Is it possible to feed a startup by doing projects?

We (I and a friend) have an idea that we believe in and we really want to push it out to the public to know if it has any potential. We presented it to a local startup idea competition and won first prize. They promised to consider us for initial funding, but they wanted too big equity for too little money (did I mention we live in Pakistan?). So we wondered how sensible would it sound, if we break our day in two halves: in first half, we do projects (consultancy, outsourcing etc.). In second, we work on our product. Has anyone else has tried it before? Were they able to keep the balance? Are there any do's and dont's that should be taken care of?

Thanks for reading this.