How To Cheat On Your Boss Starting a business from your cube . . . without getting caught

Tales of running a start-up on someone else's company timepossess the same lurid tone usually reserved for rumors of officeaffairs or political conspiracies. Entrepreneurs talk of covertphone calls, of suppressing the desire to just confess, of hidingpersonal papers under an innocuous cover sheet, of seemingly casualstrolls to the fax or printer while silently praying that theoffice busybody isn't in the vicinity.

With time at a premium, the temptation to "sneakaround" from the cubicle's confines can sometimes be toogreat to ignore, and you may find yourself questioning whether thatpesky word "ethics" is going to haunt your everyprofessional action.

However, with a proper ethical perspective and a keen eye towardcaution, stealing a few hours off the time clock can actually proveto be beneficial--not just for you, as you move closer toself-employment, but even for your boss, since many"cheaters" admit to working harder at their day jobs tokeep from getting caught.

Elizabeth Millard is a freelance writer who frequently andwithout remorse hides her cheatin' heart by writing while ather Boston day job (but don't tell her boss).

Productivity As Insurance

Nechelle Feaster, 24, admits cheating became standard practicein the two years it took to get her multimedia company going.Between 1996, when she launched New York City-based De TaiTechnologies part time, and 1998, when she finally quit her dayjob, Feaster paid the bills by working in industries ranging frommedicine to entertainment. The jobs not only paid the rent, butactually helped her start her business--because the tools sheneeded, such as a computer, fax and copy machine, were all locatedat the workplace--although sometimes not so conveniently.

"You're always looking over your shoulder,"recalls Feaster, "trying to get your stuff done as fast aspossible. You run to the printer as fast as you can, trying not tolook like you're doing something [unrelated to work]."

Although Feaster told co-workers about her start-up, they wereunaware of the extent of her outside work. And even though herbosses never challenged her, she ended up challenging herself.

"It gets to where you're tormented not by guilt, but byanxiety, trying to get everything done," she explains."At my last job, they thought I was Superworker because I wasalways at my desk, but the reality was, I didn't have time tochitchat because I had to juggle the job and my business. Iutilized my time a lot better. If I hadn't been trying to [runmy business] on the side, I would have been doing things that werea waste of time, like taking extra breaks or calling my friends.[The business] made me more focused."

For entrepreneurs like Feaster, anxiety spurs them to betterperformance in both arenas. "My job wasn't [negatively]affected; actually, it was the opposite," she says. "Ithink it would have caused too much anxiety if my [business] wasaffecting my job, and then I probably would have gottencaught."

Remember The Golden Rule

If, as a kid, you didn't have to repeat the mantra of goodchildren, "Do unto others as you would have them do untoyou," you might want to start uttering it now if you findyourself in an ethical quagmire. Some entrepreneurs discover thehard way--when they have to hire employees--that what they slippedby the boss isn't acceptable when they're actually bossesthemselves. Another argument for keeping your rules golden: Youknow who your friends are, but do you know who your boss'sfriends are?

Terrence Young, owner of New Image Enterprises Inc., a businessconsulting firm in Portland, sometimes makes client phone callsduring his day job in an advertising agency, but he stays aware ofhow close he comes to crossing his own personal ethics line."It's really hard to work on your own business after 5 or6 p.m., when clients are trying to figure out why you didn'tcall during the day," says the 28-year-old. "When I makecalls, I'm not doing it to discredit my boss, and I don'tthink it's a conflict of interest, because I'm not doingadvertising."

Blessed by working only three blocks from home, Young hightailsit home on his lunch hour to send e-mails and make as many businesscalls as he can, carefully avoiding making calls from the officewhenever possible.

"I make sure it doesn't interfere with my job, becauseif you interfere with your full-time employment, you're goingto shoot yourself in the foot twice," Young contends."First, you're going to screw up the job you have. Second,you never know who knows someone else. If clients find out [fromyour boss] you're not as ethical as you could be, thenyou're shooting yourself again."

Keep 'Em Separated

Most dilemmas that arise while starting a business from someoneelse's office have to do with questions like whether it'sOK to contact your employer's clients, whether you can useideas formed on the job that relate to your employer'sbusiness, and how far you can stray under threat of a"noncompete" clause in your employment contract.

Some entrepreneurs skirt these reservations completely byspending their working time in fields other than their start-ups.Christopher Jones, owner of New York City start-up businessconsulting firm Progressive Solutions, knew he had to getexperience in the professional world before striking out on hisown, but he didn't want to risk bad karma to get it. Beforegoing full-time with his company in 1991, Jones worked for twoyears at various businesses, including an alarm company and anaccounting software firm.

"It's always difficult to be upfront and not hideanything, at least for me," he says. "I did all my[business's work] at night and on weekends, but my boss didnotice how exhausted I was all the time. I didn't tell him whatI was doing because I think if you do it in your off hours,it's not your boss's business."

