Business based on passion?

tinbugtoo

I know I want to start a business, but I don't know what I want to do. Mentors have told me to think back before my working days and before responsibilities and remember what I enjoyed to do in my spare time. So, for me, that would be something creative, like designing products or offering creative services. But I also heard that you want to work ON your business, not IN your business. Wouldn't that defeat the purpose of doing something you're passionate about? Maybe there is a balance? Do you have any thoughts based on experiences? Thanks!

MichaelBuckles

Yes, I have started my business that was my passion for starting a home improvement business. It's not a unique idea or something that is not to be done, but with no money, it was really the toughest decision.
I had build a website, taken a lot of advice and guidance, learned a lot of things online that worked great for my business.

kshifters

You have to first assess where you want your life to be. Working in the business also means working and focusing on stuff that might not be your interest. Working in the business also means paying rent, gathering data, cleaning your work area, purchasing inventory, paying taxes, doing accounting etc. All the technical stuff. You can do it, or you can hire someone to do it for you. Working on the business means making decisions. Whether it be deciding to hire staff, deciding to expand, deciding to continue doing business based on gathered data, transfer your office to a different location, etc. Remember that you have to decide how you want your business will affect your life, and how your life will affect your business.

tinbugtoo

MichaelBuckles wrote:

Yes, I have started my business that was my passion for starting a home improvement business. It's not a unique idea or something that is not to be done, but with no money, it was really the toughest decision...

Thanks MichaelBuckles! I admire you for taking the leap! Did you leave a stable day job, or was it something you did before you had a career, job or anything stable going? I'm always curious, because I've met people who have said it was definitely easier to start after they got laid off, fired or otherwise were forced to try something. I have a very secure job that pays well, but got bit by the entrepreneurial bug a long time ago, so I have a side-biz helping business with branding, video, websites, etc...but can't seem to get myself to take the leap to full-time. I have a family of 5 that needs heavy medical insurance

tinbugtoo

kshifters wrote:

You have to first assess where you want your life to be. Working in the business also means working and focusing on stuff that might not be your interest...

Wise words! I've always see more resent life coaches talk more and more about deciding what lifestyle you want to have first and then developing your business around that. Man, I need like 2 more hours to each of my day to get my head on straight. Between work, a 3-hour commute and family, there is no "me time" to focus on what I need to do. When I do have the time, I'm overwhelmed by all the stuff I've listened to in podcasts during my commute and I don't know what to do first, second, etc. I almost need a coach to cut through all that information overload and make my few moments of time during the day efficient. Am I thinking correctly, or is there a better way?

Ankita1234

Your passion leads you to the goal you set for your self. as a developer, you have a dream of responsive website, Then you should work on that passion.

AThompson

Hey guys,

My name is Ashley and I'm super new on here, so I thought I'd introduce myself and share my opinion with you.

Well, I think that if you're outsourcing your company and/or having people work for you, and you're not really doing all the work yourself, you're still making money, and it's not something you REALLY can't stand then why not do it!

The problem that I'm facing right now is not actually knowing what I really like and enjoy doing, but I've come to accept that is perfectly okay. As long as you're still making money and not being incredibly miserable.

I feel like what you really can't do is to just not do anything only because it's not something you're passionate about. You have to find a way of keep moving forward until you find out what you're really passionate about. (and then outsource/hire people to do it for you so you only do it as a hobby and not because you have to haha)

Anyway, that's just me. Would love to hear more from more people on that since it's something that really relates with me at the moment.

Thanks for reading.

kshifters

tinbugtoo wrote:

I almost need a coach to cut through all that information overload and make my few moments of time during the day efficient. Am I thinking correctly, or is there a better way?

How are you? I'm glad you find my reply helpful. I hope my reply isn't too late.

First of all, I wouldn't want to say it is not the right way to think. Different people have different strengths and weaknesses.

In my own experience,opinion and based on my personality, being in a state of information overload is not a good thing. I think you need to step back and look at what's going on.

You don't need to be meticulous as a startup. Don't rush your learning when doing business. Unless it's a pharmaceutical business, or a life or death kind of business (something probably like skydiving), then try not to spend so much time gathering information. Of course this will depend on the nature of your business, just like my example on skydiving. If your business requires a ton of work and research, then I think you need to start working with a partner(s).

