Passion for what we do is essential. The first piece of advice we always give when someone wants to start a business but doesn’t know what kind, is to think first about what they’re passionate about (read: how to work out what to do with your life). But is it really a good idea to turn our passion into a business?
Passion isn’t everything, but without it we’ll never be successful business owners, because in the long run its absence will make our business fail. Still, there are some things you probably haven’t been told.
Tips for turning your passion into a business
1. Think about which part of the business could cloud your passion
Before starting a business, take a hard look at what being an entrepreneur or business owner really involves. Feeling passion for the product or service we’re going to offer is one thing. The other ingredients needed to succeed in business are another: discipline, willpower, hard work (very hard at the start) and, of course, a market for the product or service we’re going to offer, as well as our own ability to get that product into the market.
In short, you need to be sure your passion can become a profitable business and be willing to adopt the right attitude to make that happen.
2. Be very clear that there are other jobs in the business that have nothing to do with your passion
To point one we have to add that, as an entrepreneur, you’ll have to do tasks or jobs that have nothing to do with your passion. Owning a business, especially at the start, will probably force you to do things that have nothing to do with what you enjoy. You’ll have to answer the phone, take inventory, place orders, keep the books, be a salesperson (and not everyone likes selling) and even clean and sweep, unless the business makes enough profit to hire plenty of staff to do all those jobs. A new business rarely makes enough money for all that from the start, so at the beginning you’ll probably spend most of your time on tasks that have nothing to do with what you love.
3. Hire the best, and the best tend to be passionate
As Donald Trump says about the secret of business, part of success comes from surrounding yourself with the best, and the best are passionate, creative people, because creative people have no time to lose their motivation: they’re always thinking about something productive.
Hire people who feel the same enthusiasm you do. That way, as the business grows, it’ll be easier to delegate to them.
4. Keep that passion alive
The passion that once led you to start a business can dry up over time because of the daily tasks involved in running it. That’s why we should try to grow our business and not remain a family business for too long: that way we can delegate to other people and really focus on what we’re passionate about.
At those times when you feel your passion has turned into boring, stressful monotony, go off to a quiet corner and think (or write down on paper) what it was that first made you embark on that business, and try to include in your daily work some of the things you used to be so passionate about.
5. Broaden your passion
I’ve looked for a few ways to explain this point, and in the end I can only think of one that we’ll all understand.
If your passion is sex and every day for 10 years all you do is the missionary position, you’ll probably end up getting tired of it. Try other positions. In other words, learn new things every day, diversify your passion, keep it fun and don’t let it become repetitive and monotonous. Remember those words that are so fashionable: adapt and reinvent yourself.
See also: Passion in business isn’t always a good thing
Most successful business owners never stop learning, and that way they never lose the curiosity of the eternal apprentice.
Further reading
Featured image: Robert Nunnally, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr.