Besides this separation of church and state, the 31-year-oldadds, "Another thing that helped me think about it ethicallyis that I was never competing in the same area. I made it a pointto work at places that were similar but where I wouldn't becompeting [with my employer] directly. That's difficult, butit's worth it."

Oh, The Legality . . .

Adam J. Conti, an employment lawyer who owns his own firm inAtlanta, offers five tips for those trying to stay within thelaw's tricky borders:

1. Make sure your employment contract or noncompeteagreement is legal. If the restrictions are too broad, orif there isn't a specific time frame (usually no longer thantwo years) or a specified region (for example, within your state)mentioned for noncompetition after you leave the job, it'shighly possible the contract that supposedly binds you isn'tlegally enforceable.

2. Throw the good ones back . . . fornow. Stealing your company's clients will very likelybounce you into court, but if you stay true to the noncompeteagreement's time frame, you can start dialing for dollars oncethe contract runs out without fear of getting sued.

3. Put time on your side. If you plan to start abusiness that competes directly with the day job you just left,remember: The more time you let elapse between your departure andyour start-up, the less risk you run of landing in front of ajudge.

4. Keep intellectual property in mind. Ifyou've developed an idea that's within the scope of yourjob duties and responsibilities, chances are your employer can layclaim to it. But if you can prove the idea was developed outside ofthe company and wasn't something your employer wanted you todo, then that claim ticket is yours.

5. Don't worry about getting fired. It'snever a good idea to bait your boss into downsizing you, but if youdo get fired, the law will look more favorably on you than on thecompany that tossed you out and then tried to prevent you fromearning a living in your field, whether you signed a noncompeteagreement or not.

Even Steven

For those essentially working two jobs, time is not on yourside. Figuring out how much time to give to each is like a problemon the mathematics portion of a standardized test. But if you thinkof it in terms of units, it becomes easier to pencil in those blankovals.

Russ Sarbora, 27, bills by the hour and has found that companiesare understanding when it comes to exactly which hours show up ontheir bill. As owner of Peak Consulting and Development, a Web sitedevelopment company in Wilmington, Delaware, Sarbora uses theoffice space of companies for whom he's contracted and pushesthe limits of multitasking while doing so. Yes, this full-timeentrepreneur "cheats" on his own clients.

"Sometimes I work on other projects while billing a companyfor my time," Sarbora says. "But my clients realizewhat's going on, and everyone knows I'm responsible forfinding my next assignments. They know I do small stuff on theside, but most [clients] say it's not a problem. And as long asI feel like I'm providing the service I'm being paid for,then it doesn't bother me at all. If deadlines are coming up, Iput in extra time--for free--and it all balances out."

'Fess Up

Confession can be good for the soul, but not always forbusiness. That said, there are a few situations in which itmight be better to bare all:

• After you've left the job. Sometimes bosses can behelpful for finding contacts after you're off their clock. Somemay even be interested in investing in your company.
• When you suspect you're about to get caught. Likeparents and spouses, employers sometimes give you credit forpreemptive honesty.
• If your work is truly suffering. If your boss suspectsyou're just a slacker, he or she may appreciate the truth as towhy you're not giving your all to the job and might evengrudgingly accept that you have to follow your entrepreneurialleanings.

Ethics 101

Still seeking guidance about the ethical implications ofcheating on your boss? Even for the experts, nothing's blackand white.

Joe Badaracco, a professor of business ethics at HarvardBusiness School, says there are no concrete rules when it comes tothe ethical implications of cheating. "It depends on theimplicit contract [you have with your boss]," he says. "Ithink the main question is, Are you doing your job? Are you doingit in a way the company expects you to do it? You're probablyat risk if you deviate too far from that.

"I'm not sure whether stealing time is any differentthan stealing something from the warehouse," Badaraccocontinues. "On the other hand, my impression and my hope isthat most people are paid for getting the job done, not for sittingon their butts." In other words, although some may see thetheft of time and resources as equivalent to pillaging youremployer's bank account, Badaracco believes as long asyou're getting your work done, it's forgivable and evenforgettable.

But will the boss see it the same way? Sometimes, Badaraccowarns, it's better not to unburden your cheatin' heart to asuperior. "Bosses like to think they've got theiremployees' hearts and souls," he says. "That's anillusion, but depending on who your boss is, sometimes it's anecessary illusion, and it's probably best not to disappoint[him or her]."

The final word? As comfort to office cheaters everywhere,Badaracco says ethics depend on the specifics of a situation."My general view is, if you can say in good conscience thatyou're doing your job, the rest of your life isyours."

Contact Sources

Adam J. Conti, (404) 531-0701

De Tai Technologies, nfeaster@detai.com, http://www.detai.com

New Image Enterprises Inc., nie@mailcity.com

Peak Consulting and Development, (302) 983-5422, russ@delaware.net

Progressive Solutions, (212) 386-2449, ckjones@progsolinc.com