of music to set the mood, and ensures our deep content always feels human and inviting. His calm presence is the essential counterbalance to the intense drive of planning and production.

‍

We don't try to be good at everything. Ola doesn't force the visual flair; Riza doesn't get bogged down in the minutiae of the content calendar. We trust each other's strengths completely. This creates an efficient workflow, but more importantly, it prevents the kind of burnout that comes from constantly operating outside your natural genius.

Embrace a "good enough" economy - perfection is the enemy

In our day jobs, the pressure for polish is immense. But for a passion project, "perfection" is a trap that can lead to never launching anything at all. We had to embrace what we call a "good enough" economy.

‍

Does every Instagram post need to be a masterpiece? No, but it needs to be authentic. Does every article have to be a Pulitzer contender? No, but it must be thoughtful and well-researched. We focus on delivering our core value - deep, contextual storytelling - and allow for imperfection in the execution. This is how we move forward, sustainably, without getting paralyzed by the pressure to be flawless.

‍

Building a soulful side hustle isn't about finding a magical reserve of extra hours in the day. It's about being fiercely intentional with the time you have, leveraging your unique strengths (and your partner's!), and giving yourself permission to build something real and imperfect, rather than waiting for the perfect, mythical moment to begin. The journey is happening now, in these stolen moments, and that is what makes it so very alive.

‍