Last month I wrote a couple of posts about the part-time bootstrapper inspired by friend and fellow blogger Cristian Dorobentescue who has done his own writing on the trials and rewards of the lifestyle.

Bootstrapping a venture part-time presents significant challenges for the entrepreneur in time and energy despite the advantage financially of holding down a job while building your business.

Here are some further rules of the road that may stir some controversy but are guaranteed to get you through the hard times.

1. Don't forget to change your shorts. Or socks or shirt or oil in your car. The pace of the part-time bootsrapper can be a hectic one. Focus on what you need to accomplish. Don't let your busy schedule or that occasional numb feeling from sheer fatigue get you down or make you forget what's important.

2. A hundred percent is relative. So be wary of the manager who says he wants it. Unless he's planning to make you live in the office, skip meals and exist without sleep he's got no clue how much energy you're putting in. Be sure to throttle back occasionally especially if you work independently. He's not paying for your soul. Jealously protect time for your own projects not only on vacations and weekends but every day.

3. It's a funding source not a career. This is hard to remember for the conscientious among us. A key management trick is to focus you on your day job as if it were your only goal in life. Whether your boss says he likes your job performance or not remember you're not trying to be a model employee just avoid getting fired so that you can keep the money flowing. The part-time venture is all that counts. Your day job is the means to that end.

4. Don't forget to kiss your wife (or significant other). Unlike the workaholic drone who destroys his/her private life with relentless commitment to "the company", the bootstrapper is building a venture which will someday be a benefit to those he or she loves. No matter how hard it is, take time out to be good to that special someone and your kids if you've got them. (If you haven't got them, make a date with your wife to work on that too! It will help relieve the stress) What you're building will be something that can be passed on to future generations so don't screw up your personal life in the process.

5. Remember Mr. Spock. In that great episode when he omits facts about the supposed insanity that causes Captain Kirk to order the Enterprise into the Neutral Zone, Spock tells the enemy. "It is not a lie to keep the truth to one's self." Have a temptation to tell your supervisor at work all about the bootstrapping project you're working on in your spare time and maybe the extra use of the company printer for your non-work related activities? You'll get over it, and he'll never know the difference.

6. Time is your chief commodity. Special projects and being asked to work extra hours are theft of that precious resource especially if the requests come with no additional compensation. Treat them accordingly. Do what you must to protect the time you need. Sick and personal days can help here as can any unsupervised time that can be partially used for your projects without anyone knowing.

7. Let your boss invest in your business. Take trainings, seminars or any other perks your boss is willing to pay for especially if they lead to certifications you can also use in your business. You don't have the money for these right now so let your boss pay for them. If you feel at all guilty remember he'll get the benefits too until the day you turn in your notice.

8. What weekend? No, you don't have to work every minute. As we've already discussed, time for family is still important. But your family must also realize the sacrifices needed for your venture and the rewards in the future if you're successful. You will need to have some downtime but occasional Saturday afternoons and Sunday evenings will be needed for extra work. It's an investment that will pay back handsomely some day.

9. Don't forget your secret identity. Like Superman or Spiderman you must be willing to shed your alter ego when the sirens blare and help is needed. Never forget who you are under your full-time day job guise. It is your true identity and must guide your decisions and actions to keep you focused on the goal.

10. Commitment is the best disguise. As suggested above, striving to be a model employee isn't necessarily optimal, but being a bad employee will only attract attention to you and possibly your part-time venture. The guise of a committed employee is probably the best, smiling compliantly and being cheerful in your work while secretly building your employer's next competitor in your basement.

Bonus: Coffee is your friend! Check out point number 4 and the accompanying link in the post "Walking the walk of part-time entrepreneurship" for more on the benefits of this nectar of the gods to the perspective bootstrapper.