There's this podcast that I listened to years ago, and what I learned from them is on-demand learning. I can't remember if that's exactly what they call it or if the term is correct. Basically, it is learning things the moment you need it. I used to gather lots of information before working on my business. Which has its ups and downs. The up side is you are ready for any obstacle that may come your way. The down side is, you might get stuck in what they call an "analysis paralysis". Again, the things you need to learn, or focus on, before the business runs depends on the nature of business. Hiring a newspaper delivery boy will not require you to have a strict hiring process compared to hiring someone to drive a truck that will transport delicate and dangerous chemicals. Probably a better term for on-demand learning is priority learning. Understand what your priorities are at the moment, and that's what you learn about.

I've been there before, and it's not a pretty place to be in when you're juggling different things all at once. It took me about 3 years of immense pressure and stress before I was able to appreciate priority learning. Gathering too much information is probably not a very good strategy to do when you're in a start up. There is such a thing as gathering enough information to start taking actions.

PS. My apologies for any bad grammar.

Charlie P

If your passion is in something like artistic expression of some nature, then you would want to remain in the creative seat, but would still need people working with you. You would still need at least one salesperson, an accountant, maybe an assistant that makes sure your coffee is ready when you need it and runs and gets your materials when you are creating.

If your passion is doing internet marketing, then you would be in more of a working ON your business type of a situation. If you are selling a bunch of stuff then you are going to need a team of people filling orders, managing product levels, doing the accounting, working on the website, running ad campaigns, etc...

The point is, you have to match what you do with the role you want to be in. If you love coding websites, then by all means stay relevant in that role even if you are CEO of a company the builds websites. The great thing about running your own business is that you make the decisions and can run it how you see fit (assuming you are following labor laws of course).

buchi4search

I recently published an article "HOW TO MAKE YOUR BUSINESS IDEA A REALITY" and these are the 3 questions you need to consider:
#1: How did you create the idea? #2: Did you evaluate the idea? #3: How did other people in that line of business start?

eurus

I have written a recent post in this forum which is about following the passion or not.
In short, you should not follow the passion. Thinking about the case of Master Chef, American Idol or The Voice. People think they can sing, but in fact there is only one winner in the reality show.
You should do what you are good at, or what you think you can create value to the society. Passions can change frequently. I'm prettily sure your passion in 5-10 years ago would be much different from your current passion.
Hope this would help you ;)

Adam Jones

It might be a lot harder for you to create a business out of your passion. But it’s not impossible. People do it all the time. You just have to do some work to figure out how to identify a market you can serve profitably.
1st find out your passion desire it will help you to achieve your goal..
You hear the word "passion" a lot, but what does it really mean in a business context?

Passion for Different Areas of the Business

Keep in mind that your business or product doesn’t necessarily have to be something you love in and of itself—although that helps. It could simply be about seeing an opportunity to do something and being enthusiastic and determined to do it well.

As you’ve seen in this tutorial, starting a profitable small business is far from simple. However, if you take things step by step and are thorough in your planning, you can certainly be successful. And starting that business based on a true passion will make it easier for you to feel enthusiastic and motivated about what you do, and to inspire others to follow you and support you.

YourRetailCoach

To start a business you definitely need passion. Working on the business means making decisions knowing what exactly you want this will turn give you load of profits for a long term

saravanan

Successful people like to say their good fortune is due to something  called passion. Apparently successful people have loads of passion  whereas the bedraggled losers of the world are burdened with a lot of  overrated and useless qualities such as talent, brains, ambition, energy  and blah, blah, blah. None of that matters, say our business heroes, at  least not much. Passion is the key!

Mike95

It is true that most successful businesses are built around Passion. It really helps anyone to succeed and it keeps you going without being affected the difficulties your business may come across. 

Em.reed

I think no matter what you do, you should have some degree of passion for it. The passion is what's going to push you through those hard times when you feel discouraged and want to give up. When you're getting four hours of sleep at night because you're working late hours, the passion will remind you why you started in the first place, and why you should push through.