I recently saw and commented on a discussion on facebook that was about advice one would give to an aspiring. There was only one responder and the very first thing they said was they would tell them to do what they are passionate about. For years I have heard this said to me and have even spewed this venomous rhetoric out myself. Yes I said it, I think starting a business based on your passion is a the worse decision you can make! As you may see or start to notice with my blogs, I’m not a negative Sue, no not by far, what I am is a thriving entrepreneur with big plans and ideas, and frustrated with the lack of honesty I see in blogs, and amongst business coaches. I’m the girlfriend that will support you in all you do, but if you start looking a hot mess and you’re not going anywhere, I’m the one who will tell you just that, the truth but always in love. Having started, succeeded and failed at businesses, I have made a vow that I will be honest about my journey and help others as I go along. I will become a student of entrepreneurship and respect it as it should, to not fling the word around without regard like work shoes but recognize it for the force it is to completely transform the very way we look at life. I’m not a guru (yet) but what I am is just like you. I’ve had some great successes in my business and I’ve even started a business that failed so fast I didn’t even get to officially launch it! I’m an accountant, small business consultant and entrepreneur. To be successful we must take the textbook fluff out and get down to real work and I’m committed to that. Now that I’ve gotten off my soap box, (I do feel better) the point of this article is to tell you why passion does not a successful business make.
I received an article in my email from Inc.com, the main topic was about digital footprint but in the margin was “Is your Passion turning your business into a Job” and I was confirmed, I’m not the only one who thinks this way! In summary, the article states that turning passion into a business can basically make you miserable. Instead, be passionate about the business you are in!
Quick example, I will use my bookkeeping business. I love bookkeeping and accounting, I love business; I am passionate about business and have a natural instinct for it. It’s something I know I will retire doing. When I first started bookkeeping, I started consulting and bookkeeping and doing accounting all because I was good at it and I loved it! Then I realized that I was the business, I was all over the place and although I managed to replace my corporate salary, I wasn’t really going anywhere. I started to loath it, get annoyed when clients called me ten times a day, hated the fact that I couldn’t take a vacation because there was no one to do the work or answer the calls the way my clients were accustomed to. I had created a job that I started to hate. I soon realized that even if I hired employees, what my clients wanted was ME, they bought ME, my passion, my drive, my knowledge. I realized that I didn’t want another job; I wanted freedom so I basically closed that accounting business, which bore my surname, and created another one that has no glimpse of my name anywhere. I found scope with my new business and am working on a model for my business, a process that is independent of me where I can hire anyone with a bookkeeping background to provide the same level of service I would myself. Now my business is about the overall vision and process and systems that I put into place that in which I am passionate about. I’m respecting what entrepreneurship truly is, it’s about innovation, growth and systems, not about hobbies.
What I say to you?
1. Be Honest about your Ultimate Goal. If you really love making shea body butters, great, keep doing it! If you love selling it, that’s even better, but be real about your overall goal. Do you just want to have some extra pocket change? Do you want to be self-employed and simply replace your full-time job with this job? Or do you want to be among the ranks of Lisa Price or Nadine Thompson, or Dawn Fitch of Pooka and have a thriving business that is bigger than you? Think long and hard about this one b/c this will set the course. Self-employed and Entrepreneur are NOT synonyms.
2. Learn about business. You know what you do, so learn about "business". If you are still undecided, seek the counsel of books, articles, networking sites, etc on the subject of starting a business. Sites like Bnet.com, Inc.com, Black enterprise.com and Michael Gerber’s E-myth revisited, are great places to start. Notice I didn’t say go to your local SCORE? No, I’m not saying there is anything wrong with SCORE, I think it’s an awesome tool for aspiring entrepreneurs. What I’m saying is don’t let that be your first and only stop. Research. Research. Research
3. Don’t go at it alone. Find you a coach, a model or depending on your business, consider a partner. Why? If you decided you want this business to be one that stands on its own feet without you, you’re talking about systems and processes. Having someone to help you with this is very important. Whether it’s your husband, a close confident you trust, a business coach, or a partner.
In a nutshell, doing what you are passionate about is a great thing, but be honest about what the ultimate goal is when doing so. Not everyone wants to be an entrepreneur and it’s ok, some of you will read this and go “I know people who have turned hobbies into thriving businesses and do well” I agree with you, what I’m saying is just be honest about your ultimate goal. You want to avoid being burnt out or eventually loathing the very thing you used to love so much!
Be Empowered…
Katrina
Comments
Sometimes passion can make you do crazy things. There is so much to consider in addition to having passion for a business.
Anywho, I'm enjoying this discussion. I appreciate ALL the comments. I hope there are more ;-)
it. I think the difference is having a passion about say - crocheting and then thinking it Must become a
business since it is a passion when it is really just a hobby and should probably remain one. Some people
think that having a hobby is their passion and therefore must become a business. I think that the mistake
made is in how that person perceives passion. Starting and running a business is incredibly hard. To run a
business successfully you must have a passion for that thing. Passion in the sense that you feel an urge to
complete that project and must see it to fruition. Even in the face of failure, passion will make you pick
yourself up, dust yourself off and figure out another plan of action because this is a thing you feel in every fiber
of your being and even when trying to ignore it you can't get it off your mind. Some people go into business
because it is the "thing" that makes money. They work at it from time to time when they can get some time
in. A passionate person will forget what time it is. That is the difference. And while other businesses fail, a
passionate person would give up their heart and soul before conceding failure. Enough - as you can see I am
passionate about this topic, probably because had I gone with My passion I would have saved a lot of time
and pain.
The title was intended to evoke some disagreements but I did be sure to place a key word in it "SOLELY" meaning passion alone won't get you there. Some folks start and stop at passion and have no clear focus, no point, no knowledge. Passion coupled with my three pionts and some other considerations will! You actually got my point! Many people have a passion and never take the time to evaluate if this passion translates to being self-employed or becoming an entrepreneur and therefore they get caught-up and thus begin LOATHING their passion. NOT everyone, but I've encountered quite a few who get caught in the "treadmill syndrome". That is the point I'm making, avoid this pitfall but considering more than just your LOVE.
When I said research business, that doesn't mean you do all the business, it means get an understanding of business in general to know what you need to outsource. I even say learn what being an entrepreneur really is b/c it's not the same as being self-employed. There is a wealth of knowledge out there that breaks "business" down in quick easy to read and understand ways for those of us who really would rather focus on what they love. So there is no excuse to take the time to understand business and that was my point. When people say "follow your passion" we forget that the folks that do this sometimes take that and run with it. I want to challenge folks like you and me to be sure we give them the otherside of that coin.
To answer your question, yes my passion lies in creating businesses and opportunities and helping others achive their goals, I am doing what I love. But it took me a minute to figure that out b/c I didn't have a clear understanding of my point. I now understand that though I love bookkeeping, what I love more is creating an opportunity for those to benefit from my expertise. Not me actually doing the work! Hey this may not apply to you or some others, but I encounter a lot of folks that struggle with this and worse don't even know it. I started off thinking my passion for bookkeeping would suffice but I found myself getting burned out when I realized that I also don't want to be self-employed. I had no clue at that time what the difference between entrepreneur and self-employment was. Even with a degree in business.
Basically, passion drives all of us it drives me, But we must be clear on what that passion translates to.
what do you think?