Has anyone ever told you, “Do something you feel passionate about and then the money will come?” Under the wrong circumstances, this could be pretty bad advice.
I am really passionate about US History, but a boatload of money won’t suddenly come down from the sky if I choose a career as a High School history teacher at a public school.
Nothing against history teachers, they perform an important, rewarding role in society, they just don’t earn a substantial living. No matter how passionate the teacher is, the salary won’t be particularly high.
I advise my candidates to “find a business in which you are passionate about and the marketplace has an insatiable need for in which people are willing to pay a premium for.”
The following are 4 reasons why you need to choose a business in which you are passionate about and most importantly, you are passionate about the business opportunity:
Top 4 Reasons
1. If Passion Alone is Driving You, You Won’t Do What You Love
Many people think that if they like doing something, venturing into business in that field will make them do more of it. Often, those who love cupcakes start a bakery and those who love pets start a dog-walking agency.
Business owners need to perform many different tasks. These include:
- business development,
- managing employees,
- and accounting.
You may end up spending very little time doing what you love since you are busy performing other tasks in the business. How much would you love cupcakes if you had to bake every morning at 2 am?
You might love dogs, but do you really love hiring and firing dog walkers? How high is your “passion” for bookkeeping for a dog walking business?
2. Passion Alone Never Pays the Bills
If you are passionate about a particular business, remember that passion alone will never pay your bills. If you choose the wrong business, passion won’t be enough to make it a great business.
Passion alone won’t be enough to hire committed employees. It won’t magically bring customers to your business. Passion does not create systems to streamline the business.
In performing all these tasks, you should do them with lots of love, but remember passion alone will not “magically” create loyal customers, motivated employees, or a business model.
3. The More Successful The Business, The More “Passion” You Will Have For it
Adding passion to your life makes it more fulfilling. For you to really be passionate about a business, you must be able to earn a living by doing it. If something makes you joyful, do it with passion. It can be as mundane as dropping your kids off at school.
If you get excited about dropping them off, the experience becomes a lot more fun. Most of the time, work isn’t fun. People “work” for different reasons.
Passion is imaginary. Hobbies are full of magic and fantasy; business is not. When you start a business, you are expected to actually conduct business.
Not to say that one can’t be excited and passionate about business tasks. I got really excited whenever I closed a sale with my janitorial master franchise. Meeting new people at new offices was always interesting.
The more successful my business became, the more “passionate” I became about it. Mundane tasks like bidding on cleaning buildings became exciting once I earned business.
When I connect candidates to franchisors, I am focused on “characteristics” that match them the best. Some candidates love selling 24/7.
Others want to manage a certain type of employee. You can love chicken sandwiches but that doesn’t mean that a Chick-Fil-A franchise is the right fit for you.
Are you passionate about closing the restaurant late at night? Are you passionate about managing lower-wage employees?
4. Running a Successful Business is Not Only About “Passion”
Successful businesses fill market needs. They do not start with “passion” but by discovering which demand isn’t being met in the marketplace and filling that need. If customers are desperately seeking a solution, they will often pay a premium for it. This could be an excellent business opportunity.
Many times the best businesses are the least “glamorous” businesses. The fact that they are “dirty” businesses means that there will be less competition. It also means that people won’t want to do it themselves which means that there is a demand for the service.
Conclusion
Following your “passion” alone isn’t a good idea when you are starting a business. Potential investors that neglect the important aspects of business such as market demand for the company’s services and the characteristics of the owner’s role do so at their own peril.
Instead, focus upon businesses in which you are “passionate” about the business’s opportunity.